presentation short story

Presentation Storytelling Examples & Techniques (2024)

Learn techniques for telling a story in a presentation . Get narrative presentation examples and learn to apply storytelling in business presentations .

Joanne Camarce

8 minute read

Short answer

What should a presentation storytelling structure include?

Introduction

Rising Action

Falling Action

Storytelling in business presentations matters (a lot)

Stories convey a deeper meaning, idea, or lesson. They make us feel, experience, identify, and understand.

Most importantly for storytelling in business presentations, telling a story in a presentation makes people more likely to remember the message.

Researchers Dean and Chip Heath found that after a presentation, 63% of attendees could remember the story told by the presenter.

However, only 5% could recall specific statistics from the event.

Because stories allow audiences to visualize and imagine an idea or message, stories also make them better able to make decisions.

In other words, stories bring buyers, stakeholders, and decision-makers to better understand and remember your message. Which in turn enables them to make a decision and increases the chance they’ll act on it.

What is presentation storytelling?

Presentation storytelling is the art of using a narrative structure to convey information instead of dry facts. It delivers a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end that aligns with the presentation's objectives, making the content more relatable and memorable.

Storytelling in business presentations involves 2 complementing aspects: (1) textual presentation narrative, and (2) visual storytelling.

What is a narrative presentation?

A narrative presentation is a style of delivering information where the content is structured as a relatable story. It typically includes characters, a setting, a conflict, and a resolution, and weaves complex ideas, processes, and metrics into the narrative.

What is a visual storytelling presentation?

A visual storytelling presentation tells a story or multiple anecdotes using visual elements like videos, animations, and interactive content.

Modern storytelling presentations apply scrollytelling design which combines visuals and text seamlessly to let readers interact with the presentation as they scroll down the content.

How to use the 4 storytelling archetypes

Storytelling is the art of describing vivid ideas, beliefs, experiences, and life lessons through stories and narratives.

These stories stimulate a listener's imagination as you take them on an emotional journey. There are many ways to tell a story.

These story structures have been shown to work for narrative presentations and corporate storytelling, and they will work for you.

The Hero's Journey: Communicates a transformation from struggle to success

The Story Mountain: Builds tension and anticipation

Story loop: Joins multiple perspectives into a single narrative

In-Media Res: Grabs attention quickly

There are timeless narrative frameworks that have worked for storytellers throughout the ages from the methodologies of old, through Shakespearian plays to Apple commercials.

1) Hero's Journey

The hero's journey narrative archetype involves a hero who goes on a journey and returns as a changed person.

This storytelling template consists of three distinct parts, or "acts," that include a setup, confrontation, and resolution. It makes for a well-structured and engaging narrative.

2) The Mountain

The mountain storytelling structure strategically maps the tension and drama in a story. This archetype is represented visually as a mountain, with each section building to a complex obstacle that characters need to overcome.

Think of the protagonist at the bottom of the mountain. They must climb the mountain to reach their goal (your business goals in this case). They face obstacles along the way, and they must overcome those obstacles before they can reach the top.

3) Story loop

The story loop structure contains stories within another story. However, they aren't standalone stories.

Your first story is the most important. It's the core of your message, and you use the other stories to elaborate or explain your central point.

But you stop some of the way through it, leaving the audience in suspense. Then, you share part of the second story before moving on to the last.

Eventually, in the end, you bring it all together to make one cohesive point. The purpose of this storytelling technique is to provide context, background, or a different perspective to a central narrative.

Types of anecdotes you can use in your story loop presentation

• Customer success stories
• Personal experiences by clients
• Inspirational stories
• Fictional or hypothetical stories
• Historical or factual stories

Here's a short video explaining how to use a story loop:

4) In medias res (begin from the middle)

In medias res is Latin for "in the middle of things." With this storytelling archetype, the narrative begins in the middle of a scene. It skips over the background of the story and gets straight to the action.

To choose the right type of story for your presentation, consider your audience, the purpose of the presentation, and the emotional impact you want to create.

No matter what narrative structure you choose, include visuals, sensory details, and precise language to bolster your message.

If you want to learn more about this storytelling archetype, check out the video below:

Effective presentation storytelling structure

A well-structured story can engage and persuade your audience, making your corporate presentation much more effective and memorable.

Stories can be applied in any type of business presentation, such as a pitch deck, sales presentation, white paper, report, or business proposal.

A single document can include multiple stories that make up a joint narrative.

5 basic elements of a story structure:

1. Introduction

• Sets a relevant context with background information.
• Introduces the protagonist (business or product) and the current problem or challenge.

2. Rising Action

• Builds tension by detailing the obstacles and complications faced.
• Engages the audience with the steps taken to address the challenge.
• The turning point where the main tension or conflict peaks.
• Highlights the moment of greatest challenge and the decisive action taken.

4. Falling Action

• Shows the aftermath of the climax.
• Begins to lead towards the resolution, detailing the business solution and results of actions taken.

5. Resolution

• Wraps up the story with the outcome of all actions.
• Provides a clear ending, showing how the challenge was overcome and what was learned.

After developing your story structure, be sure to connect it to your core message by creating parallels and reinforcing it with examples.

Most importantly, don’t leave your audience with the realization that they need to take action without offering them an immediate way to act.

Effective storytelling techniques for presentations

The beauty of storytelling is that the possibilities are endless. There are so many ways to tell a story in presentations. It's just a matter of finding the right one for your unique needs and goals.

1) Build your stories around your audience’s pain points

Stories establish connections. But don’t confuse your story with your audience’s story.

Your audience doesn’t care about your story, and they don’t care about your product.

But they will care if they feel you care about them.

Understanding the audience's pain points, values, and opinions can help you weave a story into a narrative that aligns with their interests. It gives you the chance to be part of THEIR story.

Stop talking about yourself. Do this and see engagement blow up, conversions increase, and greater brand loyalty .

2) Establish common ground with your prospects

One effective presentation storytelling technique is to find common ground and share experiences with your audience to establish a connection and make them care about what you say.

These commonalities are what resonate strongest with your target audience.

Common-ground stories tell your audience a satisfied client of yours overcame a particular challenge they are experiencing themselves, and offer the lessons learned while overcoming it.

3) Tell stories that foster peer envy

Peer envy is one of the strongest motivators you can flame in sales presentation storytelling.

Simply put it just means telling the story of a known industry player that achieved remarkable results with the help of your product or service.

A peer envy story should present the initial challenge, the journey to overcome it, and the final enviable outcomes. Yet the reader should feel they can attain similar or better results by following a similar journey.

Here's a fragment of a podcast where Michael Bosworth touches on this very topic:

Business presentation storytelling examples

Here are some examples of famous brands that incorporated personal stories to convey a powerful message in their business presentations.

Zuora sales deck

The Zuora sales deck was aptly named the best sales deck ever . It is truly a best-in-class example of a transformation narrative set within the story mountain framework.

It masterfully narrates the shift to a subscription economy, emphasizing evolving consumer behavior.

And by highlighting the challenges businesses face in this new economy, Zuora positions itself as the essential solution.

The deck's use of data, visuals, and testimonials weaves a compelling story of transformation, urging businesses to adapt and thrive with Zuora or stay behind and decline.

Mign sales deck

Mign’s sales deck highlights the digital shift in musculoskeletal injury recovery, emphasizing the transformation from mass production to personalized care.

Mign applies the hero’s journey story framework and positions itself as the trusted guide in this transformation.

The deck contrasts "winners," who embrace new technologies like additive manufacturing and virtual care, with "losers," traditional manufacturers stuck in outdated processes.

Tinder pitch deck

Tinder's pitch deck effectively narrates the universal challenge of meeting new people and the fear of rejection.

By introducing a hypothetical user named "Matt," Tinder gives the reader a peek into the mind of their target user - an everyday nice guy scared to approach a girl he's interested in.

This concrete personal experience gives life to a basic human need that investors can understand intuitively and even relate to.

Tinder leverages this emotional understanding to make a compelling case for its solution - a platform that eliminates the fear of rejection.

The deck also applied great data storytelling showcasing Tinder's impressive statistics, emphasizing its global reach and popularity among Gen Z.

They also nail the one-liner. Their slogan "It Starts With A Swipe™" encapsulates the simplicity and effectiveness of the app, positioning Tinder as the modern solution to traditional dating challenges.

Brothers Pub restaurant pitch deck

Brothers Pub's pitch deck presents a captivating local business story, emphasizing the need for a fresh, community-focused social pub venue.

The deck tells the story of the owners’ journey, from the initial concept to securing a prime location in Northampton, highlighting their dedication and vision for the future.

The deck outlines the challenges faced by traditional pubs, with 7000 closures in the last decade, and positions Brothers Pub as the innovative solution.

LKE proposal

Legends Kratom Co. (LKE) creates a narrative around the origins and benefits of kratom. By telling the exotic tale of the medicinal tropical evergreen tree and its transformation into a beneficial supplement, the deck creates a vivid backdrop.

They take the reader on their discovery journey to Indonesia to find a supplier for the coveted plant.

This adds authenticity and allure, while their commitment to education and community showcases a heartfelt mission.

Testimonials provide real-world validation, making LKE's story relatable and positioning them as a trusted leader in the supplement industry.

Genius Workshop Event pitch deck

Genius's pitch deck for their storytelling workshop is a masterclass in selling an experience. The deck introduces Gabrielle Dolan's expertise, setting a foundation of trust.

The workshop's structure is presented as a narrative journey, guiding attendees from novice to storyteller.

The deck mixes video, scrollytelling, and vivid language to give rich detail to the experience it promises to provide.

The 90-day follow-up program adds an element of continued growth, while alumni testimonials serve as real-world success stories.

By framing the workshop as a transformative experience, the deck engages and entices potential attendees, showcasing the power of storytelling in action.

Barbie recruitment pitch deck

Barbie's recruitment deck immerses candidates into Barbie's vibrant world. With playful greetings and whimsical descriptions, it sets a creative tone.

The deck focuses on Barbie’s story as a human being (doll in her case), her values, and her experience, instead of focusing on the recruiting company.

The deck lists attributes and responsibilities that align with Barbie's ethos, such as "spreading positivity" and "rocking a pink wardrobe."

Nokia brand guidelines

Nokia's brand guidelines deck uses visual storytelling to effectively communicate the essence of the brand. It lets the visuals tell the story since they speak louder than words.

The deck begins by anchoring the audience in Nokia's mission and values, creating a narrative foundation.

It then unfolds the brand's visual identity, from color schemes to typography, weaving a cohesive story of what Nokia represents.

By providing clear dos and don'ts, Nokia ensures that its brand story remains consistent and impactful across all touchpoints.

This storytelling approach not only educates but also engages, making it easier for stakeholders to internalize and adhere to the guidelines.

nSure one-pager

nSure's one-pager effectively uses visual data storytelling to convey the benefits of their AI fraud protection for digital gift card purchases.

Introducing the challenge of ambiguous transactions, nSure lets the numbers tell the story.

With impressive numbers like their AI solution’s 98% approval rate. They can afford to.

The deck's visuals, combined with endorsements from industry leaders like AXA, make a compelling narrative that instills confidence in nSure's expertise.

Healthy.io proposal

Healthy.io's proposal uses video storytelling with real practitioners who tell the story of their experiences using Healthy.io’s solution.

The video testimonial from a practice nurse adds a personal touch, showing the positive impact on patient care. This brings the user's experience to the front and adds credibility to the proposal’s claims.

The proposal uses a transformation narrative to showcase Healthy.io’s remote kidney screening solution.

They highlight the challenges of legacy ACR testing against their modern home-based test using a smartphone app.

Principles of visual storytelling in business presentations

Storytelling allows you to simplify complex or abstract information and address any objections or resistance. As a result, listeners can better retain and remember the message, which improves the decision-making process.

Here are the main principles that can transform your narrative:

Authenticity

Authentic visuals resonate more with audiences. In an era where people are bombarded with staged and polished images, authentic, candid photos that reflect the reality of your work can make your message stand out and be memorable.

Your visuals should evoke a sensory experience. The goal is to cut through the noise and trigger a stronger emotional response.

For example, you can make the experience more immersive by adding interactive clickable elements, embedding videos, or images that highlight details or visual textures.

Scrollytelling can also play a crucial role here, allowing the story to unfold through interaction, as the audience scrolls through the narrative, engaging them in a multi-sensory journey.

You can see the difference that interactivity makes below. Which presentation would you rather read?

The stories told by your images must be relevant to your audience. Personalized visual storytelling, supported by data to understand what motivates your audience, can turn your story into an experience that resonates deeply.

Every story has characters that fit certain archetypes, such as the caregiver, the explorer, and the creator. Identifying with these archetypes helps your audience connect with the story on a deeper level, making your organization's mission more relatable and memorable.

Make your own storytelling presentation

We've curated an extensive collection of templates to help you achieve effective storytelling for whatever business presentation you need to make.

The business storytelling presentation templates below have been rigorously tested across various devices and refined with insights gleaned from real-world feedback.

They were designed with interactive storytelling at their core. They’ll serve you as handy visual storytelling aids to make your presentations engaging, memorable, and highly converting.

Grab a template!

Why the human brain loves storytelling presentations

According to neuroscientist Uri Hasson , storytelling fosters deep social interactions through brain-to-brain connections.

He found that when we hear stories, our brains mirror each other, helping us understand what the storyteller is feeling.

Called neurocoupling or mirroring, this process occurs across many areas of the brain, including the ones that are responsible for processing and understanding narratives.

So the human brain loves stories. But why?

The short answer is that ‌neural activity in the brain increases when we hear a captivating story. Our brains are made up of neurons, which are nerve cells that send messages throughout the body.

These neurons release neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) that transmit signals from nerve cells to target cells.

The most common neurotransmitters in the brain include:

When we hear a story, the neurons in our brain light up with activity. And according to neuroscientists, "neurons that fire together wire together."

This means that as we hear stories, the neurons in our brains are wiring together. As a result, we're more likely to remember the information we receive from a story.

Storytelling also triggers the release of dopamine ("the brain's form of candy") and oxytocin ("the love drug"). In other words, stories make us feel good.

Here's an infographic showing how storytelling affects the brain:

This can influence buying behavior because it helps to create an emotional connection with potential customers or buyers.

Telling a story, instead of making a sales pitch , is less intimidating to an audience.

The company or product you're describing is easier to understand, seems less complex, and provides relevant information in a format that's easy to digest and remember.

As a result, the buyer can relate to the product or service and will eventually want to purchase it.

Joanne Camarce grows and strategizes B2B marketing and PR efforts @ codeless.io . She loves slaying outreach campaigns and connecting with brands like G2, Wordstream, Process Street, and others. When she's not wearing her marketing hat, you'll find Joanne admiring Japanese music and art or just being a dog mom.

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How to Tell a Story in a Presentation, with Examples

July 26, 2018 - Dom Barnard

Keeping your audience engaged whilst trying to clearly deliver your key messages can be difficult. A helpful way of doing this is by telling stories where you take your audience on a journey and appeal to their emotions. In this article we discuss storytelling techniques you can incorporate into presentations.

The benefits of storytelling

Storytelling is used in every culture, passed down through generations, to help with understanding because  humans like narrative structures . It’s now becoming more popular for business presentations – this is the case for Cisco Systems who switched from fact-heavy presentations to presentations incorporating stories and consequently became more successful in promoting their products.

Research suggests that humans are hardwired to listen to stories, for example, after conducting a fMRI study, neuroscientist Uri Hasson concluded that storytelling causes the neurons of an audience to sync with the storyteller’s brain. This suggests that your brain in responding like the storyteller’s so you are experiencing the same emotions.

Storytelling has multiple benefits:

• Grabs attention
• Evokes emotion, especially empathy
• Uses the audience’s imagination
• Relatable e.g. humanises a person, company etc
• Maintains attention because stories are so engaging
• Builds anticipation by having heroes, challenges, adventures and journeys
• Changes beliefs
• Very persuasive

Different ways of storytelling

Monomyth (the hero’s the journey).

In a monomyth, a hero goes on a difficult journey or takes on a challenge – they move from the familiar into the unknown. After facing obstacles and ultimately succeeding the hero returns home, transformed and with newfound wisdom.

