At some point in your leadership life, if you haven’t already, you’ll be called on to make a big presentation. And that presentation will be critically important to your being perceived as a serious leader, your being promoted to a higher paying position, your closing a lucrative deal, or all of the above.
How do you nail this presentation?
One secret to effective presentations is the power of a great story and the ability to tell it well. Yes, you’ve got to have good content, well-researched and well-documented, but no one will pay attention to any of that information if it’s not delivered in a compelling way. A great story is that way.
The problem is, most leaders spend their preparation time on content development only and wing it when it comes to telling stories. Bad idea. A great story emotionally connects the audience to your content and motivates them to take action on what you’re saying. That’s the point, right?
So work on your stories as much, or more, than anything else in your presentation. Here’s how:
STEP ONE: Set the Context
The very first thing to do in telling a great story is immediately set the context. In a brief sentence or two transport the audience from where they are now to an entirely different time and place.
This is done by stating clearly and concisely the when, who, and where of the story. Don’t mess with that formula: when, who, and where must be done is that exact order for maximum impact.
Example:
May 10, 1996.
Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, two of the most experienced mountain climbers in the world, arrived with their clients atop Everest.
Do you see how when, who, and where works? In less than 25 words I’ve got you on top of the world’s tallest mountain.
STEP TWO: State the Conflict
The next thing to do in telling a great story is create conflict. That is, present a pressing problem that, on the surface, does not appear to have a solution. A pressing problem with no obvious solution is the very definition of conflict.
Example:
May 10, 1996.
Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, two of the most experienced mountain climbers in the world, arrived with their clients atop Everest.
You think that would be cause for celebration. But it wasn’t. It was cause for concern, grave concern, that would end up as one of the deadliest tragedies ever on the world’s tallest peak.
STEP THREE: Divulge Details
Once the context of your story is set and conflict created, you’ve bought yourself some time. In other words, you’ve hooked your listeners and can use that hook to deliver the details needed for the story make sense and have impact.
Details add color that make a story feel real and establish a platform of authority for what you’re going to conclude from it. What are the details you observe of the story we’ve been following as you read it below?
Example:
You see, eighteen hours is all you have when you’re climbing Mt. Everest.
Climbers begin their ascent from basecamp, located at 26,000 feet above sea level, in the ungodly hour of 2:00 AM. They climb through the night and early morning, reaching the summit about mid-day. They then scramble back down before sunset to the safety of basecamp.
Climbing expeditions on Mt. Everest follow this strict guideline: the two o’clock rule. The two o’clock rule states that any climber who’s not reached the summit by two o’clock in the afternoon abandons their ascent and returns to basecamp immediately. No exceptions.
The reason for the two o’clock rule is simple. Continued climbing after this time poses grave risk to climbers and their guides. You simply cannot make it back to basecamp.
Please note that this is the longest part of the story. I can get away with this, however, because I grabbed your attention by setting the context and creating conflict
STEP FOUR: Resolve the Conflict … or Not
The next thing to do in telling a great story is resolve the conflict … or not.
Great stories come in two flavors: the comedy and the tragedy. The comedy is a story that has resolution to the conflict. The tragedy is a story where the conflict doesn’t have resolution. The example story we’ve been discussing is a tragedy.
Example:
But on this day that rule was not followed and five climbers, including the two leaders of the expedition, died as they descended Everest in total darkness—well past midnight—while a ferocious blizzard enveloped mountain.
STEP FIVE: Make the Point
Here now is the payoff: the point of the story you’re telling.
With a comedy, describe in detail the new reality that exists because the solution to the pressing problem was applied. Don’t just simply conclude, “And they all lived happily ever after.” That’s lame. Drive your point home by specifically outlining how the solution created a new reality for the people in the story.
For a tragedy, that is, when the conflict is unresolved, take different tack. Present the moral to the story, the lesson that must be learned from the unnecessary loss.
Example:
Why had this happened? One reason: the absence of dissent.
John Krakauer, the best-selling author who was on this expedition, observed that a relationship of passive dependency developed between the climbers and their guides. Guides presented themselves as invincible experts. Climbers were asked to be their unquestioning followers.
Even as Scott Fischer’s physical condition deteriorated badly, struggling to put one foot in front of the other, no one talked about the the two o’clock rule or suggested an alternative course of action.
One of the twists I like to add in this step is using a quote to make the point more powerfully. In my opinion, this is the very best use of a well-worded quote: to maximize the impact of a story. The quote below is a little bit longer than I usually use, but it’s totally aligned with the story, and I’ve never lost an audience repeating it.
Example:
“Unfortunately, the experience of these teams on the slopes of Everest mirrors the group dynamic within many executive suites and corporate boardrooms around the world,” Michael Roberto writes in Why Great Leaders Don’t Take Yes for an Answer.
“The factors suppressing debate and dissent within these expeditions also affect managers as they make business decisions. Inexperienced individuals find themselves demonstrating excessive deference to those with apparent expertise in the subject at hand. Plenty of teams lack the atmosphere of mutual trust and respect that facilitates and encourages candid dialogue.”
The Bottom Line
Do you have a big presentation coming up? Make sure your content is sound, but don’t rely on information alone to move the audience. It won’t. Emotion drives action, not information. Tell a great story.
Here’s the complete example story without interruptions. With the quote at the end it’s just 395 words long and takes less than three minutes to tell.
Tragedy Atop Everest
May 10, 1996.
Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, two of the most experienced mountain climbers in the world, arrived with their clients atop Everest.
You think that would be cause for celebration. But it wasn’t. It was cause for concern. Grave concern that would end up as one of the deadliest tragedies ever on the world’s tallest peak.
You see, eighteen hours is all you have when you’re climbing Mt. Everest.
Climbers begin their ascent from basecamp, located at 26,000 feet above sea level, in the ungodly hour of 2:00 AM. They climb through the night and early morning, reaching the summit about mid-day. They then scramble back down before sunset to the safety of basecamp.
Climbing expeditions on Mt. Everest follow this strict guideline: the two o’clock rule. The two o’clock rule states that any climber who’s not reached the summit by two o’clock in the afternoon abandons their ascent and returns to basecamp immediately. No exceptions.
The reason for the two o’clock rule is simple. Continued climbing after this time poses grave risk to climbers and their guides. You simply cannot make it back to basecamp.
But on this day that rule was not followed and five climbers, including the two leaders of the expedition, died as they descended Everest in total darkness—well past midnight—while a ferocious blizzard enveloped the mountain.
Why had this happened? One reason: the absence of dissent.
John Krakauer, the best-selling author who was on this expedition, observed that a relationship of passive dependency developed between the climbers and their guides. Leaders presented themselves as invincible experts. Climbers were asked to be their unquestioning followers.
Even as Scott Fischer’s physical condition deteriorated badly, struggling to put one foot in front of the other, no one talked about it or suggested an alternative course of action.
“Unfortunately, the experience of these teams on the slopes of Everest mirrors the group dynamic within many executive suites and corporate boardrooms around the world,” Michael Roberto writes in Why Great Leaders Don’t Take Yes for an Answer.
“The factors suppressing debate and dissent within these expeditions also affect managers as they make business decisions. Inexperienced individuals find themselves demonstrating excessive deference to those with apparent expertise in the subject at hand. Plenty of teams lack the atmosphere of mutual trust and respect that facilitates and encourages candid dialogue.”
