stories | David Lee King

I tell stories. In my articles, in my blog posts, and definitely in my presentations – they are usually based on stories.

That’s how my parents talk, and how I grew up. Early on in my marriage, after eating dinner with my parents a few times, Dana (my wife) told me “you guys talk in stories – how weird!”

I’d never really thought about it, but yeah – that’s what we do. It’s never “here’s what I did at work today.” It’s always “the story of what I did at work today.” There’s a big difference!

Partly, it’s just how I think. Im more of a visual thinker, so I see images and movies in my head about what I want to talk about, and then I just describe what I’m seeing (more on visual thinking here).

I’ve discovered that using a story-based style of talking seems to work really well for presentations. How do I “tell stories” in a presentation? Here’s what I do:

Use a basic structure. Make sure your presentation has a beginning, a middle, and an end. That provides some basic structure – a roadmap – that most of your attendees will be used to, so they will be able to follow along.
Tell “the story of.” You’re probably not creating a fiction Elfquest type story. But you can still tell “the story of what we did well.” Or even “the story of how we decided to buy that new back-end system.” Facts are great – pepper those facts around your story, to drive your point home.
Transitions. Transitions keep everyone on track. My transitions are usually really obvious (i.e. we’re moving to this now!) and that’s ok. It’s a way to remind your listeners about the roadmap, and keep everyone (including yourself) on track. Sometimes I even use a “transition slide” theme that can visually move people to the next point.
Paint a picture. Use your slidedeck to enhance the point you are making. For example, if I’m talking about how many Americans use the internet, I might use a slide with a huge “88%” on it. And maybe show a crowd of people underneath the number. I’ll use the slide to reinforce my point. It’s a prop that helps people visualize what I’m talking about.
Weave in some drama. Ok – not like “then someone punched me” drama. Drama, or tension, in a presentation might include challenges along the way, fails and mis-starts, or even things that need to be improved. Even something as simple as showing a poorly designed website, then showing your new-and-improved website adds a bit of tension and build-up.
End with practical takeaways. I always try to add a slide or two about “what you can do back at the office” with the ideas in my presentations. I find a few practical “hey, I can do this next week” pointers can be really useful for people attending my talks.
Also – actually “end.” Wrap it up, maybe summarize a few key points, share some next steps, and say “thanks.” Then take questions if there’s time. But no awkward “well gee, I guess my slides are done now” moments please!

Want more? Here are some great articles on telling stories in presentations:

image by Damian Gadal

me giving a presentation in Spain. Fun time! In the last couple of days, I’ve been working on a new presentation that I’m giving up in Toronto for Future Tech Strategies for Libraries. I’m looking forward to it! I’ll be giving the presentation around the same time you’ll be reading this 🙂

Over the years, I have given and attended a TON of presentations. Some I’ve learned from, some I’ve been entertained by, and some – honestly – have bored me to tears.

Here’s what I’ve learned – there are two things most of us could work on to raise the level of our presentations.

Tell a story.
End with Next Steps.

Let’s look a bit closer at each of these:

Tell a Story: We like stories. Heck, most of you work in libraries – places full of stories! Stories are good. One way to greatly improve your presentation is to treat your presentation like a story, or at least incorporate elements of a story into your presentation.

Why do this? Stories are easy to follow, and easy to remember. Stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end, which works great for a presentation outline. Stories have chapters, which can be individual slides, or sections of your presentation, complete with visual queues and themes. Stories have pictures – so emphasize visual elements on your slides, rather than a wordy outline.

Here are some examples stories you might tell in your presentation:

The story of how your library improved something.
The story of what you do (your job, your coding, your new service).
The story of why your organization needs more funding.
The story of what’s on the horizon (emerging trends).
The story of – fill in the blank…

End with Next Steps: So many presentations just end. With an embarrassed “and that’s my last slide, so I guess I’m done.”

First things first – work on transitions and writing a good ending to the presentation. But even better – end with what’s next for your listener/participant/attendee. Here are some examples of next steps: