principles of presentation design- crafting a story

Presentation DesignPrinciples of

Tips on how to think like a designer

John FallonPresentation Skills Consultant

Crafting a Story

Crafting a Story…

The goal is to create a memorable presentation

ideas“Sticky”

have…

Simplicity: What’s the key point and why does it matter?

Unexpectedness: Surprise people then stimulate their curiosity

Concreteness: Use natural speech and give real examples

Credibility: context and meaning are important

Emotions: humans make emotional connections, not abstractions

Stories: are easier to remember, great ideas and presentations have an

element of story to them

Stories and Storytelling…

Stories contain analogies and metaphors

Good stories have clear beginnings, engaging content and a clear

conclusion

Stories and Authenticity…

Tell relevant stories clearly and with a pleasing voice

Stories are personal- from the heart… not from a script

It’s not just about information…

You must have the ability to give the audience context and perspective

A presenter must inspire and stimulate with knowledge plus context, meaning and emotion

Information + Emotion and Visualization with Anecdotes = Stories

Finding your passion…

Use well spoken narratives which are conversational

The Process…

Use storyboarding to visualize the sequence of the content

Step One: Brainstorm

Step Two: Identify one key, memorable idea… the core

then… chunk to group similar ideas to find the theme

Step Three: Transfer ideas to post-its /

moleskine storyboard

Step Four: Transfer to a slide sorter to build presentation flow

Editing and Restraint…

Eliminate parts that aren’t crucial to your purpose

Identify elements of content that can be organized to tell a

memorable story

Remember… a presentation

is never just about the facts