Using a monomyth is a useful way of showing the audience how you obtained the knowledge/wisdom that you will be sharing in your presentation. When you deliver your presentation you can hold the audience as the hero – they can come on the journey, you encourage them to walk through it and get passed the obstacles. Your ideas delivered in the presentation can guide them to the rewards/wisdom they seek.

An example of a monomyth: professional snowboarder  Amy Purdy delivered a speech  where she talks about losing her legs to meningitis, re-learning snowboarding and finally receiving a medal in the Paralympics.

• Engages the audience by accessing their imagination and taking them a journey
• Universal appeal – has a recognisable and simple structure
• Demonstrates the benefits of taking risks
• Quickly evokes empathy
• Shows how you learned a lesson and how you got your wisdom
• Your audience sees the value of your product, service etc

Rags to riches

This essentially is a story where the main character has various hardships in their life, usually hits rock bottom but then achieves great success.

• Relatable as we have all faced difficult times
• Provides hope

In medias res (into the middle of things)

In this type of story you launch right into the action – providing a snippet/teaser of what’s happening and then you start explaining the events that led to that event. You’ll be familiar with TV shows frequently using this technique.

This is engaging because you’re starting your story at the most exciting part which will make the audience curious – they’ll want to know how you got there.

Don’t give away too much of the action when you start the story; you’ll want to explain it in more detail when you reach it chronologically. Consider hinting at something unexpected or strange occurring – just provide the audience with enough information to get them interested.

• Attention grabbing
• Creates suspense
• Focuses attention on the fundamental moment of the story

False start

When delivering a false start, you begin by telling a supposedly predictable story and then unexpectedly reveal something before starting the story again with an altered perspective. This can be used to surprise the audience and it will get them engaged as it disrupted their predictions.

It’s useful for talking about times where you experienced a failure and then you consequently had to start again and what you learnt from this, including whether you had a special way of solving the problem.

• Changes the audience’s perspective
• Relates to the audience by sharing a failure
• Displays problem-solving

The mountain

This is similar to the monomyth – the mountain initially starts by setting the scene, it goes on to include a series of small challenges and a build-up of action, finally ending with a climatic finish. Typically something else will be introduced to the story to overcome the final challenge.

• Highlights how you overcame a series of challenges
• Builds suspense gradually – used in a lot of films
• Provides a satisfying conclusion

Practice Impromptu Storytelling

Practice telling a story with plot twists along the way. Learn More

Sparklines are when you contrast this world to an ideal world. You highlight the problems this world has and suggest what it could be like. It’s very persuasive because it gets the audience to want to make changes. A well-known example is Martin Luther’s “ I have a dream ” speech.

• Emotional appeal
• Evokes hope
• Often leads to action

Your whole presentation could follow the structure of a sparklines story:

1. Presentation beginning  – describe current life as this helps create a connection between yourself and the audience because they will agree with what you’re saying. Go on to introduce what the future can be, for example:

• What is: Our competitors have eaten up 30% of our revenue this year
• What could be: But what if we could fight back with a completely new product line in the same market? We’ve got the in-house expertise and resources to do just this.

2. Presentation middle  – now you have shown what the issues is continue to reflect on the contrast between the present and what the future could be like, for example:

• What is: We missed our revenue target by 30%.
• What could be: We’ve got to perform better next year otherwise we’ll have to start letting people go.
• What is: We’ve conducted early product trials with some of our customers.
• What could be: Over 90% said they would purchase the product when developed.

As you keep switching from what is and what could be the audience will find the possible future more appealing.

3. Presentation ending  – You want a call to action that is motivating, you want to show the audience the benefits of taking on your ideas. For example:

• Call to action: It will take additional work from several of our departments to get the new product line built in time for the launch date and to make up the revenue number for next year.
• The result of adopting your ideas: I know everyone’s working incredibly long hours, we really appreciate it. This is our opportunity to work together and give the company a massive boost. We’ll fight back against the competitors and you’ll all earn bonuses after a successful launch.

This makes it clear to the audience that everyone will benefit from your plan.

Nested loops

In nested loops, three of more stories are layered within each other. An example would be a character in your first story tells another story and a character in that story tells another story etc. The core of your message is in the centre and the stories around it explain this message or elaborate on it.

Each nested story should end in the order it was introduced, for example, the story you begin with is the last story you finish with, the second story you start is the second to last story you finish etc.

• Shows how your wisdom was obtained through a series of interactions/showing how wisdom was passed to you
• Explains how you came to a conclusion

Converging ideas

Converging ideas shows the audience how different people’s thinking came together to produce one idea. This is a good way of showing how a movement started or how an idea was created from various people working towards the same thing.

Converging ideas are similar to nested loops but with converging ideas you can show how stories with equal importance came to one significant conclusion.

• Demonstrates collaborations between people
• Can show how relationships formed
• Demonstrates how a development occurred

Petal structure

The petal structure consists of telling multiple stories from multiple speakers that relate to the main message. This is useful if you have unconnected stories that relate back to the central concept. You can overlap the stories as one story, after it has been completed, introduces the next story.

• In showing the audience how these stories are related they understand the significance of your message
• Provides the voice of multiple speakers
• Provides lots of evidence or emotional appeal around a central idea
• Shows how multiple situations lead back to one concept
• Allows a group of speakers to discuss a main message

Example of captive storytelling

Donald Blake from the Scottish Storytelling Centre tells a tale about being hungry for stories. Great example of how to tell a story during a presentation.

Watch the full video here:  ICH for Everyone: The importance of storytelling

Storytelling tips

Storytelling is used by the  top public speakers , here are their tips:

Understand your audience

You first need to find out who you’re presenting to:

• Know their pain points, values and opinions
• Topics of interest
• Try to find similarities, including any shared experiences, you have with the audience because they can relate and empathise with you. Consequently they will care about what you say.

Frame your story

Think about taking the audience on a journey and work out where to start and finish.

To find a place to start ask:

• What do audience already know about the topic?
• How much do the audience care about the topic?

If a speech is received poorly it’s usually because it was not framed well – the speaker misunderstood the level of audience interest or they didn’t tell a story.

Know your message

Ensure that you understand what you’re trying to tell the audience and how your story is linked to your call for action.

• Think about how you want the audience to feel about your message.
• For example, you might need to share facts and figures but try to deliver this is an engaging way so they will be remembered.

Ensure that you choose a story relevant to the idea you want to support or the point you want to make. The story must be  tailored to your audience  so it relates to them and meets their needs.

Be authentic

• Tell real-life stories to garner trust.
• If your story is not genuine this will work against you and the audience will judge you as dishonest.

Use a conversational tone

When telling your story speak in a conversational tone as this will sound more natural and friendly. To help with this pretend that you’re telling the story to friends or family and avoid technical terminology.

Remember that the audience is the hero

• The audience often needs to view themselves as the hero.
• Let people see and feel what the journey of achieving the goal will be like.

Visual aids increase engagement  and memory retention. Use relevant images, videos, props etc as supplements to your story.

Evoke emotions

By evoking certain emotions in the audience, they will feel more connected to the story which will help with their engagement and persuading them. Emotions also increase memory retention.

Sell your story not your product

Focus your story on the outcome that the audience is looking for and not on your product.

There needs to be conflict, contrast or action in the story; in traditional tales there would be a villain. In a  business presentation  there might be a problem that the characters must overcome. This ensures audience engagement because they want to know what happens next. To increase suspense:

• Tell a story chronologically so you can build to a climactic conclusion
• Consider telling a predictable story and then shock the audience by going a different direction to what was predicted (false start).
• Consider using in media res.

Stories need a beginning, middle and end to create drama and anticipation. Sometimes you don’t have to complete the story as this can be a useful way of making a point in the presentation.

Tell personal stories because the audience will enjoy seeing your human side. Consider telling a story about a mistake you made, for example, perhaps you froze up during an important presentation when you were 25, or maybe life wasn’t going well for you in the past – if relevant to your presentation’s aim.

People will empathise and relate to you as we have all experienced hardship. The more the audience relates to you, the more likely they will remain engaged. These stories can also be told in a humorous way if it makes you feel more comfortable.

Ensure that you plan the stories thoroughly beforehand and make sure they are not too long.

How you tell your story

The way you tell a story is important, if you do it effectively the audience won’t forget it. Consider:

• Using every word and image to help create a clear picture in their mind
• Using visuals to supplement the story
• Providing sensory details – using all five senses
• Using precise verbs and nouns and vivid adjectives.
• Providing short but effective descriptions

Imaginable characters

Create characters that the audience can imagine easily. Characters are significant because it’s their struggles that make the audience react. You must provide enough detail on the main character and identify their unique characteristic, such, as, perseverance.

A common technique for presenting characters in business presentations is to start with “This is…” followed by the character’s name and their job role and their important characteristics/backstory. For example, “This is Sally, a hard-working but over-worked marketing manager etc.”

Shock the audience

Build up to a dramatic event that they won’t forget – this can be a provoking image, shocking statistics etc. For example, in a  2009 speech  Bill Gates, after providing statistics on the issues of malaria, opened a jar of mosquitoes in the presentation room and said “There’s no reason only poor people should have the experience.”

Satisfying resolution

End with a resolution – this can be a piece of advice or wisdom that will help the audience.

Telling stories is a compelling way of presenting because humans relate to them. Stories engage the audience, evoke empathy, increase trust and motivate action. By working on your storytelling skills you will be more effective at persuading the audience the value of your ideas. Make sure you spend the time refining these skills so you can set your company apart from the rest.

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Structure Your Presentation Like a Story

• Nancy Duarte

To win people over, create tension between the status quo and a better way.

After studying hundreds of speeches, I’ve found that the most effective presenters use the same techniques as great storytellers: By reminding people of the status quo and then revealing the path to a better way, they set up a conflict that needs to be resolved.

• ND Nancy Duarte is a best-selling author with thirty years of CEO-ing under her belt. She’s driven her firm, Duarte, Inc., to be the global leader behind some of the most influential messages and visuals in business and culture. Duarte, Inc., is the largest design firm in Silicon Valley, as well as one of the top woman-owned businesses in the area. Nancy has written six best-selling books, four have won awards, and her new book, DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story , is available now. Follow Duarte on Twitter: @nancyduarte or LinkedIn .

Partner Center

Category: Presentation Opening Stories

Presentation skill fundamentals: start off with a story.

• Signal “This is different, so pay attention.” –Because it’s not the typical “Great to be here” opening or long intro/warm-up before the “real” material kicks in, starting with a story signals “this is different from the typical talk you’re  used to.” Thus it grabs their attention.

2. Grab the audience’s attention by creating an emotional connection. –Starting with a story that speaks to the audience’s key source of pain, and/or also shows what’s possible if they listen to and apply what you’re going to talk about, communicates “I understand  you and what I have will be helpful to you.” Since it speaks to something very relevant, and emotionally-charged, it grabs the audience at an emotional, visceral level, which makes them more alert and attentive.

Here’s a short clip of the story I used to open a talk titled Tell a Better Story. Become More Interesting. Grow Your Business.  Notice how this story taps into a source of pain (and anxiety) many entrepreneurs and business owners (my audience at this event) have and…provides a picture of what’s possible if they listen to what I’m going to share.

How I got a skunk to start my conference presentation

BTW…the sound quality isn’t great, because I needed to filter out the road noise (recorded it while driving).

BTW…part II. If you’re at the Maine Startup and Create Week, I am doing a partner event on Wednesday, from 12:45 to 1:45 at O’Maine Studio. All, the scoop is below.

Now…for the story.

Maine Startup and Create Week Partner Event

Tell a better story. become more interesting. grow your business..

When: June 24rd · 12:45PM-1:45PM

Where: O’Maine Studio, Portland, Maine

Fee: $10 (to cover a light lunch)

A Maine Startup & Create Week Partner Program

Use an Analogy to Pack a Punch: Togue Brawn shows you how

Ten entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to an audience of several hundred, competing for a $10,000 prize. It was also a chance to hone their  pitch craft.

Several entrepreneurs stood out for their speaking skill.

One of them was Togue Brawn, founder of Maine Dayboat Scallops. who will be speaking on June 24th at the upcoming Maine Startup and Create Week .

First, she clearly had passion for the impact her business would have in the lives of her customers and the fishermen she served.

In fact, after the event, I was talking about what a dynamo she was to a seasoned angel investor–a man who has seen it all. He laughed and said, in true When Harry Met Sally fashion–“Yeah…I want whatever she’s having!”

Besides her  passion, one of the other aspects of Togue’s talk that stood out for me was how she used a powerful analogy to capture the difference her business makes.

In Made to Stick , Chip and Dan Heath cite analogies as being one of the six power tools of the communicator who wants to make their idea “sticky”–i.e. people can’t get it out of their heads.

Why are analogies such a powerful communication tool?

• They translate the unfamiliar into the familiar…making your idea easier to understand.
• They translate the abstract into the tangible. The brain has a much easier time processing concrete images and situations from real life than it does making sense out of abstract concepts. Also, because concrete images and real life situations have a strong sensory component, they evoke more emotions that abstract ideas that only involve the intellect. BTW…notice that this point is an abstract concept. Now…let’s share a specific situation and concrete image that will make this point much more understandable.

Before you hear Togue’s analogy, here’s some quick context, so it makes more sense…

As part of her Origin Story, she shared her epiphany about the plight of Maine’s scallop fishermen and their customers. Most commercially fished scallops that are caught in federal waters in boats that are out to sea for a week or more. These scallops, when sold to consumers as “fresh” can be 12 days old. Maine’s scallop fishermen are all of the dayboat variety, meaning they go out and come back with their catch in one day.

Their scallops are a day old. But…because no delivery system existed to get these into customers’ hands, Maine day scallop fishermen can’t charge the premium price their premium product deserves. Instead, their uber-fresh scallops have to go to the same processing plants as the federal water harvested scallops that are several day’s old. So day old scallops get mixed in with a week or more old scallops.

Now here’s the analogy Togue used to make her point about how this didn’t make sense:

“That’s like pouring a bottle of Dom Perignon into a bathtub of Barefoot bubbly,” she noted.

When I heard that, I thought “Score! What a way to capture the difference.”

While there’s a reason why Barefoot wine is a popular brand, there’s a reason why Dom Perignon has a cachet that popular consumer brands’ don’t. If you made Dom Perignon, would you want it blended into any popular consumer wine and sold at that price or…would you want to get the price your product should command?

While giving the factual differences between scallops harvested in federal waters vs. those harvested by local scallop fishermen made for a clear comparison at the abstract, intellectual level, Togue’s analogy made it tangible. The listener could instantly get the difference at a deeper, more experiential level.

Hence, the power of a good analogy.

So…if you want YOUR ideas to pack a punch, start generating analogies to make your points hit home.

To learn more about how to use analogies and stories to make your ideas more interesting and persuasive, come to:

  June 24rd · 12:45PM-1:45PM

Who should attend : Business owners, self-employed professionals, leaders and others who want to communicate the value of their ideas, service, and business in a more compelling, interesting, and persuasive way… whether in front of a group or one-to-one.

Where : O’Maine Studio

Fee : $10 for attendees at Maine Startup and Create Week, $15 for non-attendees (includes lunch)

How NOT to Blow Your Big Chance When Speaking In Front of a Group

A while back I witnessed yet another sad example of someone squandering one of the most precious marketing opportunities possible: getting the chance to present in front of a group of potential buyers.

This happened at an association meeting of customer service professionals. A rep from  a CRM (customer relationship management) software company had the chance to give a five minute “commercial” because his  company had sponsored the event.

Rather than use his precious time to communicate how his business helps solve problems that were relevant to the audience, he simply talked about his company and stated facts about the customer service industry that were common knowledge to anyone in the industry.

People waited patiently until he was over so the “real speaker”  (yours truly) could get up and talk to them about the topic they really were interested in.

I felt bad for this man and his company because I knew they had spent a lot of money to get the chance to tell people how their product could help them, and all he accomplished was boring the audience.

Does this sound familiar?

Have you ever been “that guy”?

