Why is it that when you give a presentation people can’t seem to remember it 5 minutes after it actually happened? But they sure remember that story you told about how you woke up naked in the middle of a forest! There’s something about those stories we tell that makes people remember them for years, whereas that presentation which took you days to prepare is forgotten after two beers.

We are social beings, and as such, we are hot wired to remember stories and anecdotes, not data and figures. Your anecdote is remembered because it has all the elements of a good story: it’s told in a logical sequence; it has an unexpected element of surprise; and it has a memorable ending, be it because it is funny or also unexpected.

Why not tell our presentations like we tell stories? The most interesting presentations I’ve seen told a story to the audience. People relate to this in a different way, they are interested in what you say throughout the presentation and remember it after it is over. Prepare your next presentation as if it were a story and you’ll succeed for sure.

In our next posts we are reviewing the 7 different types of stories of all times, and how to make presentations with them: The Quest, Overcoming the Monster, Tragedy, Rebirth, Rags to Riches, Comedy and Voyage and Return. Don’t miss them!

Until next time,

Byron Stanford for Project Presentation.