Telling a cohesive story is one of the hardest parts of public speaking. Many fledgling speakers find it challenging to string concepts together in an order that makes sense to other people. They also find themselves struggling to explain things in a way that feels approachable. In this talk, I share methods to plan and present ideas so that your audience can better understand them. Readers will finish the talk knowing how to outline and design presentations for speaking engagements.
This presentation is about how to give an effective presentation. People are usually bored and almost 99% presenters are boring. To become a great leader from a good leader you need to learn the art of presenting.
Why was Steve a genius while Bill Gates wasn't ? Find out answer in my ppt.
Advice from the C-Suite: 10 Tips for Selling to ExecutivesSales Hacker
What You'll Learn:
- What you should run through before every sales presentation you give.
- Whether or not your presentation passes the “airport test.”
- How to design a compelling presentation to close more deals.
Video marketing is taking over the content world. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we get to help you build a winning video marketing plan.
We’ve collected questions from hundreds of marketers and noticed many common questions, challenges and concerns when it comes to video marketing. Join Ed Heil for a 45-minute video marketing crash course that will answer many of the common video questions we hear from marketers like you.
Watch the On-Demand Webinar Here: http://info.storytellermn.com/questions-about-video
Presented at the National Speakers Association Influence 15 convention in Washington, DC, Kristin Arnold and Sarah Michel share practical tips and techniques on how to make your keynote more engaging and interactive.
This presentation is about how to give an effective presentation. People are usually bored and almost 99% presenters are boring. To become a great leader from a good leader you need to learn the art of presenting.
Why was Steve a genius while Bill Gates wasn't ? Find out answer in my ppt.
Advice from the C-Suite: 10 Tips for Selling to ExecutivesSales Hacker
What You'll Learn:
- What you should run through before every sales presentation you give.
- Whether or not your presentation passes the “airport test.”
- How to design a compelling presentation to close more deals.
Video marketing is taking over the content world. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we get to help you build a winning video marketing plan.
We’ve collected questions from hundreds of marketers and noticed many common questions, challenges and concerns when it comes to video marketing. Join Ed Heil for a 45-minute video marketing crash course that will answer many of the common video questions we hear from marketers like you.
Watch the On-Demand Webinar Here: http://info.storytellermn.com/questions-about-video
Presented at the National Speakers Association Influence 15 convention in Washington, DC, Kristin Arnold and Sarah Michel share practical tips and techniques on how to make your keynote more engaging and interactive.
Tools help us create beautiful, usable experiences for devices. However, they can also get in the way of creativity: designers and developers sometimes spend more time thinking about process, software, and tools than making. In this talk, I discussed reasons we get distracted by process and tools, why stepping away from process and tools can be helpful, as well as methods to focus more on getting things done.
Presented at FITC Toronto 2016
See details at www.fitc.ca
Overview
Tools help us create beautiful, usable experiences for devices. However, they can also get in the way of creativity; designers and developers sometimes spend more time thinking about process, software, and tools than making. In this talk, Catt will discuss reasons we get distracted by process and tools, why stepping away from process and tools can be helpful, as well as methods to focus more on getting things done.
Objective
To help people worry less and create more.
Target Audience
Designers and developers
Five Things Audience Members Will Learn
Reasons people get distracted by tools and processes.
Why pausing conversations about tools and processes can be helpful.
How to stop being distracted by the “how”.
Methods to focus more on getting things done.
When it’s okay to discuss processes and tools.
Designing Socially Impactful Digital ExperiencesCatt Small
Countless people in technology want to use their skills to help others. However, creating a digital product that improves society is harder than it sounds. The successful use of technology in new contexts requires more research, testing, and time than most would like to admit. Countless social good hackathons have been organized, yet many products created during these events fail to become anything more than a mention in a recap article.
