Principles of
Presentation Design
Tips on how to think like a designer
Crafting a Story
John Consultant
Fallon
Presentation Skills

Crafting a Story…

The goal is to create a
memorable presentation

“Sticky” ideas
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