Maybe you also have been the main speaker at an event or a breakout session at a conference, and found yourself doing what a lot of vendor reps and consultants who aren’t professional  speakers do. Maybe you did any or all of the following:

• Started off with a lame joke.
• Transitioned into a long description of what your company does.
• Spent most of your time giving a “State of the Union” speech that merely reminds the audience  of all the problems they were facing and had come to get answers to.
• Gave 30,000 foot high “answers” that are commonsense, such as “Give great customer service”, “You need to have quality employees if you’re going to give quality customer service” or “Turnover is costing you a lot; so it’s important to stop turnover.”
• Read off of your PowerPoint slides….bullet point list item after bullet point list item.

Does this sound hauntingly familiar?

If so, it’s time to upgrade your presentational approach by adding stories and concrete examples.

Make Your Presentation Exponentially More Interesting and Persuasive By Adding Three Story Genres

Here are three types of stories that will make your presentation—whether it’s five minutes or sixty minutes—far more fascinating and persuasive.

1. “I Feel Your Pain” Stories –This story genre includes stories of your own experience that mirrors the audience’s major challenges. It also includes stories of clients or customers with challenges that mirror the audience’s. Either way, you are letting them know “I know where you are coming from.” You are also reminding them of the pain the unsolved problem is causing them.

By reminding them of the pain they have, you increase their desire to listen to what you’re going to tell them. So one way to start off with a bang is to tell a story that immediately taps into their pain and…shows that you “get them.”

So for instance, when I do programs on how to engage people in constructive conversations around difficult topics, I often start off with a really difficult conversation I once had with a co-worker. In the opening, I usually only tell the first part of the story, where I share how angry I was at him and how I obsessed about my not having a witty comeback, and how I plotted my revenge. When I share this with groups, I see nods of recognition. They know what it’s like and…they get it that I have faced the same struggles as they have. My story also reminds them of the pain they have felt because of conflict they were unwilling to address because they didn’t think they had the skills to make the conversation work.

2. Price and Promise Stories – Share a story about how a client or customer of yours was dealing with a problem the audience can relate to, and how your solution made a difference. Price and Promise Stories make clear the price the audience member pays for NOT addressing the problem, and the benefits of successfully addressing the problem.

As in the “I Feel Your Pain” story, Price and Promise Stories are designed to heighten the audience’s interest and make them want to hear more. However, don’t go into describing your solution, step-by-step,  if you start off with this type of story. When you start off with a Price and Promise Story, it’s meant as a tool to spark interest.

Later on in your presentation when you are describing how you solve the audience’s relevant problems, you can use this story genre to describe what you do. You can also use an “open loop” Price and Promise Story to start your presentation. Thi  is where you share the “before picture”—i.e. the “problem state”—and then  tell the audience  that you will share with them later in the session what you did to achieve a positive outcome. This is called “salting”, as in “making them thirsty for what you are going to tell them”.  The story I started off this post with is an example of salting. It starts off with a story that communicates “This is the price you pay for being an uninteresting speaker…a huge lost marketing opportunity”. While I don’t explicitly say “Keep reading and I will tell you how to rectify this”, you understand that is where we are going. If you can relate to the story, you wanted to hear more about how NOT to be “that guy.”

3. “What I mean by that” Stories – These stories take your key concepts and help listeners understand what they mean at an emotional and visceral level, rather than have them vaguely  understood at an intellectual story. When we use abstract terms without concrete examples, we risk people either not understanding what we mean or….believing they do understand, when in fact they don’t.

You prevent this from happening by following each key point with “So for instance…” or “Here’s an example of what I mean…”, and then giving a concrete example or sharing a short story that illustrates that point.

Doing this will make a HUGE difference in your audience’s ability to comprehend what you’re saying.

So for instance, when I give programs on constructive conversations, I talk about the language pattern I call The Multiple Choice Opener. This language pattern makes it more comfortable for people to speak honestly about a tough issue. When I describe the Multiple Choice Opener, I don’t just list the characteristics of this language pattern. I give the audience an example. I say “So…for instance…let’s say you did a performance review with Mary…” I then describe the scenario and how the Multiple Choice Opener would be used in the situation.

Other times, I illustrate what the Multiple Choice Opener looks and sounds like in real life by sharing a short story about  my using this language pattern with my young daughter when she seemed displeased with the idea of helping me wash dishes.

By giving a concrete example or sharing a short story, you help the listener play a movie inside their mind of what you are talking about, so they understand what it looks and sounds like in real life.

By making abstract terms concrete, you help your listeners move beyond “sort of knowing intellectually” what you are saying to fully grasping at an experiential level what you mean and why it’s significant.  When this happens, your message becomes more understandable, more interesting, and more persuasive.

So Use Stories to Make Your Points More Understandable and Your Presentations More Compelling

So…don’t be like the typical vendor or professional who does great work or has a great product, but doesn’t know how to talk about it in a way that makes others want to listen.

Don’t blow your big opportunity to spread your message when you do get the chance to speak in front of a group.

Start off your presentations with a story and, use stories and examples to make your points come alive.

Doing so will make you a far more fascinating and compelling speaker.

Adding storytelling to your presentations will also making speaking a lot more fun for you, and… it will make listening to you a lot more fun for your audience.

For examples of these types of stories, check out the Blog Category:

Presentation Opening Stories

For information on the Make Your Presentation Opportunity a Hit program, contact me at david (at) storiesthatchange.com

Nervous about speaking just add stories: a debrief of my semi-impromptu #smbme talk.

Much to my surprise I found an email from the event’s organizer, Amanda O’Brien , which had been sent the night before. Her email said she had just noticed I was attending the program and wondered if I would like to speak, too. The topic was storytelling and writing. The main speaker was the author of Everybody Writes, and content marketing guru Ann Handley . Since Ann was going to focus on writing, Amanda wanted to know if I would speak about storytelling in general.

Sure, glad to, I responded.

While I was “glad to,” there was also a problem with this.

Even though I have spoken at conferences around the country and overseas for over two decades, speaking doesn’t come easily for me. I’m not the guy who can’t wait to get in front of a group and talk. It takes me awhile to formulate what I want to say. But…I love storytelling and I also had witnessed what a fun group this was, so it seemed like a great opportunity to share something I love with people I enjoyed.

While I rarely get nervous when I give a talk, because I didn’t feel prepared, my stomach quickly knotted up and my heart started racing.

As I drove into Portland, I started thinking about what key points I would make and stories I would tell to illustrate those points.

At the breakfast, instead of mowing through multiple plates of eggs and bacon from the breakfast buffet and catching up with friends who were also attending, I jotted down thoughts and formulated a simple outline. At one point, I asked my friend and copywriter, Nina Hope , to distract me by telling me the funny story she had emailed me a “teaser” about.

After the sponsors were introduced and spoke briefly, it was time for me to speak.

I walked up to the front of the room, my stomach still in a knot and my heart still racing.

In the audio below, you will hear what I said.

Now…I am sharing this context and the presentation with you for a couple of reasons.

First, if you have stage fright, this will hopefully help you see how storytelling can help you settle down and actually enjoy your talk.

Second, I want to “pull back the curtain” and share with you some of the intentionality that goes behind storytelling.

You can approach what follows in two different ways. First, you can listen to the 10 minute recording below and THEN read my explanation and analysis or…you can read the explanation and analysis first, whichever works for your learning style.

So here goes…

My original plan was to first tell a story about an expert in the field of mind/body medicine who was bombing on stage and how storytelling saved the day for him. This type of story, what I call a Pain and Promise Story. The Pain and Promise Story grabs the audience’s attention because it speaks to a pain they feel and a hope they have about that pain going away. So it both resonates with their current situation—“I understand you”—and promises an antidote to their plight. This story genre immediately grabs the audience’s attention because it communicates “This will be helpful to you.”

My original planned evaporated when my butterflies did not.

I decided instead to start off with a different story, a funny story, because I needed to relax. Because it’s always been a real crowd pleaser and because it’s funny, I knew it would put me in a more upbeat, having-a-good-time state. So at the last minute I decided to start off with that story instead.

Then, I did the “expert bombing on stage” story. I was going to tell one last story that illustrates how you can use stories to challenge people without being confrontational—which is one of THE most useful applications of storytelling.

I call these the How to Say “You’re Crazy” in a Nice Way Stories.

I wanted to include this story in my short presentation, because this story genre helps people address one of THE most challenging situations for people, especially those in sales, coaching, and leadership positions. It helps them challenge people’s perspectives, beliefs, and excuses without triggering defensiveness and antagonism. I also wanted to include this point about what storytelling can do, along with a story to illustrate the point, because it shows how storytelling isn’t just a presentation tool.

But…when I got to this point in my talk, I felt like I was going to go over the 10 minutes I was shooting for, so I decided NOT to tell that story, but to instead use an analogy to make the point.

I love the analogies for making your point punchy in a fraction of the time.

Analogies are a great way to make your abstract idea concrete in a very short amount of time. If you don’t have much time to make your point, either because of time constraints or because your audience is filed with impatient people (e.g. busy executives in a meeting), analogies are a great alternative to stories.

What was I thinkin’?

OK, here are stylistic and technical notes, both to illustrate the intentionality that went into different aspects of the how the stories were told, as well as how it could have been improved.

How to Make Your Story More Relatable – In the first story, I talk about how I had blown my situation out of proportion. I had turned it into an “If I blow this keynote, it will be a career-ender.” I could have left it at that, but instead I followed that with something like “You know how we do that… we take something that is a little deal and turn it into a BIG DEAL…so maybe it’s like you get the chance to speak in front of senior leadership and you think ‘If I blow it, I’m going to be fired’ or maybe you have a business idea and you want to pitch it to a group of venture capitalists and you think ‘If I blow this…I’ll never get another chance.’”The language pattern that starts with “You know how we do that…” and is followed by experiences the audience can relate to, comes from the world of hypnosis.

It’s what I call a Linking Phrase.If you want the listener to connect at a more visceral level to your story, you use a Linking Phrase to link the experience you are talking about with one or more “versions” they have probably experienced. Doing this increases the listener’s interest at the conscious level because they can see the direct connection between your experience and theirs. It also increases the listener’s connection at the unconscious level because it signals “this is relevant, so pay attention.” It also stimulates greater interest because it stirs up emotions they have around their version of the challenge you are sharing.

Why You Might Use Your Version of My Opening Story – A couple of the reasons why I like using the first story as an opener:

• It’s a great ice breaker.
• As I mentioned before, it helps relax me because it’s a fun story to tell.
• It helps the audience bond with me because it’s a self-effacing story. It shows that I am not coming to them as a guru or in a one-up position. I am coming to them as a fellow human being, an equal (who just happens to have some specialized knowledge or expertise).
• It also subtly communicates credibility, without sounding like I am tooting my own horn. The fact that I was asked to keynote an international conference in Australia makes it obvious—or at least I hope it makes it obvious—that I must know what I’m talking about. Establishing credibility is not for YOUR sake as a speaker. It’s for the audience’s sake. They are far more likely to take seriously and implement your ideas if they believe you are an expert.

Another Example of Using a Linking Phrase – In the second story, I also use a Linking Phrase. This one went something like: “You know that sickening feeling when you’re thinking ‘Man…they are not connecting with me’ and even though you’re really into your idea…they are clearly not.”Just as with the previous example, I want the audience to connect my story with their own experiences, so they can remember the pain. This not only helps them “get into” the story, but also increases their motivation to learn how to NOT experience that pain again.

Provide More Context Than I Did – When I listened to the recording, I noticed that I did something I have caught myself doing on other occasions: not giving enough context to make my point clear to the audience. That happened in the second story when I likened the speaker’s exhortations to a particular Far Side cartoon. I simply said something like “It’s like that Far Side cartoon that goes ‘Blah, blah, blah, Ginger. Blah, blah, blah.’” Here’s the cartoon . I should have described the picture, since obviously not everyone has seen it. One of the reasons why I recommend recording your presentations is because it enables you to catch examples of not giving enough detail or context, so you can do so next time.

Take Away Points

• Using a self-effacing, amusing story as an opener is a great way to calm your nerves and help the audience bond with you.
• Using Linking Phrases helps the listener connect your story with their own experience. This increases their interest, because it shows how what you are talking about is relevant to them.
• Record your talks and pay attention to places where a bit more context or explaining might have made your point more clear.
• The more you use stories in your presentations, the more fascinating a speaker you will be and the more fun you will have speaking.

If you want to learn how to be a better storyteller, come to the free program “Tell a Better Story. Generate More Interest. Build Your Business” at the Casco Bay Tech Hub, on Dec 11th.

Now…For the Recording…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Simon Sinek Demonstrates How to Use a Story to Start Your Talk Off With a Bang

It’s also worth watching it for the outstanding content, too.

The next time you give a talk, how about coming up with a story that grabs the audience’s attention.

Related Posts on Starting Off Your Presentation With a Story

How to Start Off Your Presentation with a Story and… Why You Want To

Start Your Presentation Off With a Pain and Promise Story

How to Start Your Presentation Off With a Story…and Why You Want To

Starting a presentation off with a story starts your presentation off with a bang. It captures your audience’s attention and signals “This isn’t going to be one of those boring Death By PowerPoint presentations.

When choosing an opening story, use this list to see how many of these objectives your story accomplishes. Different stories acccomplish different groupings of objectives, so you might find yourself with two really good stories to start off with, in terms of entertainment value, but one addresses an objective that is especially important for your group while the other one doesn’t.

So for instance*, you might be speaking to a skeptical audience who doesn’t think the issue you’re going to talk about is important. You will want to pick a story that addresses the price they are  paying for  NOT addressing the issue and also subtly communicates your expert status. If you were speaking to a group who already believes in the importance of the issue, you might choose a story that offers hope.

Opening Story Objectives

• Bond—“He understands me.” and/or “He doesn’t think he’s better than me.”
• Credibility–“She knows what she’s talking about.”
• Pain— “Man…I would love to not feel that way anymore.”
• Clarity— “OK, got it! This is what she’s going to talk about.”
• Cognitive Dissonance— “Wow, I never realized I might be paying a price for…”
• Promise—“That would be awesome if that could happen for me.”
• Hope— “Maybe this will be the answer I’ve been looking for.”
• Fascination— “Wow…I never thought about it in that way.”
• Enchantment– “How amusing.” and/or “What a unique way of starting off a talk.”
• Positive Anticipation— “This is going to be fun, different than the same ole’ same ole’.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________

* Note: “So for instance…” is one of the most powerful three words in teaching. This phrase helps you take a conceptual idea–like the paragraph that starts with “When choosing an opening story…”–and make it more understandable by providing a concrete example. As the brothers Heath write in Made to Stick , one of the most important ways to make your ideas “Sticky” is to make  your ideas concrete through examples, analogies, and stories that illustrate your concept.

In this video, I am speaking to an ASTD chapter on storytelling and…surprise, surprise…thought it would be a good idea to open up with a story.

Notice the choice of story (and story within a story) and see how many things you notice in terms of why I started with this story, as well as why I started off with the story within the story at the event I referred to…in the story.

Please feel free to post your observations (and questions) in the Comments Below

To see what the audience picked up on and hear my commentary, go to Starting Off With a Story – Part II.

Also…if you haven’t seen the Add Powerful Storytelling to Your Training webinar recording, click here

Start Your Presentation Off Right with a Pain and Promise Story

If you want your audience to care about your message, start off with a story that speaks to their pain and presents your promise of what can happen if they listen and apply what you’re going to share.

Here’s an example of a Pain and Promise Story that I used to open up a webinar hosted by the American Society of Training and Development on how to use storytelling to jazz up your presentations to about 600 corporate trainers and Organizational Development professionals.

While this story was relevant to my audience (and you’ll see why), this story is even more applicable to entrepreneurs, consultants, and other experts who are great at what they do but….might not be the most confident or interesting speakers….and are therefore very nervous about bombing when they speak.

How to Apply This

1. Identify your market’s/audience’s major sources of pain.

2. Get clear on the outcome your product, service, or message facilitates in relationship to that pain.

3. Identify some examples of this transformation.

4. Tell the story to someone who knows how to tell a story and get feedback on whether it works as an opening story, how compelling it is, how it can be improved.

BTW…at 1:07 notice the language pattern. This is something from the “old days” of using and teaching hypnotherapy and therapeutic storytelling. I’ll write about that later.