In this talk, I described my process of creating SenseU, a mobile sex education game that utilizes a popular form of communication: instant messaging. Using my project as a case study, I highlighted ways that the current state of designing for social good can be improved. Attendees learned ways that technology can successfully help others as well as tips for launching an interactive experience created for social good.
AIGA Design Conference 2016 - Bootstrapping CommunitiesCatt Small
The lack of diversity in the tech and games industries is a known issue. One solution is to build support networks for marginalized folks in these industries. Support networks are also important within the realm of products, as social activity adds value to services. Designing and creating supportive communities requires hard work, time, and money. In this talk, I discussed lessons learned while helping to build several successful—and a few failed—communities of varying sizes online and offline.
Tools help us create beautiful, usable experiences for devices. However, they can also get in the way of creativity: designers and developers sometimes spend more time thinking about process, software, and tools than making. In this talk, Catt will discuss reasons we get distracted by process and tools, why stepping away from process and tools can be helpful, as well as methods to focus more on getting things done.
Product design and development often involves many people with different skillsets. Unfortunately, communication problems can arise. Designers may hear responses that sound like "you're the designer", "that'll take too much time", or "that's not my job" when they attempt to collaborate. Catt Small, a Product Designer and Developer, will discuss methods used to cross silos in order to speed up the design and development process while also building camaraderie, agency, and transparency. She will also discuss ways to encourage teams that may be reluctant to change and ways to get upper management on board with a more collaborative design process.
A presentation for General Assembly's UXDI course in the spring of 2014. I discuss UX, game-making, and how I got involved with both fields. I then share advice for those who are interested in UX and/or making games.
[Slides and the accompanying audio posted at http://www.portigal.com/blog/designing-the-problem-my-keynote-from-isa14]
Too often we assume that doing research with users means checking in with them to get feedback on the solution we've already outlined. But the biggest value from research is in uncovering the crucial details of the problem that people have; the problem that we should be solving.
As the design practices mature within companies, they need to play an active role in driving the creation of new and innovative solutions to the real unmet needs that people have. In part, driving towards this maturity means looking at one's own culture and realizing the value of being open-minded and curious, not simply confident. This is a challenge to each of us personally and as leaders within our teams and communities.
I will speak about the importance of this evolution and offer some tips to help guide the changes.
We're all Designers: Encouraging Collaboration in Design Without Forming a Co...Catt Small
Product design and development often involves many people of different roles who enter and leave at different parts of a project. However, this can cause communication problems and responses that sound like "you're the designer", "that'll take too much time", or "that's not my job" when people attempt to collaborate.
In this talk, Catt discussed methods used to cross silos in order to speed up the design and development process while also building camaraderie, agency, and transparency. She also discussed ways to encourage teams that may be reluctant to change and ways to get upper management on board with a more collaborative design process.
Nonprofit marketers and communicators may think they know TikTok – but this session will show them the power this platform has to advance their missions. We will provide an overview of how nonprofits can leverage TikTok, and share success stories from nonprofits that will inspire your next campaign and change the way you think about advancing your cause in the digital era.
Learning the New Tech Lingua Franca: Social MediaTracy Lee
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nft2Eu1-shE
Whether you are a developer or business person in the tech community, you must understand the lingua franca of the tech community: social media.
Business no longer gets done behind closed doors, but online through various mediums such as Twitter and Github.
This talk walks you through the reasons to have a presence as a developer, recruiter, CEO, or marketer and why communicating through social mediums is required for you to succeed.
We'll talk about the do's and don'ts of interaction and walk through a practical approach to building your social presence.
Working remotely - Cultural and Practical Advice and Tips 202003Mindy Bohannon
This deck is open source and freely available for anyone to use and present. This has been updated since I gave it last in 2017 in response to many of us working remotely due to COVID-19.
