How To Use Storytelling In Presentations

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂 Ever given a whole speech with all the stats, slides, and preparation and still felt like you were talking to a wall? 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. We all have, especially when you’re just starting, trying to sound confident but ending up with a flat, forgettable delivery. A few years ago, I spoke to a diverse group of women at a large non-profit. I went through my slides, confidently, thinking I was delivering a gold standard. But I noticed a few blank stares. Like, they weren’t quite getting it. Even though what I was saying was important, it wasn’t landing. 𝗦𝗼, 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻. I paused. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁, 𝗜 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴. ☑️ And boom. The room lit up. People started participating. Questions flowed. It was like I’d flipped a switch. ☑️ Turns out, people don’t remember your slides. ☑️ They remember your story. Want your next keynote to be memorable? Here’s my secret sauce: 1. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 Your audience decides in seconds if they’re in or out. Pick a moment that’s vulnerable, honest, and relatable. 2. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 4-𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 🔵 Setup: Set the scene 🔵 Struggle: Show the challenge or mistake 🔵 Resolution: Share the breakthrough 🔵 Lesson: Connect it back to your message 3. 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 🔵 Show how failure sparked innovation. 🔵 How personal growth built your leadership. 🔵 Or how resilience turned into revenue. 4. 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 ☑️ If they feel it, they’ll follow. ☑️ If they remember it, they’ll believe in you. 5. 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 Your story isn’t just entertainment. It’s persuasive. 🔵 What moment in your journey made you who you are today? Your story is more than a memory—it’s a tool investors, clients, and teams will remember. Don’t be forgettable. Share one sentence from your defining story below. Or tag a speaker who nails storytelling, because we all learn through examples. Make your next speech unforgettable. Or risk being lost in the noise. What’s your go-to story?

Some executives inspire action. Others get ignored. Why? Because facts fade. Stories stick. After a 1-minute pitch, Stanford research found: ⟶ 5% recalled a statistic ⟶ 63% remembered the stories Here’s how storytelling can reshape your career: Too often, leaders default to data dumps: ⟶ Dense board decks ⟶ Endless bullet points in team updates ⟶ Info overload in all-hands meetings The result? Information is shared—impact is lost. After a career in corporate communications, I know firsthand how storytelling makes the message stick. Here are four ways to bring your messages to life with narrative: 🟡 Board Meetings ⟶ Don’t just share quarterly results—frame them as a journey: What challenge did you overcome? What shifted? ⟶ When outlining strategy, position it as the next chapter in a larger story. People engage with progress they can visualize. 🟡 Team Communications ⟶ Go beyond status updates—share moments of resilience, creativity, or lessons learned. ⟶ Instead of reciting company values, illustrate them with real team examples that people remember. 🟡 Customer Presentations ⟶ Open with a real customer journey: their pain point, your partnership, and the change they experienced. ⟶ Before/after stories make transformation tangible—more than any stat ever could. 🟡 Change Management ⟶ Paint a picture of the future state so people see themselves in it—not just the steps to get there. ⟶ Share your own experience navigating change to build empathy and trust. ↓ ↓ Want to start? 1/ Look for the human impact inside your metrics 2/ Use a simple structure: beginning, conflict, resolution 3/ Practice with small stories—in meetings, Slack, or 1:1s 4/ Always end with a clear shift or takeaway Facts inform, but stories move people. Try adding one story to your next presentation using these ideas—then watch what changes. P.S. Have you used any of these approaches already? I’d love to hear what worked. ♻ Repost to help your network lead with more story. (Research: Jennifer Aaker, Stanford GSB)

I was chatting with a couple of CEOs this week who aspire to speak on more stages in the future. As we were discussing their delivery techniques, I noticed that they (like most beginning speakers) didn't have a clear framework for their talk segments (or sections) that would allow their message to flow perfectly and ultimately move their audience to action. Seeing this, I taught them a framework I've been using (and teaching others) for years, and it's an incredibly simple yet effective way to ensure your talk or presentation segments have maximum results. Here it is: Question ➡️ Story ➡️ Result ➡️ Challenge 1️⃣ Question: Ask one or more questions that put your audience in the right mental frame, one that causes them to reflect on their own behavior, actions, or beliefs. (Reflection is the big key here) 2️⃣ Story: Tell a real story (from your life or someone else's) that is powerfully related to the theme of your segment. (But don't forget to raise the stakes of the story, giving it a constant crescendo as you tell it, as this is the part of storytelling most inexperienced speakers fail to do well.) 3️⃣ Result: This is the big "payoff" or "landing" of the story. It should be punchy, powerful, and stand alone. When you share it, allow your audience a moment to let it truly sink in. 4️⃣ Challenge: Now that you've made your audience reflect and then taken them on a journey that ended in an impactful way, it's time for a challenge. Here's where you push them to change their behavior. This framework has not only enabled me to have an extraordinary 15-year career as a speaker, but it has also been the catalyst for many of my audience members taking action and changing their lives, which, to me, is the true mark of a great speaker. Question, Story, Result, Challenge. It works my friends. It changes lives. Now it's yours. 🙂