Finally..we will be talking about how to start off with a story and more at the upcoming program

How to Use Analogies to Make Your Point More “Sticky”

In Chip and Dan Heath’s excellent book Made to Stick, they discuss the power of analogies to make abstract ideas more understandable…and pack a bigger punch. Analogies do this because they:

• Make Your Abstract Concept Concrete…and Therefore Easier to Comprehend -It’s much easier for the brain to process a concrete image or example than make sense of an abstract thought.
• Make Your Ideas More Interesting –Hopefully you will find that to be the case in this short video.
• Connect the New and Unfamiliar to the Familiar- -It’s a lot easier to understand a new concept when we can link it to something we are already familiar with. Analogies do that. In the video below, you will notice that I use analogies to make my points more clear and…
• Turn an Idea from Being Vulnerable to Skepticism to Seeming Like a “No Brainer “–One of the very cool things about analogies is they help you reframe ideas and rigidly help beliefs. They do this by taking a point of view that the listener or reader holds as true or even self-evident, and then uses the same or similar viewpoint in a context where its validity is easily called into question. Without getting into the hypnotics of it all, doing this also helps to link up the feeling of uncertainty, where before there was only certainty.

This video is from my main website HumanNatureAtWork.com

How to Use a Pain and Promise Story to Tune Your Audience Into WII-FM

Don’t give a long description of your background.

Instead, try starting out with a Pain and Promise Story, a story that captures the pain your audience feels about a problem you can solve and then illustrates “the Promise”–a vision of what will happen if they listen to, and apply, what you are going to share with them.

This helps them dial into that all important radio station–WII-FM–“What’s in it for me?”

I chose this story to start off with because I knew the CEOs in the group would relate to the pain of trying to get buy-in from employees on something that to them is obvious, but ends up not being so obvious to employees…and how frustrating that is.

While I typically like to use stories from my own experience and own work, I often use this story from the folks at VitalSmarts, because it is so perfect. It comes from their book  Influencer .

I wanted to make sure the professional service and financial service firm owners would dial into that WII-FM, but the story didn’t include that context.  I could have mentioned that context while telling the story (if you want to see an example of how to make that transition, see the commentary below the video).

However, in the interest of getting them actively involved as quickly as possible, I broke them up into pairs early on in the story to give them the chance to connect with their individual sources of pain.

The more you connect your audience with their pain from the outset, the more they will care about what you have to say.

The Pain and Promise Story is a great way to do that.

If you know your audience has multiple contexts where they are feeling pain, you can mention those as part of your story. So, if I had chosen not to break them into pairs during the story, I would have said something like this after getting to the part where the leaders’ message had the opposite effect of what they intended:

“I’m sure everyone in here can relate to that unpleasant experience. For others…the place where you feel the most frustrated around others not being persuaded by your message might be when talking to potential clients…and when you’re trying to show them how your service could help them…and they just aren’t getting it…or maybe its situations with colleagues or partners in your firm where you would want to be more persuasive…”

This is a language pattern I learned from my hypnosis training. You offer a variety of possible connections the person can make, to help them connect with your message.

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How To Find A Story To Enhance Your Public Speaking Presentations

• By: Leslie Belknap

Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.

– Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard University

When you tell a story during your presentation, you can potentially activate up to seven areas of your audience members’ brains, as compared to the two areas of the brain that you can awaken if you tell only facts and stats during your presentation.

The power of storytelling is not news to most people; the benefits of stories have been extolled for years, especially recently with the rise of content marketing. Many people however still struggle to know how best to take advantage of storytelling during presentations. We all tell stories everyday, however for some reason when it comes to telling stories during presentations, most people freeze and get a bad case of writer’s block.

The challenge of finding the right story to tell during a presentation is understandable because during presentations the speaker is in the hot seat and the pressure is intense. Thus, most speakers want to stick with the facts to avoid seeming soft or unprepared to present the cold, hard data that proves their points. However being seen as soft and warm is an important reason why speakers should strive to discover at least one story they can share during their time in the spotlight.  According to a Harvard study , leaders need to project warmth to connect to their audience; projecting competence alone is not sufficient for most leaders to succeed.   Although projecting competence is clearly important, neglecting to demonstrate trustworthiness/warmth – a psychological conduit for influence – makes it very difficult for leaders to gain loyalty and to be persuasive in a sustainable way.

So, how can you find stories to tell during your presentations to ensure you engage your audience and project warmth?  Here are 3 suggestions to help you break through writer’s blocks to discover stories that will enhance your message.

1. Personal Story

Burt Helm, writer for renowned publications such as  The New York Times and Inc magazine ,  receives thousands of emails from business leaders and entrepreneurs who hope to be featured in one his upcoming articles.  Recently Burt showed me his inbox which contained 21,000 unread emails. The 21,000 emails had not been read because the sender had failed to captivate Burt’s attention by sharing a story worthy of an article.

When Burt told me the status of his inbox and the reason behind so many unread emails, I couldn’t resist asking, What types of stories capture your attention and imagination? He didn’t hesitate to respond by saying, personal stories . Apparently most people think that talking about their new round of funding or the latest features of their product are stories, but they’re not stories, those are updates worthy of a tweet perhaps, but not an article.

The same goes for presentations; your informative updates might be interesting, but they don’t fulfill the storytelling element needed for your presentation. According to Burt, the best stories start are personal, and are based on experiences such as your failures, epiphanies, fears, successes, and obstacles. Burt continued to explain that the most successful stories start with an unexpected complication and end with a transformation .

If you’re thinking about including a personal story in your presentation, think about the complications in your life, and how you handled those curveball experiences. You can also look for aha moments, or moments of transformation, and work backwards to discover the moment where it all began – the beginning of your story.

2. Customer Experience

If you cannot think of a personal story, are there any customer experiences that are relevant to your presentation material? If so, get permission from the customer to share their story, or change their name to protect their identity. You can even take the basic information from the customer’s experience and create a fictional story based on the customer’s real life experience.

Airbnb has done an exceptional job of reaching out to their customers to gather great stories from real people in their community. The stories are shared online as a content marketing initiative however the example can still serve as inspiration for public speakers.

If you go to all of the work of collecting stories from your customers, why not follow Airbnb’s lead and also use the stories for your own content marketing campaigns? I say go for it. People will love the customer stories on your blog just as much as they will love the stories when you share them during your presentation.

However, if you’re not as lucky as Airbnb and you cannot collect stories from real customers, create a fictional story based on your customers. The fictional story can be as simple as the example shown below.

In the example below, the slides have no words because the slides are only meant to serve as visuals to enhance the story as it is shared orally by the speaker.

In addition, these slides are only a small sample of the entire story – just enough to inspire you to create your own fictional story.

So, here’s the basic idea of this fictional story…

Jack and Jill meet through an online dating site. Jill enjoyed Jack’s witty profile bio that poked fun of his love for crispy bacon and walks through the snow, and Jack enjoyed Jill’s photos from her recent skiing trip in Utah. Jack and Jill decide to meet for their first date at a nearby coffeeshop. As soon as they confirm their plans, they both get butterflies of excitement.

To prepare for the date, Jill goes shopping to buy a new outfit, makeup, and some perfume. The entire time she is shopping, her mind is racing and her heart is pounding due to her excitement and nervousness.

To prepare for the date, Jack looks through his closet to find an appropriate shirt. Overall, he is relaxed and happy. He is looking forward to the date, but the butterflies he felt immediately after confirming the date are now long gone.

You get the idea, right? Your story does not need to be complicated to spark listeners’ imaginations. Your story can be simple and even fictional, but you should strive make it as descriptive as possible. Being descriptive is the secret to activating seven areas of listeners’ brains. 

3. News, Literature, and other Presentations

Pablo Picasso is quoted as saying,  Good artists copy, great artists steal. I f Picasso condones stealing from other artists, then it must be a good idea, right?

Public speakers should feel comfortable telling other people’s stories, as long as you give credit where it is due.  For example, if you read an article last week and the story is still sticking with you, then it is probably a good one. If it is relevant to what you do, your presentation material, and/or your audience’s interests, then you should probably find a way to make it flow within your presentation.

I recently stumbled upon an article that introduced me to Hustle Con . As a result, I have watched every Hustle Con presentation that is available on YouTube. I enjoyed all of the Hustle Con videos, however the two below were so impactful that I often talk about them with friend and colleagues. Because the stories shared within these presentations had an impressive impact on me, I will likely share the stories in some of my upcoming presentations.

Obviously I will not try to pretend that I am the founder of Pandora, or that Tim Westergren told me his life story directly. I will give full credit to Tim Westergren and Hustle Con. Because I am giving credit, I am borrowing more than stealing , and I suggest you do the same to enhance your own presentations.

1. How Tim Westergren Went From $400k in Debt to the Founder of a Public Company

2. How to Contact Anyone on LinkedIn with the Co-Founder of Vungle

What stories have stuck with you over time?

Conclusion:

Tell stories to activate up to seven areas of listeners’ minds, and to also project warmth during your time in the spotlight. When more areas of the brain are activated, people are more alert and engaged – which should be one of the main goals of your presentation.  In addition, leaders and speakers who are perceived as warm are generally more successful.

So, what stories will you tell to steal the show during your presentation?

Additional Resources:

5 Storytelling Tips for Presentations

The Neuroscience of Storytelling

Leslie Belknap

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5 steps to convert your presentation into a story.

• March 11, 2015

My advice on turning a presentation into a story is through the lens of a scientist. However, the tips below apply for almost any field!

Science has a communication problem. After attending the AAAS meeting , it was clear that great efforts were being spent to improve this. Scrolling through my Twitter feed, I would scan tweet after tweet with suggestions on how to improve one’s presentations. One tip, popping up over and over again amongst tweets, was the use of stories. In fact, the story has captured so much attention that at the first Citizen Science Conference, they had whole sessions where people told stories instead of presenting talks. Since then, I’ve made it a goal to transform any presentation into a story.

Telling stories may scare scientists. During graduate school, your advisor immediately crossed out any writing that appeared flowery, creative, and unnecessary. Science is all about the facts and concise, while stories on the other hand, are often equated with fantasy, drama, and imagination.

How then, are scientists, who are so coached to report facts and data, supposed to turn a scientific presentation into a story? A lot of people are probably dubious that the two can even mix, worrying that it may compromise scientific truth. Science and storytelling are not mutually exclusive, but when done right, complementary. In order to do it well though, it must be thought through.

Before I discuss what a science story is, let me address what a story is not. Just because your presentation does not use PowerPoint or visuals does not mean you are telling a story. Giving a presentation without text on slides is not a story. Describing a situation or telling anecdotes is also not a story. Just because you say “today, I am going to tell you a story,” does not mean it is a story (or at least a good one). Remember when you had to write your own short stories? The principles you learned in your middle school English class are exactly what you need to turn your presentation into a story.

• Setting the stage – Just like a good story, you need to set the stage for your science. There are many ways to do this, but the most important thing is to get a hook of some sort, spark their interest, and make your audience care. One of the best ways to do this is by relating the broader picture of your research to a real connection in your audience’s lives. For one of my talks at the museum on cooperative behavior on elephants, I immediately make the audience think of their own families, and a time that they needed help by showing them a photo of a baby elephant stuck in the mud and its family members helping it out. This is something that kids and adults both can grasp. Think big and broad. Watch TED talks to get some ideas on how to do this. Your opening and closing slides are your most important. Don’t start by presenting an outline or telling people where you are going to go. Just go there.
• Setting the scene – In addition to hooking us in, you also need to take us away. Where are we in this story? This location may change as the story progresses and depending on how large of a story you are telling. Using my dissertation research as an example, if I only discuss one chapter (e.g. 12 min conference talk), it may mostly occur in the savannas watching forest elephants in Gabon. In this case and in many ecological studies, the park and habitat are extremely important to the story of forest elephant sociality. If I were telling the whole dissertation story (e.g. 50 min seminar), the scene would change from the open savannas to the looking at sequences in the lab.

• This is the most essential component to turn your presentation into a story. First, a problem needs to be introduced. This is inherent in science. As a scientist, you are trying to answer some question (e.g. problem). Without your study, the problem will never be solved (unless someone else studies it). After the broader introduction and setting, start to transition into the details of your study, and why there is a specific problem. Make sure to include why it is essential to solve it and add a sense of urgency to solve it.
• This may sound phony, but your science does have characters. In fact, you are the biggest one – the protagonist. You are the one solving the biggest problem (your scientific question). Other characters can include collaborators* (helping you solve a problem you couldn’t on your own), your study species (they might be cooperative or difficult for your question), and you can even have villains. (Note – for your scientific career, do not identify real people as villains!) Villains can arise in other forms: weather, something breaks, all of your treatments fail, or your study species won’t cooperate. These characters definitely add drama.

Arc, Finale, and Full Circle

• This is an extension of plot, but needs to be pointed out. Your story needs to be built up. We need to have a sense of suspense. What are the results? What did you find? Build up the drama to this and not in a phony way. Your enthusiasm (which I hope you should have for your research) should make this real so the audience also really wants to find out what you found. When you finish, like the introduction, you need to discuss the importance of your science and tie it back with introductory material. Make your story come full circle if you can by relating it to your opener. Have this be an impactful slide that the audience will remember.

That’s it! You already have all of the material you need from your own research. You just need to reframe the way you have been thinking about your study to presentation into a story. For design tools to make your powerpoint slides look beautiful and help with your story, check out Canva .

*As mentioned before, your first and last slide are the most important slides. While a lot of people helped you along the way, acknowledgement slides are just a long list of peoples’ names to look at while you are asking questions (in other words, a really boring slide). It’s much better to integrate their efforts throughout the talk or honestly just leave it out. I never include acknowledgements in my slides anymore.

**This blog was originally posted on the Wildlife SNPits. 

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10 Creative Storytelling Presentation Templates

Adding a story to your presentation is an absolute must-have element if you wish to engage your audience or viewers and make your content memorable.

Humans have gathered around a fireplaces to listen storytelling for thousands of years, so following a story path in your presentation is a natural instinct.

Nobody likes bullet points and slides, people hunger for a beginning, an adventure and a great ending. These are the presentation elements which will make you a legend.

So how to present a story and make it fascinating? The below gallery includes some of our best Story and Storytelling related presentation templates for PowerPoint and Prezi. Replace the content with your own text and images and focus on what matters – your story:

1. Story Timeline Presentation Template

Prezi Template for making a creative timeline or photo frames slideshow. A classic film tape/movie roll with a 3D background for presenting your images, videos or texts. Present about your company history, talk about a movie or a TV show or create a multimedia image gallery slideshow. Easily customize the template by duplicating the film tape and add as many placeholders as needed. Divide your timeline path into sections using the dotted line and zoom in to present the content. Present a story with a smooth flow and take your audience on journey through time.

2. Creative Stories Presentation Template

Good template for educational presentation, for presenting to kids or children in the classroom. Includes a PowerPoint version with animated stickman figures. A fun template with a simple paper sketch concept, I mean come on, we’ve all created stickman figures, and when they come alive, the it feels like a magic hollywood movie for the kids 

3. Digital Story Presentation Template

3D Prezi Template with the concept of digital storytelling. A film strip flying out of a white Ipad and scattered white frames for your content. All visual elements are separated; move them around, remove graphics, change the background and create your own unique layout. Duplicate the 2 different kind of frames for your texts, images or videos. A good template for visual storytelling, presenting movie/film scripts, movie reviews, digital media, online videos, streaming content or media from the internet. A simple and universal template for presenting with lot of media content, create a slideshow of photos, or a gallery of videos.

4. Open Book Presentation Template

Take your viewers on a story and fly through the letters and numbers on the 3D background. The slides in the template have a nice 3D transition effect and at first, it might look like the template zooms and spins an awful lot, but this example presentation only shows blanks slides, but your presentation will have more content to show, and thus you’re staying on each slide longer.

5. Comic Book Story Presentation Template

Do you want to become a superhero? It’s possible with this creative comic book design Prezi presentation template. Tell a story to your audience, add beautiful images, use comic book effects and you’ll be remembered as a storytelling hero, guaranteed! Rethink your boring presentation you were going to present, by adding a character and a narrative. Your audience will be more captivated and everyone will remember your content. People are emotional creatures, and this template limits your ability to present slides with boring and large text blocks, so you have to become creative and rethink your story in a more visual way!