Transcript of February 14, 2011 Global Product Management Talk on Using Market Insights Effectively with Scott Sehlhorst of Tyner Blain http://www.prodmgmttalk.com
The early stages of the product development lifecycle heavily influence the success and direction of any product. Unfortunately, these stages tend to be fuzzy, political, and silo-ed. The goal of the INDUSTRY Working Sessions is to apply the Design Studio methodology to arrive at solid design solutions through a collaborative, pragmatic process of illumination, sketching, presentation, critique, and iteration.
More than bleeps and bloops: UX lessons from game designCatt Small
When UX designers think of borrowing from game design, achievement systems and points are often the first approaches that come to mind. But there's so much more we can learn from games. In this talk, I explore other ways to integrate game design concepts into user experiences. Attendees left with methods to make experiences more engaging – and even game-like – without coming off as gimmicky.
Create Upstate - Ship it sooner: how to get more done in less timeCatt Small
Tools help us create beautiful, usable experiences for devices. However, they can also get in the way of creativity. Designers and developers sometimes spend more time thinking about process, software and tools than making. In this talk, Catt will discuss the reasons we get distracted by process and tools, why stepping away from process and tools can be helpful, as well as methods to focus more on getting things done.
More Related Content
Similar to Write/Speak/Code 2018 – The Full Story: Presenting Complete Ideas
Tools help us create beautiful, usable experiences for devices. However, they can also get in the way of creativity: designers and developers sometimes spend more time thinking about process, software, and tools than making. In this talk, I discussed reasons we get distracted by process and tools, why stepping away from process and tools can be helpful, as well as methods to focus more on getting things done.
Presented at FITC Toronto 2016
See details at www.fitc.ca
Overview
Tools help us create beautiful, usable experiences for devices. However, they can also get in the way of creativity; designers and developers sometimes spend more time thinking about process, software, and tools than making. In this talk, Catt will discuss reasons we get distracted by process and tools, why stepping away from process and tools can be helpful, as well as methods to focus more on getting things done.
Objective
To help people worry less and create more.
Target Audience
Designers and developers
Five Things Audience Members Will Learn
Reasons people get distracted by tools and processes.
Why pausing conversations about tools and processes can be helpful.
How to stop being distracted by the “how”.
Methods to focus more on getting things done.
When it’s okay to discuss processes and tools.
Designing Socially Impactful Digital ExperiencesCatt Small
Countless people in technology want to use their skills to help others. However, creating a digital product that improves society is harder than it sounds. The successful use of technology in new contexts requires more research, testing, and time than most would like to admit. Countless social good hackathons have been organized, yet many products created during these events fail to become anything more than a mention in a recap article.
In this talk, I described my process of creating SenseU, a mobile sex education game that utilizes a popular form of communication: instant messaging. Using my project as a case study, I highlighted ways that the current state of designing for social good can be improved. Attendees learned ways that technology can successfully help others as well as tips for launching an interactive experience created for social good.
AIGA Design Conference 2016 - Bootstrapping CommunitiesCatt Small
The lack of diversity in the tech and games industries is a known issue. One solution is to build support networks for marginalized folks in these industries. Support networks are also important within the realm of products, as social activity adds value to services. Designing and creating supportive communities requires hard work, time, and money. In this talk, I discussed lessons learned while helping to build several successful—and a few failed—communities of varying sizes online and offline.
Tools help us create beautiful, usable experiences for devices. However, they can also get in the way of creativity: designers and developers sometimes spend more time thinking about process, software, and tools than making. In this talk, Catt will discuss reasons we get distracted by process and tools, why stepping away from process and tools can be helpful, as well as methods to focus more on getting things done.
Product design and development often involves many people with different skillsets. Unfortunately, communication problems can arise. Designers may hear responses that sound like "you're the designer", "that'll take too much time", or "that's not my job" when they attempt to collaborate. Catt Small, a Product Designer and Developer, will discuss methods used to cross silos in order to speed up the design and development process while also building camaraderie, agency, and transparency. She will also discuss ways to encourage teams that may be reluctant to change and ways to get upper management on board with a more collaborative design process.
