I’m at lunch with my friend and colleague, Alex, whom I met at the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. For this lunch, we met after a presentation we both attended earlier this morning.
As we were talking, Alex said, “he has got to talk fat free.” I immediately smiled. What a great phrase. And it summed up the speaker’s style and content perfectly.
You see, the presenter spent too much time explaining his ideas and support for his ideas. And most of his ideas were backed by slides filled with verrryy detailed data visuals. He was brilliant–he is a thought leader and a book author. His challenge is two-fold… speak simply and be brief. As a result, the audience became a bit restless and I could see it around me. I could also hear the whispers of people starting to have their own conversations. When people don’t understand or lose interest as audience members, they stop paying attention. And start doing other things, especially whisper talk.
He needed to tell stories to connect to our human side, shorten his narrative speaking time to appeal to our hearts and minds, and simplify his visuals to also appeal to our minds. And most importantly, he needed to be a storyteller with his data.
Further Reading on Presentations, Storytelling, and Data Storytelling
- Turn Your Personal Experience into an Engaging, Powerful Story (read)
- Tip – “Pause” with Purpose in Speaking, Training, and Storytelling (read)
- Drop the Dry Presentation, Tell a Compelling Story (part 1)
- Presenters Must Prepare Like Orchestra Conductors (part 2)
- “1-2-5-10” – Five Steps to Mastering Fundamentals of Presenting (read)
#chiefstoryteller #storytelling #communication #training #talentdevelopment
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