Create Business Presentations That Win Over Your Audience

By Richard Goring

Stories have been used to grip human interest for thousands of years. Passed down from generations, written into books—and now audiobooks—good storytelling keeps us coming back for more. How does that stack up to the last business presentation you saw? Were you gripped by the presentation style, or (more likely) were you hit by a barrage of text-heavy slides, logo slides, and rushed reading of bullet points?

Humans are natural storytellers, but it’s rare that we translate that skill into the business world, and common business tasks like giving presentations. But if you want to really engage your audience, get them to see your point of view, and hopefully sign a contract, storytelling is the way to go.

So ditch the cliched slides and take your audience on a journey. You need to create business presentations that win over your audience, and here’s the right way to do it.

Why the story matters

We spend our time creating business presentations so that we can convey information to a business audience. Information that we want our audience to leave with and remember, and then ideally act on.

Usually, business presentations do the reverse. We stuff them full of facts and figures because we’ve been told that’s what makes a compelling argument. The issue, though, is that it just doesn’t work. Human brains aren’t designed to retain information in that format.

Nick Morgan, the author of Power Cues, argues that it’s actually stories that create ‘‘sticky’’ memories ‘‘by attaching emotions to things that happen.’’ So far from being wishy-washy and time wasting, stories help equip your audience to remember the key messages and prime them to take away the right information.

How do you tell the story? Here are some practical tips.

5 keys to creating a compelling business presentation

1. Nail the opening

If you’re reading a novel, you can usually tell if you’ll enjoy it from the very first page. A good introduction can grip you and draw you in right from the beginning. We’re after the same effect when creating business presentations.

People’s attention spans are short and their time is valuable, so you don’t have long to convince their subconscious mind that it’s worth staying engaged with your presentation rather than letting their mind wonder about what’s on the lunch menu today.

The big mistake people make is jumping in too soon with all of that ‘‘who we are’’ information. Evidence suggests you’re going to turn off your audiences before you’ve even really got started. Instead, begin with a story, and then introduce your brand or product as a character in that story after you've built up a little tension.

But it’s not just about you—bring in your audience as a character as well. Set the scene, craft your story so your audience can see themselves sleepwalking into huge losses, or stumbling into an unskilled workforce, or not noticing that change on the horizon. That’s going to work a lot better than just listing out your international offices or sharing a quote from your new CEO.

Once you’ve nailed the opening and picked your story, you need to keep that momentum going throughout the rest of the presentation too—so don’t let the hard work go to waste.

Think of it like episodes in a series. The presentation (or series) might be about saving you from relying on paper records and switching to a digitized solution, and one slide (or episode) could be about the dangers of data protection and maintaining records safely and efficiently.

2. Deliver substance and style

All good writers have a flair that sets them apart and brings a little bit of drama to the event, but it’s always backed up by good substance. The content is always right; it’s just brought to life by the extra touches and engaging elements.

You can bring this to your presentations in two ways:

First, how you, as a presenter, deliver what you’re saying. Pausing for breaks, engaging the audience, and using the right body language. No one intentionally looks hostile or lazy; no one means to come across as overfamiliar or timid. However, the truth is that it can be all too easy to fall into one of these traps. Remember that body language is just one of the vehicles for delivery. Getting the message right, the content, the language, the follow-up, the technology are all big priorities.

The second way is via design. Graphics that enhance understanding rather than confusing it, animations that bring the audience along with your story rather than just giving you a power trip with a clicker. This can help reinforce the substance behind your presentation, by giving your audience the engaging style that will keep them wanting more. PowerPoint has been often misused when it comes to crazy animations and flashing text, but there are lots of ways to do it well.

3. Get the data to do the work for you

Statistics, bar charts, line graphs, percentages—presentations are rarely short of cold, hard numbers. But as we mentioned earlier, it’s difficult for people to process this type of information and put it into context.

Broadly, data can be included to hit four key purposes: persuasion, dissuasion, reassurance, or shock. You need to identify which of these purposes it is before you’re able to weave data into your wider story.

Once you’ve done that, you can work out how to make sure you’re not just using numbers for the sake of it and instead use them to build your story and add support. So if you've got a number that will dissuade the audience from relying on paper records, use it in the slide where you talk about data breaches.

Similarly with graphs and charts, use them as a mini-story—bring in data at different points and think about the engaging story the audience should be hearing in their minds as they see the graph.

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4. Be clear on the call-to-action

When a good story ends, it leaves a small hole in your heart. You were drawn into different worlds full of heroes and villains, good and evil. You are left wanting more, but there is no hand reaching out from the book pages to pull you inside.

This is where books and presentations differ. In a presentation you finish by extending a hand and inviting your audience to take part in the next chapter of the story. If you create a business presentation that tells a compelling enough story, then why wouldn’t your prospect want to jump in?

And finally, a note on the call-to-action itself: Keep it short. Keep it simple. Keep it snappy. Think of it as a sample chapter of the author’s upcoming novel—enough to whet your audiences’ appetite, but not so much that they forget the great story they’ve just finished hearing.

5. Practice, practice, practice

It takes a lot of effort to deliver what looks like an effortless business presentation.

You can be as prepared as possible and think you know all your content, yet your delivery may still need some work. There are plenty of things you can do when rehearsing to improve your delivery technique and boost your confidence.

Practice and rehearse time and again, in the location you’ll be giving your presentation, in front of the mirror, and in front of friends and colleagues to get their feedback.

You need to know your content inside and out and be prepared for every possible scenario. Technology fail? No problem, you can still deliver a great and engaging presentation. Tough questions? No problem, you know exactly what slide they’re referring to.

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