A presentation for General Assembly's UXDI course in the spring of 2014. I discuss UX, game-making, and how I got involved with both fields. I then share advice for those who are interested in UX and/or making games.
[Slides and the accompanying audio posted at http://www.portigal.com/blog/designing-the-problem-my-keynote-from-isa14]
Too often we assume that doing research with users means checking in with them to get feedback on the solution we've already outlined. But the biggest value from research is in uncovering the crucial details of the problem that people have; the problem that we should be solving.
As the design practices mature within companies, they need to play an active role in driving the creation of new and innovative solutions to the real unmet needs that people have. In part, driving towards this maturity means looking at one's own culture and realizing the value of being open-minded and curious, not simply confident. This is a challenge to each of us personally and as leaders within our teams and communities.
I will speak about the importance of this evolution and offer some tips to help guide the changes.
We're all Designers: Encouraging Collaboration in Design Without Forming a Co...Catt Small
Product design and development often involves many people of different roles who enter and leave at different parts of a project. However, this can cause communication problems and responses that sound like "you're the designer", "that'll take too much time", or "that's not my job" when people attempt to collaborate.
In this talk, Catt discussed methods used to cross silos in order to speed up the design and development process while also building camaraderie, agency, and transparency. She also discussed ways to encourage teams that may be reluctant to change and ways to get upper management on board with a more collaborative design process.
Nonprofit marketers and communicators may think they know TikTok – but this session will show them the power this platform has to advance their missions. We will provide an overview of how nonprofits can leverage TikTok, and share success stories from nonprofits that will inspire your next campaign and change the way you think about advancing your cause in the digital era.
Learning the New Tech Lingua Franca: Social MediaTracy Lee
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nft2Eu1-shE
Whether you are a developer or business person in the tech community, you must understand the lingua franca of the tech community: social media.
Business no longer gets done behind closed doors, but online through various mediums such as Twitter and Github.
This talk walks you through the reasons to have a presence as a developer, recruiter, CEO, or marketer and why communicating through social mediums is required for you to succeed.
We'll talk about the do's and don'ts of interaction and walk through a practical approach to building your social presence.
Working remotely - Cultural and Practical Advice and Tips 202003Mindy Bohannon
This deck is open source and freely available for anyone to use and present. This has been updated since I gave it last in 2017 in response to many of us working remotely due to COVID-19.
Transcript of February 14, 2011 Global Product Management Talk on Using Market Insights Effectively with Scott Sehlhorst of Tyner Blain http://www.prodmgmttalk.com
The early stages of the product development lifecycle heavily influence the success and direction of any product. Unfortunately, these stages tend to be fuzzy, political, and silo-ed. The goal of the INDUSTRY Working Sessions is to apply the Design Studio methodology to arrive at solid design solutions through a collaborative, pragmatic process of illumination, sketching, presentation, critique, and iteration.
More than bleeps and bloops: UX lessons from game designCatt Small
When UX designers think of borrowing from game design, achievement systems and points are often the first approaches that come to mind. But there's so much more we can learn from games. In this talk, I explore other ways to integrate game design concepts into user experiences. Attendees left with methods to make experiences more engaging – and even game-like – without coming off as gimmicky.
Create Upstate - Ship it sooner: how to get more done in less timeCatt Small
Tools help us create beautiful, usable experiences for devices. However, they can also get in the way of creativity. Designers and developers sometimes spend more time thinking about process, software and tools than making. In this talk, Catt will discuss the reasons we get distracted by process and tools, why stepping away from process and tools can be helpful, as well as methods to focus more on getting things done.
Despite the fact that programmers create experiences, the creative aspect of programming gets removed from the conversation. In this talk, I discussed my road to becoming a programmer and how thinking of code as a paintbrush has helped to shape my relationship with programming.