6. Adventure Book Presentation Template

People love stories and adventures so give your audience something to remember by using this creative 3D presentation template featuring an open book on a desk and a city popping out of it. A magical and fantasy themed book presentation template with a city with skyscrapers and tall mountain tops popping out from a book. A perfect template for storytelling and making a presentation about education, book, innovation or science fiction. This is your adventure, go ahead and write the first chapter…

7. Project Storyboard Presentation Template

Prezi presentation Template with a creative storytelling concept. A storyboard sketch on an A4 paper – present your business ideas or add a story to any other topic. Storyboards are commonly used to visualize movies or animations, in a sketched out sequence. Use this great concept to build your own presentation. Add images and illustrations inside the frames and short descriptions underneath.

8. Story of Time Presentation Template

Prezi Template for creating a 3D circular photo slideshow or sharing image/videos. A classic black film/movie tape forming a round circular shape with a clock face (can be deleted) Present about your business or company history or roadmap, or create a gallery of memories. A good photo or video template for any kind of presentation with lots of pictures or videos in it. Present a story and take your audience on journey through time with is symbolized by the circle clock shape. Share memories or present photographs from an event – insert your images into the photo frames. A good template for photographers or videographers to present their work or portfolio. Insert your own photographs, or use video, text or symbols.

9. Writing a Story Presentation Template

Prezi template with an abstract pencil concept. Letters flying out from a broken pencil. Illustrates creativity, learning or writing. When zooming in the background fades into a grey color to focus on the content. Move or delete the elements and create an interesting looking presentation. Present about creative writing, copywriting, literature, school, education.

10. Photo Box Presentation Template

Prezi Template for creating a 3D photo slideshow, sharing images or videos. A classic black film tape forming a rectangular shape with multiple zoom levels. Present about your company history, talk about a movie or a TV show or create a media gallery. A good photo or video template for any kind of presentation with lots of pictures. Present a story and take your audience on journey through time. Share memories or present photographs from an event – insert your images into the photo frames. A good template for photographers or videographers to present their work or portfolio. Insert your own photographs, or use videos, text or symbols.

So what’s your story? Do you need to a create a presentation to wow your clients, boss or someone else?

Think about that… what is the message behind your presentation and what are you trying to say to your audience? This will determine the kind of story you need to present about.

If you’re looking for some more inspiration, be sure to check out Best 25 Creative presentation templates or browse our Pinterest Channel for more Prezi template ideas.

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Every Great Presentation Needs a Story—Here’s How You Tell One

July 7, 2020

Looking to create your next presentation that can leave a lasting impression? Key to this is understanding the role of stories and how different story structures can be applied depending on your purpose.

In this blog post, we’ll be covering:

• The importance of stories
• Why stories are key to a great presentation
• 5 story structures, when to use them and examples that show them in action

What’s the importance of stories?

Stories turn information into a narrative and narratives get people to act. 

Think of it this way—if information were represented as dots on a page, then the story is the string that connects them together. Without a story, you have puzzle pieces, but you haven’t formed a picture yet. Ever been handed a set of jigsaw puzzles without knowing the full image to work towards? 

Well, delivering a presentation without a story sort of feels like that. It leaves you feeling lost.

The thing is, stories have been around for as long as we’ve lived. On a large scale, it’s how culture gets passed down and how knowledge gets shared. Think family traditions, presidential speeches, and TED Talks. Also, think...what’s the one thing they all have in common? They’re memorable. 

Humans enjoy narratives because the very process of identifying with a narrative means we are showing empathy and emotion towards it. In fact, Uri Hassan (a fantastic neuroscientist) discovered that a great storyteller literally causes the neurons of an audience to closely sync with the storyteller’s brain. That’s basically the equivalent of “getting on someone’s level”.

Why should I think about storytelling when designing a presentation?

“Do I really need to tell a story when I’m creating a presentation to secure a brand partnership? What about for a sales report? To present quarterly earnings?”

Yes, yes, and yes. 

We get that some stories are bigger than others, but at the core of any presentation, you’re trying to explain something .

If graphs indicate that sales have been going down across the board, there’s going to be a story in there about why this is happening, what you plan to start or stop doing, and how things change. Without this narrative context, the data has no way of being interpreted.

On the other end of the scale, some stories are expansive and inspire collective change.

When BMO, a Canadian bank, decided to make massive technology and business transformations across their 900 branches, it needed a compelling reason to answer every employee’s question of, “why should I change what I’m doing?”

So BMO hired a communications agency that built them a 50 slide presentation, delivered by the transformation leader to all of its senior leadership team members. In this presentation, there was a story about time . That it was the right time to make a change. That if the business wanted to improve their customer’s experience, it needed change to respect their time more. That was how the presentation sold the idea to everyone in the room that day.

It’s also important to keep in mind that stories can be told both in spoken form and through visuals. While used for different purposes (words help elaborate on what visuals can quickly communicate), both forms work hand-in-hand to reinforce the same narrative.

5 different types of stories to structure your presentation

Depending on the purpose of your presentation, you may need to explore the use of different types of stories. To help you decide which to choose, here are 5 compelling story types and examples of when they might be most suitable:

1. Future Stories

This story technique focuses on a time when the problem at hand has already been solved and the rewards achieved. 

It places the audience in the mindset of thinking about future possibilities in a motivational way. The more realistic and grounded in reality the story of the future can be told, the more likely the audience will feel the tangible results. 

You can tell future stories in two ways: by focusing on the possibility of a great future and how it can be achieved, or by focusing on the possibility of a bad future and how it can be avoided.

When to use this

• At the start of an investor pitch, state the possibilities that can be achieved with your product/service upfront in order to get the audience hooked on the rest of your presentation.
• To move people into action with a sense of urgency created.

See it in action

Bill Gates begins his talk by describing an impending risk of a deadly global virus killing over 10 million in upcoming decades. Through this, he creates a sense of urgency that allows him to deliver the message of needing to plan and create preventive measures starting today.

2. Converging Ideas 

A presentation that uses converging ideas shows how different people’s thinking came together to form one product or idea. It shows the origin of that idea and the process for how it was formed.

The story starts with the first thought, which is then followed by the second, third, and however many others there are. Then, it ties all the thoughts together and illustrates how they unite and contribute to the final idea.

• To show the strength of a team/partnership.
• To show the idea was built on deliberate thinking and full considerations.
• When Introducing a new product/idea, or when selling it.

John Bohannon’s talk begins by explaining how the idea in his presentation came to him while speaking with a physicist friend of his. Uniting their thoughts together, he describes the power of using dancers to visualize complex ideas (though we know not everyone has a team of dancers ready to work with, we can still apply this idea in accessible ways by using music or visuals to simplify a complex message).

3. Hero’s Journey

Commonly used in folk stories, it follows a protagonist who sets out on a journey. Only after conquering obstacles along the way are they able to return home with new-found wisdom.

This story technique shows your audience how you came to gain the knowledge that’s in your presentation. It explains the process for them, from your perspective, and allows the message to come alive through human experiences involving trials and tribulations.

It’s a humanizing technique that creates a sense of relatability and builds trust.

• When you need to establish credibility with a new audience upfront.
• At the start of a workshop that aims to teach (to show you can “walk the talk”).
• To demonstrate the success of a product/service by featuring someone’s struggle before using the product/service vs. how they feel after.

Nicole Bishop kicks off her elevator pitch by speaking to her own health-related experiences before introducing her AI tool, Quartolio , that analyzes millions of articles, trials and patents that can be used by specialists. Through this, she shows herself as knowledgeable on the topic and intimately familiar with the space:

4. Petal Structure

This style leans on one central message that’s being reinforced by multiple ideas or speakers. For instance, It’s helpful in situations where an audience might need some convincing to believe or take action on what’s being presented. By being shown multiple points of view that support the same message, the audience can feel the importance or weight of it.

• When you have a group of speakers who are sharing the same message.
• To show that multiple people have agreed on something, therefore, it holds weight.

At the beginning of Dave Visan’s pitch for his app, Brightwheel , used to revolutionize early education, he shows how kids, parents, and teachers all struggle with the current system. Even more impressively, when showing how kids are struggling, he plays three clips of different children all saying they don’t know what they got out of school that day. Visan successfully uses the petal structure twice (once reinforced by visuals!) all within a minute to drive his point home.

5. Sparklines 

The name of this technique (which shares a name with small line charts, but used for a different purpose), alludes to the visual mapping of the feelings evoked from a presentation:

By fluctuating between hope and reality, this type of presentation identifies current day challenges and helps your audience envision a world where that challenge is defeated.

Rhythm is important here. Note that there is an up and down motion throughout. This is intended to not overwhelm the audience with too much of a future outlook so that it feels removed from reality.

The last step in this presentation technique is to (literally) end on a high note. To leave audiences with a sense that the future outlook is near and can be reached.

• For longer presentations when you have the time to build up momentum. 
• Long-form speeches that empower you to radically shift the audiences’ way of thinking.
• Large product releases feature a number of substantial changes.

See it in action:

When Steve Jobs introduces the world to the iPod for the first time, he compares a number of features (such as storage space, device size, and download speed) but does so in a way where he goes back and forth between two worlds—where we are (with CD players) and where we could be (with iPods). Only at the very end does he reveal the iPod in physical form, which is received by a delighted round of applause. ‍

Bringing it together: building your next presentation with a story

The next time you create a presentation, think about how the role of a story can elevate it that much more. 

Before you put these story structures into action, there are key things you should know first: 

• Who is your audience?
• What do they know?
• What do they care about?
• How do you want them to feel by the end of your presentation?

When you have these answers down, get creative and explore which story type works best for you. Also, don’t be afraid to combine different stories together (done authentically, this can be really powerful)!

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Short Anecdotes for Speeches and Parables to Amaze Your Audience

Short anecdotes for speeches are a fantastic way to end a presentation with a bang. These stories can be fiction, actual incidents from history, or even just funny stories from your own personal life. When you deliver them well, though, they have a lasting impact. I often use these short anecdotes for speeches when I’m trying to teach something meaningful to the audience. So, in most instances, speakers use these anecdotes in training sessions or motivational speeches.

When You Use an Anecdote in a Speech, Tie the Story to the Greater Meaning of Your Presentation.

The anecdotes themselves add entertainment and humor to a speech. But when you use the story to relay a greater message, they almost have a magic quality. When you tell an anecdote in a speech, spend time at the end tying the incident back to the main point of your presentation.

When my daughter graduated from High School, a local pastor delivered her commencement address. He used a well-known anecdote in a masterful way as the start of the commencement speech. Since he was a pastor, he told the story of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. Being a professional speaker myself, I wondered exactly how he would tie that story to a graduation ceremony.

He went on to explain how many Christians might see a “Baptism” as the ending point. However, Jesus started his public ministry at his baptism. The pastor then shared with the graduating class that many of them are likely seeing the ceremony as the end of their schooling. In reality, though, commencement means the beginning. The speaker used the anecdote really well and inspired the graduating class with the short story.

So, I thought that it might be fun to just jot down a few of the most inspirational (or just funny) short anecdotes for speeches that I have come across in my career. Perhaps you can use them in your next presentation.

Short Anecdotes for Speeches

The parable of the pebbles.

Eventually, he saw in the distance what looked like an oasis. He moved as fast as he could to what could be his salvation. Just as darkness fell, he felt cool water on his sandal.

He dropped to his knees and began cupping water into his mouth with his palm thanking God that he had survived. Then, out of the darkness, he heard a big booming voice from heaven say, “Merchant! Reach down, pick up some stones, put them into your pocket, and in the morning you will be both glad and sad.”

Well, when a big booming voice from heaven tells you to do something, you tend to do it. So, he reached into the stream, picked up a few pebbles, and put them into his pocket. He then packed up his camel as fast as he could and took off.

When he felt like he was far enough away from the voice that he was safe, he made camp.

Laying under the stars, he finally realized that he had been pretty dehydrated. So, he convinced himself that he had just imagined the voice. When he woke the next morning, he felt something in his trouser pocket. He pulled the pebbles out of his pocket in amazement. They weren’t just ordinary pebbles. They were precious gems — diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies… At that moment, he was both glad and sad.

He was glad that he picked a few pebbles up…

He was also very sad, though, that he hadn’t picked up more while he was there.

The parable of the pebbles is an analogy to training sessions. When we finish a training session without putting a lot of effort into the skill development, we will often be glad that we gained some skill. However, we can often look back and wish that we had worked a little harder so that we could have developed more.

Rocks in a Jar Time Management Presentation Anecdote (Analogy)

However, he pulled out a bag of smaller pebbles like you would see in a fish tank, and poured them in as well. As he shook the jar, the smaller pebbles fell into the spaces between the large rocks. Again he asked, “So, is the jar full?” The group was more hesitant, now, though. So, they waited to see what he would pull out next.

Not to disappoint, he pulled out a bag of sand and poured it into the jar as well. “Now is the jar full?”

One of the high-achievers in the front row, learning his game said, “No, you can still pour water into the jar.”

Of course, he did.

The same woman in the front row then said, “I get it. The point is that no matter how busy our schedule is, you can always cram something else in, right?”

The consultant smiled at her and said, “Not exactly. My point is that the big items only fit into the jar at all because we put them in first. If you don’t focus on the big things like, spending time with your family and having a strong spiritual life, the little things will always seep in and take up all the space.”

Use the Rocks in a Jar Time Management parable to encourage people to focus on the most important things in life.

The Obstacle in Our Path Parable

Finally, a vegetable farmer with a small cart came by. Seeing that the boulder was a great obstacle for his fellow merchants with wagons, he decided to try to move the bolder. He pushed and strained as fellow travelers watched. Eventually, he was able to clear the boulder from the roadway. As he went back to retrieve his cart, he noticed a money bag where the boulder had been. Inside was a dozen gold coins along with a note from the king thanking him.

You can use the Obstacle in Our Path Parable to show how every obstacle in our path is an opportunity for reward. However, most people see the obstacle and go the other way.

The Ripple Effect

A troubled monk goes to his Abbott for guidance, and after listening intently, the Abbott asks the monk to join him on a walk. The arrive at a pond near the back of the monastery. The Abbott asks the monk to pick up a stone and toss it into the center of the pond. The monk complies. “Now,” said the Abbott, “as the ripples come closer to the shore, stick your finger in the water to try to stop them.” The monk tries, but as he sticks his finger in the water, the action just creates more ripples.

The confused monk looks at his mentor and says, “Abbott, I can’t. My actions just cause more ripples.”

The Abbott smiles, and says, “So, you cannot stop the ripples?”

“Correct,” said the monk.

“But could you have stopped yourself from tossing the stone into the pond in the first place”?”

This short anecdote has a ton of applications in a speech. I sometimes use it to show that often we spend a lot of time trying to mitigate a symptom versus fixing the actual problem causing the symptom. For instance, people will often come to my classes to reduce the number of times they say “uhhmm” in a speech or to avoid speaking too quickly. Those are just symptoms of nervousness, though. If you try to treat the symptom, it’s like trying to stop the ripples. However, if we help the presenter reduce the actual nervousness, the ripples go away altogether.

Tell Us Some of Your Favorite Short Parables for Presentations.

If you have a compelling story, anecdote, or parable that you like t0 use in your presentations, share it with us in the comments below. We will try to make this page a repository for great presentation anecdotes.

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Presentation on the short story project

On April 23rd, 2020, Mark Algee-Hewitt, Anna Mukamal and J.D. Porter presented some of the first results from their project on the short story.

While the insights of the Digital Humanities have revealed new facets of literary form and history that are unavailable through traditional critical methods alone, in the field of literary text mining, the novel has long dominated analyses. As such, the new histories told by computational methods are centered on longer form prose fiction, eliding the ways in which short stories not only have their own evolutionary history throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but, equally as importantly, also differ formally from the novel. How does the language of the short story diverge from that of the novel? How do short stories construct plots differently from longer narratives? Are the events of short stories the same as those of novels, or do short stories have their own logic of events? Do characters appear and serve the same functions in short stories as they do in novels? And finally, how does the form of the short story change as it develops in the periodical publications of the early twentieth century? Length, it turns out, is not only an undertheorized aspect of literary fiction, but also does critical work in differentiating the kinds of stories that can be told in short fiction, as well as how those stories can be told. These questions have all been asked, to a greater or lesser extent, of other literary forms (novels, but also poetry and drama), but a computational approach, one that harnesses techniques from topic modeling to word vectors to named entity recognition, can aid us in better understanding the particular form and history of the short story.

