@agilesensei
Claudio Perrone

How relevant are
presentations to
your career?

In late 2007, I was leading a
happy life

One day, my phone rang…

I was offered to speak at a
conference
BIG

On the one hand,
it was a fantastic
opportunity

On the other hand,
public speaking
scared me to death

Year: 1997
Location: C.E.R.N.

I trained 15 scientists for a week

They skinned me alive

I’ll never forget
that experience…

There was no way I was going face another
possible humiliation

Besides, I could brain-damage
people with PowerPoint

What would you do?

1
Move
Beyond
Bullet
Points

In Feb 2008, I joined the revolution

“
Simplicity
is
the
ul<mate
sophis<ca<on
-­‐-­‐-­‐
Leonardo
Da
Vinci

Despite my efforts, my first
dry-run was a disaster

I had strong images, but lack of
structure confused the audience

At first, I created a “logical” outline
Main Point: Agility + Communication + Creativity lead to success
1. Supporting detail: Agility
2. Supporting detail: Communication
3. Supporting detail: Creativity
Summary: Agility + Communication + Creativity lead to success

Then, I discovered BBP!

Let’s “script” the first 5 slides

Let’s see how they “play”
Action!

The downturn threatens
the future
of many individuals and organizations

You are an entrepreneur,
meeting an investor
for the first time

Investors can be so
H A R D
t o
p e r s u a d e

You’d love them to invest in
your great idea

I suggest...
Move beyond bullet points
Unleash the Power of Story
Tame your story to persuade

…And Cut. Well done!
(you’ll add the cool pictures another time)

But wait…
What if Spielberg
showed up?

Dude,
you are telegraphing.
Your “story” has no
drama.

How about this?
telegraphing
vs.
dramatic irony
vs.
dramatic tension

2
Unleash
the
Power
of
Story

Enter a new world

Why Story?
People make choices based on
emotions
(and use data to justify them)

What’s
a
good
story
idea?
Someone [character]
wants something badly [desire]
and goes after it
against great odds [obstacles]

Story revolves around conflict
Protagonist
vs.
Antagonist
Nature
Society
Self

Story has good structure
O u t e r
j o u r n e y

Often, there is a character inner journey
WŸA=C
W: Weakness (psychological and moral)
A: Action (and struggle to accomplish it)
C: Changed Person

Let’s see the “highlights” of a past
presentation
Action!

Most
IT
projects
fail
Will
yours?

Once
upon
a
1me
I
was
a
successful
so6ware
developer…

My
technical
skills
made
me
feel
invincible

Un<l
one
day…

…I
entered
a
world
of
decep<on

It
was
Hell
from
day
1

What
would
you
do?

I
choked

…but
then,
I
decided
to
fight
back

This
is
what
I
tried:
2
Effec<ve
Communica<on
1
Agility
3
Deliberate
Crea<vity

1
Agility

…but
the
project
was
s<ll
at
risk

2
Effec<ve
Communica<on

3
Deliberate
Crea<vity

So,
what
happened
to
the
project?

Amazingly,
it
succeeded

Lessons
learned...
“
“
We
moved
from
the
Flintstones
era
to
the
future.
-­‐-­‐-­‐
an
end
user
I
was
part
of
something.
I
belonged.
-­‐-­‐-­‐
a
developer

…And Cut!

Agile
Tales
Walk-­‐through
(1/3)
Setup
Seng
(+Hook)
Setup
(ordinary
world)
Character
flaw
(“naivety”)
Inci<ng
incident

Agile
Tales
Walk-­‐through
(2/3)
Development
Enter
special
world
Complica<on
Dilemma
Turning
point
Ac<on
/
Resolu<on
New
complica<on
(will
he
succeed?)
Refusal
of
the
call
Ac<on
/
Resolu<on

Agile
Tales
Walk-­‐through
(3/3)
Resolu<on
Drama<c
ques<on
(restated)
Climax
Adermath
Theme

How do you craft
your own story?

3
Tame
Your
Story

I used to rewrite a story ~30 times

Not anymore

I use a 7-steps process

Step 1: Research (Create a Data Dump)

Step 2: Prepare
Subject
POV
Listeners
Ac<on
Benefit

Step 3: Fill and cluster content

Step 4: Identify Story Ideas

Reverse Benefits
(what,
how)
Features
Steel
Nib
Body
Cap
Blue
ink
...
(why,
WIIFY)
Benefits
Does
not
leak
Provides
physical
pleasure
Thoughts
flow
on
paper
Can
write
beau<ful
poetry
…
(lead-­‐to
why)
Reversed
Benefits
Leaks
Inflicts
physical
torture
Thoughts
don’t
flow
on
paper
Writes
terrible
poetry
…
E.g.:
Candidate
Scenario
1
A
poet
struggles
to
leave
her
mark
on
this
earth.
She
writes
terrible
poetry,
her
thoughts
don’t
flow
on
paper,
all
the
pens
she
tries
are
physical
torture
for
her
hand.
Un<l
one
day…

Step 5: Create a dramatic outline
Complication: Claudio fears public speaking
Development:
1. Claudio moves beyond bullet points
2. Claudio unleashes stories
3. Claudio tames stories
Resolution: Claudio conquers fear

Step 5. Dramatic outline II (saga)
Major Complication: Claudio fears public speaking
Semi-Major Complication: Claudio kills with PowerPoint
Development 1,2,3
Interlinked Complication: Spielberg challenges Claudio
Semi-Major Resolution: Claudio moves Beyond Bullet Points
Semi-Major Complication: Spielberg challenges Claudio
Development 1,2,3
Interlinked Complication: Stories consume Claudio
Semi-Major Resolution: Claudio embraces stories
Semi-Major Complication: Stories consume Claudio
Development 1,2,3
Semi-Major Resolution: Claudio tames stories
Interlinked Complication: Claudio fears public speaking
Semi-Major Complication: Claudio fears public speaking (restated)
Development 1. Claudio pursues emotion
Development 2. Claudio welcomes obstacles (carpe diem)
Development 3. Claudio finds own voice
Major Resolution: Claudio conquers fear

Final Thoughts

“
Be yourself.
Everyone else is
already taken.
--- Oscar Wilde

Thank
you!
Claudio
Perrone
claudio@agilesensei.com
www.agilesensei.com
www.a3thinker.com
www.twiher.com/agilesensei