FOWD NYC 2015 – Beyond gamification: more important lessons we can learn from...Catt Small
Beyond gamification, what are other lessons we can learn from game design? UX and game design are quite similar in some aspects, yet we still focus on basic gamified elements such as achievements and points to create engaging content. I think there are other things we can learn from games, and in the future UX and game design will be further intertwined.
Making Native Browser Games in The Modern AgeCatt Small
When Flash fell out of popularity due to lack of mobile support, it left small game makers with a big question – use outdated technology and miss out on the shift to mobile, or make mobile-only games and forget the browser? Gladly, thanks to JavaScript game development frameworks like Phaser, we no longer have to choose. In this talk, I discussed the pros and cons of making games using JavaScript, the basic concepts behind Phaser (my tool of choice), as well as how to go beyond the browser and package JavaScript games for other platforms.
ConveyUX 2014 – Beyond Gamification: Lessons from Game Design for Engaging UsersCatt Small
See the video here: http://conveyux.com/past_session/beyond-gamification-lessons-from-game-design-for-engaging-users-catt-small/
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Fun and Usable: Making Better, More Intuitive GamesCatt Small
Presented at the CUNY Games Festival in January 2014.
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27. @cattsmall@cattsmall
Marilee “Brain Lady” Sprenger
The hippocampus gets the opportunity to draw on
previously stored patterns and compare the new
to the old. Some of those analogy components
might bring up personal memories that will
provide another learning link.
33. @cattsmall@cattsmall
Marilee “Brain Lady” Sprenger
Stories have emotional components that attract
the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain.
They also have beginnings, middles, and ends that
make sense to the hippocampus, the structure that
helps store these episodes.
39. @cattsmall@cattsmall
Drill down
● Intro - 1 min
● Technology as a silver bullet - 5 min
○ Technology has been improving for centuries
○ It has helped with countless issues
○ However, this doesnt always end so well
○ Why do we think about tech this way, even when its
repeatedly proven to not be a solution for everything?
● How tech fails people with good intentions - 10 min
○ Many people naturally want to help others
○ We see problems happening to ourselves that we want
to solve
○ We see problems happening to others too
○ We were told we can change the world
○ We use the skills we have
○ Inflated egos
● Creating a project for good that won't fix all the problems - 15
min
● Principles to follow - 10 min
● Conclusion - 4 min
40. @cattsmall@cattsmall
Identify opportunities
● Intro - 1 min
● Technology as a silver bullet - 5 min
○ Technology has been improving for centuries
○ It has helped with countless issues
○ However, this doesnt always end so well
○ Why do we think about tech this way, even when its
repeatedly proven to not be a solution for everything?
● How tech fails people with good intentions - 10 min
○ Many people naturally want to help others
○ We see problems happening to ourselves that we want
to solve
○ We see problems happening to others too
○ We were told we can change the world
○ We use the skills we have
○ Inflated egos
● Creating a project for good that won't fix all the problems -
15 min
● Principles to follow - 10 min
● Conclusion - 4 min
Story:
Examples of past failures
Story:
My project and what I
learned
55. @cattsmall@cattsmall
◇Stories can be used to make your
talk more engaging.
◇Listeners retain information more
when stories are included.
◇ People relate to stories.
In summary:
56. @cattsmall@cattsmall
◇Always outline your content first.
◇Consider your audience at all times.
◇Make sure your sub-stories
relatable, simple, and topical.
Advice for storytelling
Thanks
I attended the first event in 2013, so happy to be here!
Storytelling as a concept
And how to use storytelling in your presentations to make better and more engaging talks
Much of this is about public speaking but is also applicable to written work
But first, a bit about me so you have some context about where I’m coming from
I am many things
Senior Product Designer at Etsy
A website that lets people buy unique goods from around the world
I work on the marketing services team
We help sellers by building tools that help them market themselves to buyers
Cofounder at Brooklyn Gamery
Make endearing and weird video games
Organize diversity-focused events like the Game Devs of Color Expo
An event that highlights game developers of color
And teaches people of color to create their own games
I also make my own stuff when I’m not working
Games
Apps
Websites
Informal experiences
Comics
And I love to share my ideas through public speaking and writing!