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Best short stories and collections everyone should read.

If you are on the lookout for great storytelling but don’t want to commit to a full-length novel, then short story collections are the answer. Whether it’s just before bed, during your commute, or waiting to see your doctor, small chunks of time are perfect for reading short stories.

Here we have gathered thirty-one of the best short stories and collections , from all sorts of backgrounds and sources, to help you grow your “To Be Read” pile.

For your convenience, we've divided this post into two parts: 1. the ten best free short stories to read right now , and 2. best short story collections. Feel free to jump to the section that you prefer!

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of great short stories out there, you can also take our 30-second quiz below to narrow it down quickly and get a personalized short story recommendation 😉

Which short story should you read next?

Discover the perfect short story for you. Takes 30 seconds!

Free Short Stories to Read Right Now

These individual short stories are the best of the best — and the even better news is that they're available for free online for you to peruse. From classics published in the 1900s to a short story that exploded in late 2017, here are ten of the greatest free short stories for you to read.

1. “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl

While not exactly a philosophical or political tale like our first two examples, this twisty short story from Dahl does delve into some shady moral territory. We are introduced to Mary Maloney: a loving wife and dedicated homemaker. In just a few short paragraphs describing how she welcomes her husband home, Dahl makes us sympathize with Mary — before a rash act turns her life upside down and takes the reader with her on a dark journey.

For those who haven’t read it, we won’t spoil the rest. However, it’s safe to say that Dahl serves up a fiendish twist on a platter.

2. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

A perennial feature in many a high school syllabus, Shirley Jackson’s best-known short story clinically details an unusual ritual that takes place in a small town. There’s not exactly a lot of plot to spoil in The Lottery — but within a few short pages, Jackson manages to represent the mob mentality that can drive reasonable people to commit heinous acts.

3. “How to Become a Writer” by Lorrie Moore

Told in the second person point of view , this story from Moore’s debut anthology Self-Help takes an honest look at the inner life of a struggling artist. Through the use of an unusual POV, the author manages to turn her reader into a confidante — making it abundantly clear that the ‘you’ the narrator is speaking about is actually herself.

This story is a standout, but the entire collection is well worth a read for its insight, humor, and disregard for literary norms.

4. “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenian

In the Social Media Age, no short story has gone viral the way this New Yorker contribution from Roupenian has. Arriving at the height of #MeToo, it begins with 20-year-old Margot embarking on the early stages of flirtation with an older man, Robert. As she gets to know more about this man (as well as filling in the gaps with her imagination), the power dynamic in their relationship starts to fluctuate.

Lauded for its portrayal of Margot’s inner life and the fears many modern women face when it comes to dating, it also has its fair share of detractors — many are critical of the central character, some are downright outraged by the story’s success. Still, this story undeniably struck a chord with the reading public, and will likely remain relevant for some time.

5. “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver

First published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1981, “Cathedral” is today known as one of Raymond Carver’s finest works. When it opens, we meet a narrator whose wife is expecting a visit from an old friend, a blind man. Dissatisfied and distrusting of people not like him, our narrator struggles to connect until the blind man asks him to describe a cathedral to him. 

 “Cathedral” is one of Carver’s own personal favorites, and deservedly so. His characteristic minimalist style is devastating as the story builds up to a shattering moment of emotional truth — an ultimate reminder that no-one else can capture the quiet sadness of working-class people like him. 

6. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor

Innocuously titled, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is nevertheless Flannery O’Connor’s bleakest — and most famous — work. It begins unassumingly with a Southern family who’s planning to go on a road trip. Yet the journey is rudely interrupted when their car overturns on an abandoned dirt road — and they are met by an enigmatic group of three men, coming up over the far hill. 

This short story inspired some strong reactions from the public upon publication — and the conversation continues today as to its frank depiction of the nature of good and evil. Again, we won’t spoil anything for you, except to say that “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is well worth your time. 

7. “Symbols and Signs” by Vladimir Nabokov

The famous author of Lolita wrote “Signs and Symbols” in 1948. Its premise is seemingly simple: an elderly couple visits their mentally ill son in the sanatorium in America. Yet their background and trials come into sharp focus as the story develops, until an explosive ending disrupts everyone’s peace of mind. 

As you might expect, the somber “Symbols and Signs” diverges sharply from Lolita in terms of both tone and subject — but its ending will keep you awake at night thinking about its implications.  

8. “Sticks” by George Saunders

Not so much a short story as it is flash fiction, “Sticks” is written from the perspective of a young man whose father has an unusual habit: dressing up a crucifix that’s built of out a metal pole in the yard. One of America’s greatest living short story writers, George Saunders explained: "For two years I'd been driving past a house like the one in the story, imagining the owner as a man more joyful and self-possessed and less self-conscious than myself. Then one day I got sick of him and invented his opposite, and there was the story." 

The result is a masterful piece of fiction that builds something out of seemingly nothing — all in the space of only two paragraphs. 

9. “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury

If there’s anyone who you can trust to deliver thought-provoking, terrifying science fiction on the regular, it’s Ray Bradbury. In “The Veldt,” George and Lydia Hadley have bought an automated house that comes with a “nursey,” or a virtual reality room. Worried about the nursery’s effect on the kids, George and Lydia think about turning off the nursey — but the problem is that their children are obsessed with it. 

As an ominously prescient prediction of the downside of technology, “The Veldt” is a short and shining example of how Ray Bradbury was an author before his time. 

10. “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes

In this classic short story, we are privy to the journals of Charlie Gordon, a cleaner with an IQ of 68. ("I reely wantd to lern I wantid it more even then pepul who are smarter even then me. All my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb.”) Charlie’s luck changes when he is selected for an experiment that purports to turn him into a genius — but everything that goes up must come down in the end. 

“Flowers for Algernon” won the Hugo Award in 1960 for its groundbreaking presentation. Heartbreaking and rich with subtle poignance, it is likely to remain a staple for centuries to come.  

Best Short Story Collections to Devour

If you'd like many short stories at your fingertips all at once, short story collections are where you should look. Here, we've collected 21 of the best short story collections — along with the standout story in each volume.

11. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin

Standout Story: “A Manual for Cleaning Women”

12. Blow-up and Other Stories by Julio Cortázar

Standout Story: “House Taken Over”

13. Drifting House by Krys Lee

Standout Story: “Drifting House”

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14. Dubliners by James Joyce

Standout Story: “The Dead”

15. Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales by Stephen King

Standout Story: “Riding the Bullet”

16. Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges

Standout Story: “The Garden of Forking Paths”

17. Florida by Lauren Groff

Standout Story: “Above and Below”

18. Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman

Standout Story: “The Flints of Memory Lane”

19. Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl

Standout Story: “The Pig”

20. Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami

Standout Story: “Samsa in Love”

21. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger

Standout Story: “For Esme - With Love and Squalor”

22. Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

Standout Story: “In a Bamboo Grove”

23. Runaway by Alice Munro

Standout Story: “Runaway”

24. Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel García Márquez

Standout Story: “The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow”

25. The Collected Stories by Grace Paley

Standout Story: “A Man Told Me the Story of His Life”

26. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway by Ernest Hemingway

Standout Story: “Hills Like White Elephants”

27. The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor

Standout Story: “A Good Man is Hard to Find”

28. The Essential Tales of Chekhov by Anton Chekhov

Standout Story: “The Lady with the Dog”

29. The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Standout Story: “I’d Love You to Want Me”

30. The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Standout Story: “The Thing Around Your Neck”

31. The Youngest Doll by Rosario Ferré

Standout Story: “When Women Love Men”

Ready to write your own short story? Check out these short story ideas for all your inspiration needs.

Continue reading

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10 Minute Presentation Topics: 50 Unique Ideas to Engage Your Audience

Searching for the perfect topic for your 10-minute presentation can feel like hunting for a needle in a haystack. I understand the challenge of trying to capture and maintain an audience’s focus all too well.

Luckily, my journey has led me to discover 50 captivating ideas that are sure to engage your listeners. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through selecting fascinating topics and presenting them in ways that will undoubtedly leave an impression .

Get ready to dazzle!

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

• When picking a presentation topic, aim for unique and thought – provoking ideas that capture your audience’s attention. Be specific and clear to leave a memorable impression.
• Tailor your presentation to fit the audience’s interests and knowledge level , making sure it is relevant and engaging for them.
• Use personal stories or examples from your expertise to connect with the audience, making your talk more relatable and interesting.
• Keep in mind the balance between academics and work life , study habits improvement strategies, coping with stress for mental health well-being, finding internships or job opportunities, and managing personal finances as valuable topics for college students.
• Practicing empathy in leadership can create a positive workplace culture by making team members feel valued and understood.

Tips for Delivering a Successful 10-Minute Presentation:

Start with the end goal in mind and understand your audience. Use novel and precise information while leveraging your expertise effectively.

Begin with the end in mind

As I plan my presentations, I always aim to keep the final goal in sight. This means understanding exactly what I want my audience to learn or feel by the end of my talk. For me, this could involve making sure they leave with three key points about public speaking or feeling motivated to join Toastmasters International like I did.

Crafting each part of the presentation with this outcome in mind helps me stay focused and ensures that every element supports that end goal .

I also consider how to measure if I’ve achieved this aim. Will it be through the questions they ask during the Q&A, their feedback forms, or perhaps a more engaged audience throughout? Deciding on these metrics beforehand guides me in creating content that is not only informative but also engaging and directly aligned with my objectives .

Keeping the end in mind shapes everything from how I start my presentation to how I conclude it, guaranteeing that both my audience and I find value in the experience.

Know your audience

Knowing your audience is crucial in delivering a successful presentation. It helps create content that resonates with them. For instance, understanding their interests and concerns will allow you to tailor your message to what matters most to them.

Additionally, it’s important to consider the knowledge level of the audience so you can adjust the complexity of your topic accordingly. By engaging with your audience and addressing their specific needs , you can ensure that they remain attentive and absorbed throughout your presentation.

Now let’s explore tips for delivering a successful 10-minute presentation!

Be novel and precise

To engage your audience effectively, aim to be novel and precise in your presentation. Instead of using cliched topics, try exploring unique and thought-provoking ideas that will captivate your audience’s attention.

It’s vital to be clear and concise in delivering your message to ensure that it resonates with the audience. By being specific and innovative , you can create a memorable experience for your listeners, leaving a lasting impression .

Now let’s explore some engaging 10-minute presentation topics and techniques that are perfect for college students.

Leverage your expertise

When delivering a 10-minute presentation, leverage your expertise by choosing a topic that you know well. Your knowledge and passion for the subject will shine through, making it easier to engage your audience.

Additionally, consider using personal examples or stories related to your area of expertise to make the presentation more relatable and captivating.

Furthermore, sharing practical tips or insights based on your experience can add depth and authenticity to your presentation. For instance, if you are discussing time management skills for college students, draw from your own journey of balancing academics and other responsibilities.

10 Ideas for College Students:

Discover practical and relevant topics such as balancing school and work, improving study habits, coping with stress and mental health, finding internships and job opportunities, and managing personal finances .

Ready to engage your audience? Read more now!

Balancing school and work

Balancing school and work is crucial for many students. With 45% of college students working, finding the right balance is essential. I know this struggle firsthand as I also worked while attending graduate school.

It’s important to prioritize tasks and manage time effectively to avoid burnout.

I understand the challenges of juggling assignments and work schedules , which is why setting realistic goals and establishing a solid routine are vital. Time management techniques such as creating a schedule or using productivity apps can be extremely beneficial.

Also, don’t forget about self-care – taking breaks, staying organized, and seeking support from professors or supervisors when needed are key components in achieving this balance between academics and employment.

Strategies for improving study habits

When facing studying challenges, I recommend creating a schedule and finding a quiet study space. This can help maintain focus while reducing distractions from social media and video games.

Additionally, employing effective note-taking methods such as using flashcards or summarizing information in your own words can enhance understanding and retention of material. Forming study groups with classmates can also provide new perspectives on the subject matter.

To improve my own study habits, I found that setting specific goals for each study session helped keep me motivated and on track. Taking short breaks between study sessions allowed me to recharge my mind and stay focused.

Coping with stress and mental health

When coping with stress and mental health , it’s important to find strategies that work for you . I remember facing anxiety during my public speaking journey but learning how to manage stress made a significant difference.

Simple techniques like deep breathing, taking regular breaks, and getting enough sleep can have a big impact on mental well-being . It’s also essential to prioritize self-care and seek help when needed.

By finding effective coping mechanisms , we can better manage the demands of public speaking while maintaining good mental health.

Finding internships and job opportunities

Transitioning from coping with stress and mental health to finding internships and job opportunities, I understand that college can be both demanding and exciting. As a student, it’s crucial to plan for life after graduation by exploring internship opportunities and understanding how to navigate the job market effectively.

I remember when I was in college; I found that networking events , career fairs , and online platforms such as LinkedIn were incredibly valuable in discovering internships and job openings related to my field of study.

It’s essential to take advantage of these resources early on to gain practical experience while still in school.

Managing personal finances

As a public speaking beginner, managing personal finances is crucial. Always create a budget to track income and expenses. Set financial goals too, like saving for emergencies or paying off debts.

Look for free resources online to learn about investing and growing your money . Remember, starting small is okay – even a little savings can add up over time.

Now, let’s move on to “10 Interview Presentation Ideas”.

10 Interview Presentation Ideas:

How to effectively showcase your skills and experience can make or break your job interview. For more valuable insights on engaging presentation topics, read my blog titled “10 Minute Presentation Topics: 50 Unique Ideas to Engage Your Audience.”.

How to effectively showcase your skills and experience

When presenting your skills and experience, use specific examples to demonstrate your abilities. Employ storytelling techniques to make your presentation engaging. Utilize visual aids like charts or graphs to illustrate your accomplishments effectively.

Highlight the impact of your work through real-life examples and statistics if applicable.

To engage the audience, share personal anecdotes that showcase how you’ve applied your skills in different situations. For instance, I once shared a story about a project where my problem-solving skills helped resolve a challenging issue at work.

Tips for acing job interviews

After effectively showcasing your skills and experience, the next crucial step is acing job interviews . To prepare, research the company thoroughly and practice common interview questions .

Dress professionally and arrive early for the interview. Throughout the process, remain confident and maintain good eye contact with your interviewer to show interest .

During my early days in public speaking, I faced numerous daunting interviews but overcame them through thorough preparation and practice. By meticulously researching each company’s background and anticipating potential questions, I managed to ace several job interviews confidently.

Using storytelling techniques in a presentation

When using storytelling techniques in a presentation, I find it helpful to start with a compelling narrative that captures the audience’s attention. This can be achieved by introducing relatable characters or situations to make the content more engaging and memorable.

Personal anecdotes or real-life examples are effective tools for connecting with the audience on an emotional level and conveying key messages in a way that resonates with them. Furthermore, incorporating a well-structured plot with clear exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution helps maintain the audience’s interest throughout the presentation.

By leveraging storytelling techniques , presenters can create an immersive experience for their audience, making the content more impactful and easier to remember. For instance, during my own presentations at Toastmasters International meetings, I often utilize personal stories to illustrate specific points or lessons I want to convey.

Addressing weaknesses and challenges in a presentation

When addressing weaknesses and challenges in a presentation, it’s crucial to acknowledge nervousness as normal . To overcome this, practice and preparation are key. Additionally, having a backup plan for technical issues will help manage unexpected disruptions during the presentation.

Always have clear slides with concise points to avoid overwhelming the audience.

Lastly, seek feedback after each presentation to identify areas of improvement and build confidence. Embracing mistakes as learning opportunities is essential for growth as a speaker.

Presenting a project or case study

Presenting a project or case study allows me to showcase my skills and knowledge in a real-world context . It’s an opportunity to highlight the practical application of theories and concepts.

