1. Presentation Inspiration
KineticFuture: Leadership Communications Coaching
Telling The Story
There is a wonderful story in Chip & Dan Heath’s book “Made to Stick”. James Grant, head of
UNICEF for years always travelled with a packet filled with one teaspoon of salt and eight
teaspoons of sugar- the ingredients for Oral Rehydration Therapy - mixed with a litre of water.
When he met with prime ministers in developing countries he would take out his special packet
and say “Do you know that this costs less than a cup of tea and it can save thousands of
children’s lives in your country?”
Do you think this was more or less effective than just a fact based message? For example
“Each year more than a million children around the world die from dehydration caused by
diarrhea. This problem can be solved at low cost simply by giving kids the right kind of fluids”.
You bet it’s more effective. He’s made the whole concept come to life by “Making It Real”.
You can make the ideas in your presentation infinitely more powerful by “Making it Real”. The
key to success for the UNICEF story is also that it is so simple and so unexpected. And it is
something he can physically show and people can touch connecting particularly well with visual
and kinesthetic people.
Ask yourself “What is my version of the salt and sugar package?”
Think about where you could use this technique.
What about using it as a “wow” opening giving you a powerful start?
Could you create something physical to demonstrate the heart of your strategy?
Could you use it to illustrate a key tactical idea?
Or is it your leave behind for the presentation – something to give the audience?
Telling stories to illustrate your message is potent. But how you tell your story is critical if you
want you and your ideas to be memorable. It’s my main obsession in our new “Presentations That
Stick” training course at the moment. So beware! There will be more on how to tell stories in the
weeks to come.