I’ve spoken at lots of events like TEDx
Beyond Tellerrand
A cutting-edge technology conference in Germany
AIGA Design Conference
For designers of all kinds
And most recently Fusionconf
A one-day event in North Carolina for designers and front-end engineers!
I also have a blog where I’ve written about lots of topics over the past 8 years
This is a screenshot from my 10-part public speaking series
It details how I went from a very nervous, awkward, quiet person
To a very nervous, awkward, loud person with public speaking skills
My topics of discussion don’t always have much in common
They can be about design, technology, life
Or even public speaking
My talks all have one thing in common though...
Storytelling.
Just to give a brief definition so we’re all on the same page about what storytelling is...
I will be referring to storytelling as the social and cultural activity of sharing stories (according to Wikipedia)
Stories are made up of three components
Plot
Characters
Point of View
The plot refers to the sequence of events in the story
It can be long or short, involving few or many events
Characters are beings that exist within the story
By beings, I mean any objects that have agency or personality
They affect or are affected by the plot
For example, this can be people but also animals and other objects that have been given life
The point of view is the perspective of the narrator
In terms of why storytelling is important...
It is more engaging for your listeners
We have been primed from childhood to listen to stories
Fairy tales communicated societal morals and learnings to us
Think about anansi the spider and red Riding Hood
What did that communicate to you?
People LOVE the process of a plot moving from start to finish
We want to know what happens next
And how it ends
Even when we know how it ends, we want to know how events unfolded
Secondly, people relate more when they hear stories
Listeners put themselves in the shoes of the characters in the stories
They feel a sense of compassion for the narrator and characters in the story
Stories make you feel like an interesting and real human being
I used to be bad at telling stories within my social circles
The most relatable and social people in those circles were the ones who told stories more
It was because they were sharing life experiences
They were vulnerable, funny, and engaging
Now of course, we all are real human beings
This just communicates that to people because they can empathize more with you
Thirdly, people understand more when you use stories
They literally process information better
I’m not going to read this whole thing, but basically...
Our brains have what's called a hippocampus
It compares existing experiences with new stories we hear
Things that are related to personal experiences can be processed easily
Stories are more likely to be relatable to existing experiences and/or fears people have
There are two ways to do this...
You can use analogies to explain ideas that might be hard to understand otherwise
For example, explaining functions
Many people understand how animals learn
They can then relate that process to programming functions
And then they have a positive way to remember an otherwise scary concept
Larger, more personal stories can be used to explain how something worked or didn’t work
For example, your experience with a process can provide lessons for other people
In one talk, I describe how I got incredibly distracted by tools and perfection rather than understanding my projects context
That was a compelling argument for my stance on the talk, which was to concentrate less on being perfect and more on being flexible
By talking about a personal failure or frustration, you can transfer your negative experience into their success
Listeners appreciate the opportunity to learn from mistakes
From up there on stage, you seem really successful
It’s important to use that platform to share the learnings that got you there
And finally, because of the engagement, relatability, and understanding...
People remember more of your talk
Again, I’m not going to read this whole thing
But it’s basically easier to process and therefore store something that is packaged in a story format
Our brains have something called an amygdala and it likes things with beginnings, middles and ends
That’s probably why many people TV hate shows that never end
Looking at you, The Simpsons...
So now that you know what storytelling is within the realm of this talk
And why it’s awesome
Here’s how to use storytelling to put that extra awesome sparkle into your future talks
And your written work
I’ll be going through my entire process from start to finished product
But first... I want to point out something
Like books, presentations also have two layers of stories
The overarching story
The sub-stories that hone in on the lessons shared in each section of the talk
I’m going to talk about how to create an overarching story
Then identify opportunities for sub-stories
Now let’s talk about how to make this happen in your talk
All of this is also applicable to written work
Once you’ve identified a talk idea, you need to flesh it out
I do this by writing an abstract
a summary of the contents of a book, article, or formal speech
I answer questions like...