For instance, I recently presented a case study on how social media marketing strategies can impact small businesses. The audience engagement was remarkable as they could relate to the examples and see the relevance of the topic in today’s digital age.

The key is to select a case study that resonates with the audience and brings forth actionable insights . Backing up your findings with data and tangible results adds credibility to your presentation.

10 Ideas for Relatable and Interesting 10-Minute Presentations:

Embracing introversion for success, resilience over failure, and more relatable topics. Interested in captivating your audience with thought-provoking ideas? Check out the full article for engaging and unique presentation topics!

The power of introverts

As an introvert myself, I understand the unique strengths that introverts bring to the table. Sometimes, it’s easy to assume that being outgoing and outspoken is the only way to succeed in public speaking.

The truth is, introverts have a special ability to deeply reflect and craft thoughtful messages. This skill can captivate and engage an audience in a powerful way.

In fact, research shows that many influential leaders are introverts who excel at leading with quiet strength and well-thought-out ideas . As speakers, introverts often connect on a personal level with their audience by sharing personal stories and insights.

Embracing failure and resilience

Embracing failure and resilience is crucial for personal growth . Each setback teaches valuable lessons to propel us forward. Despite setbacks , I’ve learned to adapt and bounce back .

These experiences have made me stronger and more determined. Failure doesn’t define us; it’s a stepping stone toward success .

Moving on…

Overcoming imposter syndrome

Imposter syndrome can hinder our confidence when presenting , but we can overcome it by acknowledging our accomplishments and focusing on the value we bring to the table. It’s normal to feel out of place at times, but I remind myself of my strengths and unique perspective.

Embracing authenticity helps me combat imposter syndrome and connect with my audience more effectively. By sharing personal experiences, I strive to inspire others facing similar doubts.

– The impact of social media on mental health

The impact of social media on mental health

Social media can significantly affect mental health , as studies have shown that excessive use is linked to increased feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and depression . Research indicates that frequent social media use can lead to negative comparisons and low self-esteem .

For example, a report by the National Institute for Mental Health found that 75% of individuals using social media experience feelings of inadequacy due to comparing themselves with others.

Keywords: Social Media, Mental Health.

The role of empathy in leadership.

Empathy in leadership means understanding and connecting with the emotions and experiences of those you lead. It’s about listening actively , showing compassion, and acknowledging the feelings of others.

This helps to build trust, foster a positive work environment, and create stronger team dynamics. By practicing empathy as a leader, you can inspire your team, boost morale, and cultivate a more supportive and inclusive workplace culture .

Leaders who incorporate empathy into their management style often see improved employee satisfaction , higher productivity levels, and better overall performance from their teams. When leaders are empathetic towards their employees’ needs and challenges, it creates an environment where everyone feels valued and understood.

I’ve spent years mastering the art of public speaking, and one key takeaway is that the right topic can truly captivate an audience in as little as 10 minutes. I reached out to Dr.

Emily Carter, a renowned expert in communication studies with over two decades of teaching and research experience at prestigious institutions. Her work focuses on effective communication strategies , making her insights invaluable for anyone looking to engage an audience effectively.

Dr. Carter emphasized the importance of selecting topics that resonate on a personal level yet have universal appeal. According to her, this blend ensures that presentations not only hold attention but also inspire action and reflection.

She praised the variety of ideas listed, noting their potential to spark curiosity and foster meaningful discussions.

On discussing safety, ethics, and transparency in choosing presentation topics, Dr. Carter highlighted the need for presenters to carefully consider their subject matter’s impact. She reminded us that while controversy might engage an audience, it requires responsible handling to avoid misinformation or offense.

For integrating these topics into various contexts, she suggested tailoring content to fit specific audiences’ interests and concerns—a strategy that enhances relevance and connectivity with listeners.

However, presenting a balanced view requires acknowledging potential challenges — such as finding fresh angles on well-worn subjects or making complex issues accessible within tight time constraints.

Compared with other collections of speech topics available online which offer broad suggestions without much guidance on execution strategies or ethical considerations —this collection stands out by providing actionable advice alongside its ideas.

Dr. Carter’s final verdict affirmed my belief: This expansive list of “10 Minute Presentation Topics” possesses true depth and breadth for creating engaging presentations tailored for any occasion or audience type—one noteworthy tool among many at your disposal for becoming an adept speaker who leaves lasting impressions.

Drawing from both personal experience transforming from a timid speaker into someone comfortable addressing crowds big or small—and now having professional validation from Dr.Carter—I’m convinced more than ever about the effectiveness of honing presentation skills through thoughtful topic selection inspired by comprehensive lists like these.

Ryan Nelson is the founder of Speak2Impress, a platform dedicated to helping individuals master the art of public speaking. Despite having a crippling fear of public speaking for many years, Ryan overcame his anxiety through diligent practice and active participation in Toastmasters. Now residing in New York City, he is passionate about sharing his journey and techniques to empower others to speak with confidence and clarity.

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Story Elements and Writing a Short Story

Subject: English

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

1 February 2019

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This Power point presentation includes information and practice on all of the basic short story elements and how they contribute to the overall meaning of the story. The scaffolded activities also include links to Pixar short films for the students to analyze. Finally, students write their own story by using the information they have learned and with the help of the graphic organizers provided for them. There are also extension links that will help you to differentiate learning.

There is also a HyperDoc version of the Powerpoint. You can find the link for it in the instructions document in the attachment. You can use this resource with your ESL students as well.

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Home > Conferences and Events > Research Week > 2024 > Oral Presentations > 48

Oral Presentations

Background Radiation: The Symbolism of Film in a Creative Work

Presenter Information

Jack Fanning , Liberty University Follow

Oral - Creative and Artistic

Description

This oral presentation examines an original short story titled Background Radiation. This story explores grief and connection through the lens of a man who has lost his girlfriend in a tragedy. When a presence begins to inhabit his home, he becomes convinced that this is his chance to get his girlfriend back. To emphasize how the character is “out-of-time”, the story juxtaposes a near-future, “weird fiction” setting against the character’s obsession with older forms of media. In doing so, the story explores the relationship between the character’s fixation on the historical past and his fixation on his own personal past. These connections are most prominent in the examples of classic cinema that the character engages with and references throughout the piece. To establish the connection between this fixation and the themes of the piece, this presentation aims to examine these references and how they reflect and add to the story being told. The presentation also conveys the narrative techniques used in the piece, such as the use of analepsis, foreshadowing, and narrative tension. Weird fiction has been used by authors like Edgar Allen Poe and M.R. James to contrast human stories with the supernatural, often to emphasize the humanity of the characters. This original collection continues this tradition of weird fiction. This creative work examines how technology interacts with grief and contributes to isolation, and uses classic film as a medium to discuss obsession and stagnation. Therefore, this oral presentation demonstrates how classic film is used in the story to comment on the general by referencing the specific, leading to a greater understanding of how media accentuates emotions.

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33 Legendary Startup Pitch Decks and What You Can Learn From Them [+10 Free Templates]

A startup pitch deck is a brief presentation that provides investors with an overview of your new business and/or startup idea through presentation slides.

It usually focuses on showcasing your product, sharing your business model, giving a look into your monetization strategy, and introducing your team.

A startup pitch deck is an essential fundraising tool for successful startups, whether you’re looking to raise funding from $50,000, $500,000, or $50 million. However, an investor pitch deck is just one of the best pitch decks and examples we will share below.

Despite the brevity of the successful startup pitch decks, which usually run for 10 slides or less, creating a pitch deck that wins investment is not an easy task.

What Does a Successful Startup Pitch Deck Cover?

A great pitch deck covers key points through visuals and bullet points and usually has a competition slide, a problem slide, and a solution slide to explain your offering and the market.

Additionally, a business model slide and a team slide (if your business is developed enough to present these) can turn a good deck into a great startup pitch deck.

Don’t forget, a simple pitch deck is a good pitch deck—and you’re about to learn how to nail it.

In This Legendary Startup Pitch Deck Article You Will Find:

• Examples of 33 successful pitch decks
• Takeaways that you can apply when creating your own startup pitch deck
• Editable templates of 10 pitch decks that you can use for free

Looking for a winning pitch deck template ASAP to present in front of potential investors?   Try our free template created in collaboration with HighSpark – an agency that has helped more than 500 startups raise cumulatively over $80 million in funding. 

Here is the list of 33 of the best startup pitch deck examples that we will go through:

• ZenPayRoll (Now Gusto)
• Wealthsimple
• AppVirality
• Shape Integrated Software
• Ooomf (now Crew)
• Sequoia Capital

These startup pitch deck examples were created by top brands in tech. At the time, they were all small startups (seed stage companies) looking to raise money or venture capital through potential investors and grow their businesses. Sound familiar?!

We hope that their business idea and investor pitch decks will inspire you (and of course, potential investors).

If you are more of a visual learner than a reader type, you can watch a video summary of the first 10 startup pitch deck examples mentioned in this blog post:

Alternatively, if you’re ready to create your own pitch deck, we’ve added some startup pitch deck examples and pitch deck templates to the bottom of this article. You can go straight to them by clicking here . Or get access to Piktochart’s online design tool by signing up for a free account and choosing a presentation template to get started easily.

From behemoths like Facebook and YouTube to superstars like Buffer, together these startups have raised millions of dollars and are now worth billions!

It’s time to see how they did it.

33 Legendary Startup Pitch Deck Examples

1. facebook pitch deck.

Here’s a fun fact: Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist, and entrepreneur, was the first outside investor in Facebook back in 2004. That’s when Mark Zuckerberg first set out to turn his dorm room project into a lasting business. Zuckerberg received $500,000 from Peter Thiel.

Facebook’s pitch deck was more of a media kit  of sorts. It was containing the company’s value proposition, key metrics, and marketing services that were used to sell ads to potential clients.

Favorite takeaway : The focus of the startup pitch deck was based on solid numbers such as user engagement, traffic, and growth trajectory.

2. Airbnb pitch deck

Airbnb is a platform that allows people to list, find, and rent lodging.

This company is one of the greatest startup success stories of our time.

The now famous Airbnb pitch deck has become one of the best pitch decks for inspiring entrepreneurs around the world.

Favorite takeaway: The intro. It’s all about hooking your audience. You need to describe your business using as few words as possible. Imagine telling a 5-year-old what your business is about. If you can’t do that, it’s time to put some time into nailing it down.

3. Buffer pitch deck

Buffer is a social media scheduling platform that helps you schedule content for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

The almighty startup pitch deck that helped Buffer to raise half a million dollars gained popularity by becoming one of the first pitch decks openly shared online. The founder decided to put it up to help other startups to raise funds.

Favorite takeaway: Similar to Facebook, the deck was based on solid numbers from Buffer’s users (e.g., 800 users, $150,000 annual revenue run rate, etc.)

4. Square pitch deck

Square is a company that allows merchants to accept mobile credit card payments via a dongle.

Favorite takeaway : Social proof! It doesn’t hurt to promote the management team if they’ve been with Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, PayPal, and more. It shows that your management team’s experience is an armor to the company. This detailed startup pitch deck outlines Square’s business model and a simple financial model that portrays its annual revenue and five-year growth rate.

5. LinkedIn pitch deck

Founded in 2002, LinkedIn is the top business-oriented social networking platform.

The company’s pitch talks a great deal about company values, the power of networking, and how it’s different from other social networks out there.

Favorite takeaway : The deck also provides an extensive analogy to showcase to investors what LinkedIn is. For example, it talks about “Web 1.0” vs. “Web 2.0”: Alta Vista was “Search 1.0”, and Google was “Search 2.0”. The deck talks about how LinkedIn is “Networking for Businesses 2.0”.

6. Mint pitch deck

Mint is a personal financial services tool that helps people track their spending and find ways to save money.

This startup pitch deck example was used in a competition and was never used for raising money, but it’s still a powerful deck that startups can learn from.

Favorite takeaway : This simple deck provides a clear value proposition to customers and investors. The creators of this deck also understood that one of the key concerns of an investor is the exit mechanism of his or her investments. I love how the deck highlights a number of exit strategy options.

7. MapMe pitch deck

MapMe allows users to create universally accessible (i.e., on smartphones, tablets, and computers) maps of anywhere they want with no coding required.

This startup deck was used to raise $1 million in seed funding.

Social proof almost always works. The deck showed that the startup had over 20,000 unique visitors, 18,000 monthly alerts, and12 minutes average sessions on the site.

Favorite takeaway : The pitch deck has fewer than 13 slides but provides investors with knowledge of the traction the site got going viral on social media and its go-to-market strategy.

8. LaunchRock pitch deck

LaunchRock allows users to create landing pages and quickly get their startups known through social media, even before the launch of their full site.

Favorite takeaway : As a more creatively designed pitch deck example, this pitch deck had only 15 slides but showed how the product works and the different ways it can be used. They also utilize an analogy similar to what LinkedIn had in their decks.

9. Mixpanel pitch deck

Mixpanel is an advanced analytics platform for mobile and the web. They not only measure page views but also analyze the actions people take. This is the series-B startup pitch deck for Mixpanel that helped them raise over $65 million.

Favorite takeaway : This pitch deck example started off with a problem: people guessing their analytics. It followed up by providing its solution to that problem and, ultimately, its competitive advantage. One of the best pitch decks, this is a great example of showing the problem and solution.

10. Moz pitch deck

Moz started out as an SEO company but has pivoted to support marketers across all inbound marketing strategies.

This is the series-B startup pitch deck for Moz which they used to raise over $18 million. If you’re an established startup, this is a great example of an investor pitch deck, and you can follow this guide. The pitch deck is packed with information about the company since it was founded five years prior to this pitch.

Favorite takeaway : Because the company had already been in operation for five years, they were able to present an accurate estimated revenue, revenue run rate, average customer lifetime value, cost of paid acquisition, etc.

11. Buzzfeed pitch deck

We all have a love-and-hate relationship with Buzzfeed, don’t we? I’m sure you’ve stumbled on their pages or watched their videos before. As of today, BuzzFeed has managed to raise over $240 million in investor capital (another great example of an investor pitch deck).

Favorite takeaway : SOCIAL PROOF! It doesn’t hurt to start a pitch deck with big numbers the company has, like the millions of users visiting the website on a monthly basis and quotations from large organizations such as CNN.

12. YouTube pitch deck

YouTube was acquired by Google in 2006 for $1.6 billion. Like Facebook, this company doesn’t require any introduction. Unfortunately, this is not the original deck. This is YouTube’s pitch deck to Sequoia Capital (one of the most established VC investors who’s often regarded as one of the industry’s best), which was released through a legal proceeding.

Favorite takeaway : The company wanted to be the primary outlet for video content, and it succeeded in doing just that. It goes to show that if you know what your product can do, are able to show its potential, and build on the momentum gained through early investments to create that, then you can achieve its potential. If you’re aiming to build an investor pitch deck to land a VC like Sequoia Capital, this presentation slide deck is a great template for you!

13. Manpacks pitch deck

Manpacks is a platform that delivers men’s essentials such as underwear, razors, grooming, and other products.

The company raised $500,000 with this pitch deck.

Favorite takeaway : This deck stands out! They clearly understand who they are, and they stayed that way throughout the entire presentation. The startup pitch deck is filled with a fun tone that helps explain the product well.

14. Foursquare pitch deck

Foursquare is a mobile platform that helps you find the best places to go in your area.

Favorite takeaway : This pitch deck does a great job using screenshots of social proof that the app already has from its users sharing tweets of them being the ‘mayor’ of a particular area.

15. Flowtab pitch deck

Flowtab was an app that allowed people to order drinks quickly at a crowded bar. Despite shutting down, the founders still made an effort to help other startups.

Favorite takeaway : Simplicity. This pitch deck example does well explaining critical information like the problem, the solution, their business model, and traction. You can’t really go wrong with this pitch deck.

16. Dwolla pitch deck

Dwolla is a payment solution that allows users to send, receive, and request funds from other users. This 18-slide startup pitch deck landed the company $16.5 million.

Favorite takeaway : Most startups are founded because of a problem they faced, but not many people tell their story well through their pitch decks. In their slide deck, Dwolla shared a great story of how the founder paid $50,000 a year in credit card fees and then created a solution for never doing it again.

