How I learned to do better presentationsSXSW 2014Pimp Your Pitch: Learn Visual Storytelling Workshop

Salomon Dayan www.linkedin.com/in/salomondayan

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The reason to be there …

One of the first learnings I wrote on my first SXSW 2014 post (Sound bites of SXSW Interactive 2014 - http://bit.ly/1k9LfaQ) was:

“Marketers come eager to [SXSW to] learn and identify partners that they think are most likely to impact their

business.” 

There is an underlying challenge to this learning; these partners need to show the marketer that they have the best idea to solve the marketer’s problem (whatever it is).

 

That reminded me of a very similar challenge that Alex Lopez Negrete (@LopezNegrete) put to all of us at LNC in a Monday morning meeting:

How can we better sell our ideas to clients?  

Alex actually pointed out that no matter how good the idea is, if we don’t sell it correctly it won’t be adopted and then … another project to the drawer.

http://www.houstoniamag.com/data/images/2013/6/image/1952/0713-negrete-1.jpg

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I attended an excellent workshop

SXSW 2014 gave me the opportunity to attend with my co-worker Miguel (@sansegocreative) a 2.5-hour workshop session with Nancy Duarte.

 

Nancy Duarte is the author of 3 bestselling books on persuasive presentations. Her most notable work may be when she helped co-writing the documentary: “An Inconvenient Truth”

 

The key learnings included how to:

Refine Big Idea: Improve your core message with a unique point of view.

Make your audience: Move From – Move To; define the audience transformation.

Make better Calls to Action: Clearly state what you want the audience to do.

 

So I decided to make a presentation of the presentation’s workshop … well, actually a SlideDoc (another new term that I learned in the workshop) a visual document that is intended to be read and referenced instead of projected.

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Step 1: Refine your Idea

Nancy started her sessions by defining the difference between a Presenter and a Storyteller.

While a presenter conveys information that may be important, a storyteller creates an experience that touches the audience deep inside and addresses their needs, wants and self-interest.

The storyteller creates different acts that connect to the audience and eventually trigger an action.

However, what you say has to resonate with something already inside your audience.

 

[What you say] Must be able to resonate (move something within them) like sound waves in order to move them #SXSW #pitchfix #SXLNC (tweet by @sansegocreative)

When defining your Big Idea, you need to create:

• Your Unique Point of View• What’s at stake (consequences). It

is important to identify the consequences if your idea is adopted as well as if it is not

• Write it in the form of a sentence

Even before creating your Big Idea statement you need to identify what is “that thing” that makes your audience listen and act upon your idea.

Some of the questions you need to ask to identify the key triggers for your audience may include:

• Why would they listen to you?• What keeps them up at night?• How can you solve their

problems?• What do you want them to do?• How might they resist?

Unique Point of View and what’s at Stake

Big Idea

Write your big Idea here

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Step 2: Make your Audience Move From – Move To

Once you refine your Big Idea and Stakes, the next step is to:

Persuasive presentations make your audience Move From their current situation and Move To another new situation or way.

Nancy provided the list of words on the right that can help you spark ideas for how you want your audience to transform.

You will be “Mapping the Journey”

"Define the transformation" you want your audience to go through, [and] plan for it #pitchfix #sxlnc (tweet by @sedayanr)

Being/Doing

Move From

Being/Doing

Move To

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Step 3: Make better Call to Action

Nancy’s approach for persuasive presentations: Have a clear Beginning, Middle and End.

The Beginning states the current situation by defining the “What is” circumstances. The Middle has ups and downs constantly, showing your audience “What could be” if they adopt your idea and reminding then what the current situation is. Finally the presentation ends with the “New Bliss” that is created when your idea is adopted.

"Persuasive story form" makes rhythm. 3-act structure. Use contrast so they will remember #sxlnc #pitchfix (tweet by @sedayanr)

http://cdn.www.duarte.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/LinkedIn_ND_164.jpg

This 3 act form is a “Sparkline”

The Sparkline is a persuasive story form that Duarte uses to breakdown presentations and move through the “What is” and “What Could Be” waves.

It was strongly emphasized the fact that as presenter, you should create a dramatic gap between the “What is” situation and your “What Could be” solution.

One of the tools to create this needed gap is to create Contrast.

The bigger the gap between them, the more persuasive your presentation will be.

Contrast is one of the key concepts in great ppts. Contrast helps you move your audience from what is to what

could be #sxsw14 #pitchfix (Tweet by @RamiroCaso)

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Step 3: Make better Call to Action

Once the theoretical part was set up, Nancy continued her explanation of the Sparkline by breaking down a presentation of one of the most notable storytellers in corporate America: Steve Jobs.

How could Steve Jobs hold an audience’s attention for a full 90 minutes?

To understand the above, Nancy created the Sparkline of the iPhone 2007 launch presentation.

Looking carefully at the presentation, Nancy identified that the audience laughed 73 times, clapped 105 times and Steve Jobs himself marveled with his own product 137 times … all in 90 minutes.

S.T.A.R moments. Insert this where necessary to compel an emotive, long-lasting impression. #pitchfix #sxsw pic.twitter.com/SjDhUs5wz2 (tweet by @jdmltweet)

Jobs was able to spark people’s attention with emotions, while igniting passion and creating a S.T.A.R. moment for the audience.

Something

They’ll

Always

Remember

The S.T.A.R. moment should be significant, sincere and memorable.

It should be that one thing that your audience will remember forever.

Click to Watch

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Summary

Click to Watch

A powerful speech/pitch speaks TO the audience, has cadence, tension, release. It resonates, creates an emotive response. (tweet by @jdmltweet)

Download: http://bit.ly/1lJwhYL

Define your Big Idea: with a Unique POV, the consequences and in a sentence form

Map your Audience Journey. Make your audience Move From their current situation and Move To another new situation or way

Create the Sparkline. Define the “What is”, shows yours “What could be” and close with a “New Bliss”. Always include a S.T.A.R. moment

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BONUS: Nancy at TEDx