What’s the talk about?
What am I trying to solve?
What will people watching the talk learn?
This last one is most important
This helps hone in the talk idea more and identify the talk’s audience
Next, I take the core talk idea and start mind mapping
Mind mapping is the process of writing down related ideas that come into your head
I usually do this by writing on paper
Or in a word processing program like Microsoft Word or Google Docs
So for example, this idea...
Once all the ideas are out of my head...
I take the brain dump and organize it into a structure that makes sense
This becomes a high-level outline that provides the direction for the finished talk
For example, once I have all the ideas out of my head for this talk, I might rearrange them so that they make sense
Then I transfer the high-level outline into a writing program
(if I wasn’t already in one)
I add time budgets to each section
For example, the intro gets 5 minutes and the other sections get 10
This helps me figure out how much to talk about each part of my presentation
How many slides I will probably make
And helps me remember how much time I have to talk in total
For writing, I might budget a number of words or paragraphs
I then brain dump more into each section until I have found a place for everything I’d like to cover in the talk
For example, adding (MENTION ONSCREEN THINGS)
I locate spaces in which the talk would benefit from sharing an experience of mine
Or others, it doesn’t have to be something that happened to you directly
For example, a time when something didn’t work out – or did
Looking at this idea, I might talk about how Facebook and Twitter negatively impacted the election
And then I might talk about what I did to make my project successful
Then I add the stories into my outline
After this, I usually move to creating the actual presentation
This is the process I used to make this talk (and many others) as well as write blog posts
Now that you know how I work, here are some lessons I’ve learned about storytelling and telling stories within talks
Some of these apply to the process of telling a cohesive story with your talk
Some just apply to the technique of adding stories to your talk
Stories need to be simple
They need to be easy to follow and concise
People will lose interest quickly
They can not process a lot of information at once
Avoid presenting too many concepts within a talk or a sub-story
Keep it simple
Secondly, stories within your talk must be low in quantity
Sub-stories are one of many techniques
Don’t overuse them or they will lose their impact
If you tell too many stories, people may feel like you're rambling to fill space
Your goal is to help people learn
Avoid making people recognize the technique by using it scarcely and intentionally
If they do recognize it, they will be distracted and it will no longer be beneficial to you
Thirdly, if your talk is not relevant to the time period it is being presented in...
Ensure that you figure out ways to make it more relevant
For example, talking about UX Design now is different than talking about it in 2012
How have things changed, and how can you adapt your presentation to the time?
In terms of sub-stories, they should be related to the concept
Present your idea and then attach a story to it
This is how people remember your idea and therefore the concept
One way to keep it relevant to people in the audience...
Ask yourself: would someone who doesn’t know me get why this is related?
Stories should also be down to earth
Again, you want people to remember that you are a real human being
Climb down from your fancy castle
Get comfortable with laughing at yourself
Share times when you’ve succeded and failed
Lessons about success and failure are equally useful
One person at a talk described a time in which he thought he had a heart attack
I still remember his lesson to live your life with full intention because it was so impactful
Finally, they should be easy to remember
The whole point of storytelling is to convey ideas more efficiently
If your listeners don’t remember the idea you shared, you must improve your technique
To wrap up...
Storytelling is a useful way to make your talk more engaging
Listeners remember stories more because they have a beginning, middle, and end
They relate to them because stories feel more down-to-earth and familiar
I always suggest outlining your talk before jumping into presentation design or trying to write about a topic
Think about your audience – they are the end users of your talk
Make sure that sub-stories in your talk are relatable, simple, and on-topic
Thank you so much!
If you have questions, send me a tweet or email