The science of storytelling

The oldest and most effective way to get your point across is through a story. For thousands of years, people across all cultures and religions have used storytelling as a means to educate society. Stories have emotion and empathetic characters which is why they not only resonate but are also memorable. The biblical story of Cain and Abel, two brothers fighting, is so poignant because anyone with a brother or sister knows what it’s like to brawl with them. It’s actually part of growing up. Or in 2004, the indigenous Jarawa Tribe of the isolated Andaman and Nicobar Islands survived the deadliest Tsunami in history because of the stories they had been passing down for thousands of years about the movement of the wind, birds and the sea. They recognized the signs as described through lore, and survived a tidal wave that killed over 200,000 people. While technology and cultures change, the human condition does not.  Storytelling is about the humanity; we see ourselves in stories and that’s why we learn from them.

Fast forward to the invention of broadcast TV, where marketers not only figured out how to condense a story into 30 seconds, they tied a product it to. The formula was simple -- problem, pain, product hero, resolution and happiness. Here’s a breakdown of an old 1970's Wisk laundry detergent commercial.

Problem: Ring around the collar! Emotion: It’s not just a dirty shirt. It’s embarrassing. My shirts are filthy and people will therefore think I’m dirty. I’m so ashamed.

Solution: Wisk

Climax: Doing the laundry with Wisk. Emotion: Who knew washing clothes could be so gratifying. Satisfaction, gratification

Resolution: My shirt is clean Emotion: I smell and look good. I’m proud, confident and happy. Life is good.

Marketers tied strong emotions like shame and embarrassment to something as mundane as cleaning clothes. They told a story that customers could relate to the emotions and characters involved, it resonated. It succeeded.

Presentations are the stories for the business.

The best presenters are the best storytellers. The CEO is usually the best storyteller in the company. Motivating people to act is integral to her and the company’s success. Sales people tend to be good storytellers, since their success is directly related to their ability to connect with their customers.  But it really doesn’t matter which department. Take Research for example. A Researcher can present dry statistics with charts and graphs, and bore everyone to tears. But a great research presentation will tell the story of what that data means on a human level, with relatable characters and real feelings. Connecting your product to an actual “human” experience becomes a critical component to engagement, understanding and memory. A well told story puts your brain to work. Which presentation would you prefer to sit through? If you’re not a robot, you’ll opt for the one with real people having relatable experiences.. It’s more interesting and memorable.

In the business to business world, most of us rely on PowerPoint as the medium to tell our stories. And for most of us, the thought of sitting through yet another PowerPoint presentation is enough to want to poke ourselves in the eye with a very sharp pencil. So let’s make the business world a better place, one presentation – one story – at a time. We’ll use FedEx as an example. The anecdote of FedEx is NOT the logistical genius of strategically placed shipping hubs combined with a fleet of trucks, cargo planes and ships and force of 250,000 delivery experts. Those are certainly elements that make the company successful. But their corporate story is about helping businesses succeed.

“When is absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”

Think of a hard working executive under pressure to meet a deadline. The executive has the problem of feeling tired, stressed and fearful of failure – losing a client and losing hisjob because he might not deliver. All strong emotions that we can relate to.  So, he dlegates the responsibility to the next in charge, who then does the same to their subordinate and so on; until the responsibility is ultimately delegated to the mail room, who has it under control. Using FedEx as the solution, he can work until 9p and still get the product delivered to the client by 9a the next morning. He gets more time to work and succeed and his client is pleased to have the product on time. The sale is closed. Everyone is happy. For this FedEx Presentation, you might not remember their locations or schedule, but you will remember that the executive was able to turn a harrowing situation into a success story. That’s something we can all relate to, and something most of us aspire to. The story is complete: problem, solution, resolution. Our brains love a well told story.

The next step is to make that story available to the rest of your colleagues at your company so that everyone can be that storyteller. Once you have a good draft of your presentation, take an objective step back and consider how that presentations and the slides within can be used across the enterprise, beyond your one meeting.

Make the story for the enterprise.

That last step, make the story for the enterprise, will have the biggest return on your investment. It is a critical for that story to be distributed and managed throughout your for enterprise. Having an enterprise strategy for presentations has been termed Presentation Management. The four hours (give or take) you (one person) spent preparing for one meeting, can now be used over and over by 100s of people for 100s of meetings. 4×100 versus 4×1 is a much better multiple. That’s time well spent.

Furthermore, having great stories, which are now encapsulated in great presentations, readily available will make everyone better storytellers, no matter how charismatic they may or may not be. And who is the best most charismatic storyteller in your company? The CEO. Presentations for the enterprise will make everyone present like the CEO.

For more information, check out our ebook The Ultimate Guide to Presentation Management to learn more about how storytelling can positively influence your presentations.