I know we usually focus on the heroes of movies and stories to learn lessons, that’s why I’ve written posts about lessons learned from a Rebel Alliance leader, another from Obi Wan and one from Yoda. But today I want to go over to the Dark Side, which is always more fun. In the new Star Wars movies, no matter how bad they are, we can see a key moment in the saga’s history, how the Emperor turns Anakin to the Dark Side.

The interesting part is that in the first movies Lucas made, we saw Darth Vader (Anakin barbecued) try the same thing on Luke. However, and after the classic “Luke, I am your father”, Luke did not turn. What did the Emperor do different, why did his approach work? What’s the secret to turn people to the other side (switch companies, providers, ideas)?

The Emperor used the power of stories. The first thing the Emperor does is connect with Anakin telling him a story he can relate to: “Anakin, did you ever hear the tragedy of a Dark Lord of the Sith who could use the force to keep the ones he cared about from dying.” This relates deeply with the young Anakin, who is desperate for saving his loved princess’ life.

On the other hand, if we take a look at Darth Vader’s speech to Luke, we see that the only thing Vader did was list a series of analytical reasons why Luke should turn to the Dark Side: “You can destroy the emperor”, “together we can rule the galaxy”, “it is your destiny” and the all-time favorite “I am your father.” But there was no connection to what Luke was feeling at the time; there was no emotion, nothing in that speech but facts. It seems that Vader did not learn the power of storytelling from his master.

When we give a presentation, we always want to convince the audience of something, to hire our services, buy our product, adopt our idea… Whatever it may be, it always means leaving something behind; the same way Anakin had to leave his Jedi friends behind. To convince your audience to cross over to your side, you have to find that connection. Stand in their shoes and you will know how they feel and what they need. That way, instead of listing characteristics, you can tell them a story, something that will connect you to them and will make you look like a real person with emotions and who understands them. That’s what the Emperor did and turned Anakin to his side; however, Darth Vader recited the typical list (bullet pointed in any presentation) and he wasn’t able to turn Luke to his side.

Exemption of responsibility: Project Presentation does not take responsibility for the people who are turned to the dark side and end up taking over the world by using this method.

Until next time,

Byron Stanford for Project Presentation.