17. ZenPayRoll  (Now Gusto) pitch deck

Gusto (previously ZenPayroll) is a cloud-based solution tool for small businesses to pay employees.

The company raised $6 million with this pitch deck.

Favorite takeaway : This isn’t just a startup pitch deck. It is a template that you can use and replicate easily by filling in the blanks.

18. Bliss pitch deck

Bliss provides metrics for coders and allows them to collaborate easily.

The company raised over $400,000 using Angel List.

Favorite takeaway : The pitch deck was well composed with a clear understanding of the product and the investors they were pitching to. This is one of the best pitch decks to use if you know your target market.

19. Adpushup pitch deck

Adpushup allows companies to maximize ad revenues through advanced A/B testing. They raised more than $632,000 in investments.

Favorite takeaway : This slide deck proves that going back to the basics works. This pitch deck has basic principles like a great introduction, an outline of problems, potential solutions, market opportunities, products, case studies, milestones, traction, and a future plan.

20. Wealthsimple pitch deck

Wealthsimple is Canada’s first online investment manager. They raised more than $2 million in seed funding with this slide deck.

Favorite takeaway : The startup pitch deck is sweet and short but effective. Our favorite part is the transformation of the industry, which is laid out in a table format.

21. AppVirality pitch deck

AppVirality allows app developers to grow their platforms using growth method techniques proven by other startups.

Favorite takeaway : Our favorite takeaway is how the flow of the pitch deck goes through the problem, the proven solution, and how it works within their app to their target market in multiple slides.

22. Shape Integrated Software pitch deck

Shape Integrated Software is budget management software that helps PPC analysts manage various budgets across different channels.

Favorite takeaway : When you have the traction to back your startup, use it. Shape clearly took advantage of it and presented it clearly in their pitch deck.

23. Podozi pitch deck

Podozi is an online e-commerce platform based in Nigeria.

Favorite takeaway : Most startup pitch decks work well when they’re short and sweet, in multiple slides, like Podozi’s. The best takeaway is the working partnership with large brands that this platform already has.

24. Fittr pitch deck

Fittr is a platform that designs custom workouts tailored to equipment, access, time management, and goals.

Favorite takeaway : As a user of this platform, we love the investment goals and the purpose of what the company is planning to use it for.

25. Swipes pitch deck

Swipes is a task manager app to help its users increase their productivity.

Favorite takeaway : One of their pages used social proof of quotations from The Next Web and Lifehacker. You can’t go wrong with that.

26. Canvas pitch deck

Canvas replaces paper-based processes with affordable and easy-to-use mobile apps and forms. They raised $9 million with these decks.

Favorite takeaway :  Instead of saying what they do, the second slide in their pitch deck shows how their startup helps businesses. No words are needed.

27. Ooomf  (now Crew) pitch deck

Crew (formerly Ooomf & then PickCrew) is a freelancer marketplace that connects mobile and web developers with projects or work. This deck was used to raise over $2 million dollars.

Favorite takeaway : Well-designed with an easy-to-understand flow.

28. Cubeit pitch deck

Cubeit is a mobile application that allows users to aggregate content from anywhere. Cubeit used this 13-slide deck to raise seed funding before they even had a finished product.

Favorite takeaway : A strong introduction will get investors to pay attention. Their deck starts out with a clear message, which was that “owning more devices doesn’t make your life easier”. I can’t help but pay attention to how this company will help.

29.  Castle pitch deck

Castle was a startup that let rental owners put their properties on autopilot. This was the deck Castle used to raise $270,000 for their startup.

Favorite takeaway : Great design and easy to digest.

30.  Sequoia Capital pitch deck

Sequoia Capital is one of the leading investment firms in Silicon Valley. This deck is a template they recommend following.

Favorite takeaway : It’s like having the keys to the kingdom. You don’t have to guess what this investment giant is looking for. They tell you straight away.

31. Uber pitch deck

When Uber hit the scene, they fundamentally reimagined urban transportation. Their pitch deck tells this audacious story perfectly. Simple yet impactful, it illustrates the problem of expensive taxis and car services, then introduces Uber as the affordable, tech-driven solution.

They use stark data points to highlight the financial opportunity, a vital touch for potential investors.

As you create your pitch, remember Uber’s two key strengths: painting a clear problem-solution scenario and using compelling data to underscore their market potential. This strategy not only shows understanding of their market but also communicates their transformative vision effectively.

Favorite takeaway : The deck is clean and minimalist. The flow is easy to follow, and you get a clear idea of what’s the problem they’re trying to solve, and how they solve it.

32. WeWork pitch deck

WeWork’s pitch deck beautifully encapsulates its community-driven approach to shared workspaces.

They use visually appealing slides that mirror their innovative, modern brand. Their pitch deck deftly articulates the benefits of shared workspaces in today’s economy, setting the stage for their unique value proposition.

Favorite takeaway : what we do, who we do it for, why we do it; the deck walks you through their company vision with smart visuals and copy. We loved how they generated urgency by highlighting how co-working spaces were a fast-growing trend and investors could miss out on a profitable investment if they didn’t act quickly.

33. MatterMark pitch deck

MatterMark’s pitch deck is a testament to the power of storytelling. utilizing clean visuals to aid comprehension and coupled with succinct copy to keep the narrative engaging. The 30-slide deck earned the platform $6.5 million in seed A funding.

Favorite takeaway : Strong visual storytelling through the use of charts and graphs. In just a few moments, you can see where the majority of their revenue comes from compared to their other revenue streams.

Summary of Pitch Deck Template Takeaways

To sum up, a strong startup pitch deck not only serves to reinforce your brand to the target audience or investors, but shows your business plan and unique offering through the slides presented; using a problem slide, a solution slide, and a traction slide including concise bullet points. 

The best startup pitch deck also shows off your company’s personality, through the inclusion of a team slide or similar in the next few slides, to be presented after your business plan is clearly outlined.

As your company grows, you’ll probably start thinking about the next stage of growth. You can use these successful pitch decks can as the foundation to make an investor deck for your next round of financing.

Look at the takeaways from these startup pitch decks as a guide to help you in your quest to raise funds and venture capital for your own startup for an investment round.

Here are some of the key takeaways from our pitch deck examples:

• Pitch decks don’t have to be formal or beautiful.
• A great pitch deck will provide an impactful intro or slogan.
• Keep your deck short (less than 20 pages).
• Use analogies to back up the points that you’re making.

After going through so many startup pitch deck examples, we recommend that to make your pitch presentation stand out you should:

• Start with a strong intro/vision.
• Show problems and offer solutions.
• Identify market opportunities.
• Showcase products/services clearly.
• Digest your business model
• Highlight financials
• Add social proof/case studies.
• Differentiate from competition.
• Show an experienced management team.

Designing a strong pitch deck could turn your business idea into a reality after convincing investors to provide support financial support to your project.

If you’re looking for additional information, DocSend shared lessons  they got learning from 200 startups who raised $360 million from their first pitch deck.

10 Pitch Deck Templates for You to Try

The following pitch decks are free templates available in Piktochart that you can use. This makes it easy to work on your slides without having to worry about design. We took care of that for you.

If you don’t have an account yet, just sign up for a free Piktochart account here and then click on one of the templates below.

To learn how the online pitch deck creator works, watch this on-demand demo .

1. Investment Pitch Deck Template With HighSpark

2. Finance Pitch Deck Template

3. Business Pitch Deck Template

4. Startup Pitch Deck Examples

5. Tech Pitch Deck Examples

6. Business Keynote Template 

7. Product Pitch Deck Template

8. Product Pitch Deck Template

9. App Product Presentation Template

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Hauntii Review

“Buy it!” means that the game deserves a place in your collection. Be it day 1 or a slightly delayed purchase, it’s hard to go wrong with this title. In numbers, this is around an 8/10 and above .

“Wait for it…” means that while the game is good, it probably isn’t worth it at its day 1 price point. We suggest you wait for a sale before jumping in. In numbers, this is around a 5 – 7/10 .

“Ignore it!” means that the game is not something we’d recommend playing, whether it be now or in the near future. Maybe ever. Let’s not even go to the numbers for this one.

• Release Date: May 23, 2024
• Platforms: PS5, PC, Switch, Xbox Series X|S
• Genre: Narrative Twin-stick Shooter
• Similar Games: Genesis Noir, The Binding of Isaac
• Price: starts at $19.99

Table of Contents

Hauntii is an indie narrative twin-stick shooter from Moonloop Games and Firestoke. It tells a tale of a newly arrived spirit. Confused, it wanders aimlessly across the afterlife until it encounters an Eternian who invites it to ascend into the heavens. Chained by its damned coils, it falls back into the afterlife, cursed to wander the darkness forever.

Or is it? After learning that it can get stronger through finding the stars of its former self, the spirit strives to find these fragments, get stronger and one day be reunited with its heavenly acquaintance in paradise.

Will it achieve its goal or wander aimlessly for the rest of eternity? Stare into the abyss and hopefully come back stronger! Let’s dive into the ethereal world of Hauntii!

Eternal Puzzlement

Ever since we encountered Hauntii during the Day of the Devs last year, we’ve been intrigued by the title because of its creepy cute visuals and unique game design. Back then, we didn’t play the game enough to form a substantial opinion, but having delved deeper into its world and its straightforward story, Hauntii haunted us with its original premise.

Hauntii conspires with its audio-visual presentation to quickly onboard you into its creepy cute world filled with awe and mystery. Just like the newborn shade, you’re thrown into the world confused. Its quick tutorial gives you some quick ways to learn the basic moves: movement, dash with the A button, aiming and shooting with the right trigger stick, and interacting with objects with the X button.

You’ll encounter corrupted shades who will mindlessly attack you. Aiming and shooting will take a bit to learn if you’re not used to the twin-stick shooter interface, but you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly. After a while, a curious mechanic you’ll learn will be how to haunt objects and other entities by shooting them. At first, you’ll haunt shrubs and structures that will grant you triangles; the game’s currency.

Eventually, as you complete the tutorial, you’ll notice that if you step out of the beaten path, you will be attacked by unseen entities in the dark, punctuating the creepy aspect of the creepy cute. Thinking that you’ve hit the game over screen, you will encounter the Eternian who then kickstarts the plot. Hauntii can now finally begin!

For the most part, Hauntii is a unique experience. It moves like a twin shooter game but behaves like a well-crafted platformer. You progress through the title by collecting stars through puzzles and quests. If you collect enough stars to form a constellation, you will be able to unlock moments in the young shade’s past life depicted in snippets. You can also power up your health, shot, and dash as an in-game reward.

You can interact with other shades in town or on your travels, who will either provide you with some cryptic clues or add to the ongoing lore that you collect by exploring the afterlife. Such clues can lead to collecting more stars or allow you to solve certain puzzles in your travels.

Your mini-map is your main guide through the entire journey with the white flag pinpointing your next task or goal. Sadly, there is no fast travel to cut the backtracking between areas, though you can unlock shortcuts after unlocking enough constellations or progressing through the story, making traversal less arduous.

The simplistic nature of traversal really allows you to easily get into the action and exploration of Hauntii . Combined with its charming visuals, you can easily get into the world and get enthralled by its rich charms.

The bulk of the gameplay in Hauntii requires you to explore new areas and collect stars. Getting in your way are the hostile spirits and environmental hazards that can reduce your health represented in hearts. Once all your hearts are depleted, you then lose some of your hard-earned triangles and respawn in the closest checkpoint, which autosaves your progress.

Haunting your environment is a key mechanic that allows you to make the most of your exploration and combat. Certain obstacles may prove too powerful and overwhelming with your base load out. By haunting creatures that launch larger projectiles, you can overcome many of these powerful shades. Haunting bugs, trees, and wandering shades can speed up your traversal or launch you to previously unreachable areas. You do need to collect spirit energy to power these haunts, which are plentiful in your exploration.

Finally, certain areas are guarded by an area boss that is more a puzzle-oriented combat than a straightforward beatdown. It may involve a combination of your skills and haunting environment entities to defeat. Defeating these bosses will net you a larger amount of resources you can stock for later use.

A Hard Knock Afterlife

While it is easy to get into Hauntii , it can be a little bit overwhelming at the midpoint of the game when newer, more hostile spirits and environmental hazards are added. You will need to improve with the difficulty spike and keep up with the ongoing challenges that are presented.

However, after a certain point, the story progress gates you significantly and you will need to forcibly collect stars and complete constellations to continue your game progress. For a while, I’ve thought that the constellation collection felt like an organic process of the game, but this speed bump feels like a huge momentum suck.

While the collection of the constellations was fun at the start, being forced to complete them to progress the story becomes quite tedious. This gameplay loop continues until you complete the game. The good news is that the story continues to be engaging and heartfelt, so much so that it doesn’t outstay its welcome.

The controls and movement speeds of Hauntii are actually quite polished. It’s easy to pick up and go and while you do need to keep up with the game speed, whose difficulty spikes gradually increase, it’s a decent process and doesn’t overwhelm too much besides the first difficulty spike jump.

It is worth noting that the soundtrack for Hauntii is definitely something that stands out. It ranges from soothing to ethereal, heartrending to elating, and it carries the player throughout its many set pieces and story beats. It’s worth a listen.

We played an early build of the game, so we’ve experienced a few hiccups that are both immersion-breaking and sometimes progression-breaking as certain areas of the game sometimes loop or certain stars become either out of reach or inaccessible. We have had to reload the game to repeat certain areas that glitch out due to these hiccups.

As you complete Hauntii , there are still quite a lot of extras to collect including the blue leaves that allow you to purchase hats. These hats are mostly cosmetic and do not affect Hauntii in any significant way. While it doesn’t exactly add in terms of replay value, Hauntii is quite brief and you can find many of its secrets on your first playthrough.

Verdict: Buy It!

Hauntii is a short and sweet unique indie experience that provides a decent outing with its presentation, creepy cute visual style, and heartfelt story. It provides a decent enough challenge to explore and traverse its ethereal world. While collecting its stars to form constellations to tell the protagonist’s visual tale is enticing, I wished it was done a little bit more organically.

Overall, its brief original experience really is something to be experienced to be believed. I enjoyed solving puzzles and interacting with the creepy cute world, and it’s a decent indie to pick up in between the larger titles this year to spend the time. I can’t wait for Moonloop Games’ next title.

* Hauntii was reviewed on an Xbox Series X with a review code provided by the publisher .

Hauntii is a short and sweet unique indie experience that provides a decent outing with its presentation, creepy cute visual style, and its heartfelt story. It provides a decent enough challenge to explore and traverse its ethereal world.

• Excellent, heartfelt story told in tandem with its unique creepy cute world.
• Easy to pick-up controls and interface making the game accessible for everybody.
• The haunting mechanic is a nifty way to interact with the world and solve its many puzzles.
• Fantastic soundtrack that carries the player through its many story beats.
• Gameplay loop grinds to a halt with its forced star collection mechanic.
• Difficulty spikes that can slow down story momentum.

Review Breakdown

About Vincent Ternida

Vincent Ternida loves reviewing story-driven indie titles, and unique but accessible game design. He spends his days working on manuscripts, checking out new titles, and wondering why he isn't the main character of a Haruki Murakami novel anymore.

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'Better safe than sorry': AG Dana Nessel teaches Monroe seniors to avoid scams

FRENCHTOWN TWP. — “Better safe than sorry” was Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s message Tuesday at the Frenchtown Center for Active Adults .

Accompanied by Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough, she spoke to a group gathered in the center's dining room about scams affecting Michigan seniors.

Nessel talked about a variety of ways scammers will target seniors to gather personal and private information.

“Scams change all the time,” she said. “They come in a variety of different ways with the same basic ingredients — urgent or secret requests, believable stories or connections, financial requests and unusual payment types, like asking for payment in the form of a gift card.”

Throughout the presentation, Nessel used short video clips to reinforce her consumer protection message.

She said information posted on Facebook and other social media websites are viable ways scammers collect personal information.

“Set your privacy settings high and limit the amount of private information you are sharing,” she said.

Nessel also spoke about spoofing, a term used when scammers disguise their identity through the use of artificial intelligence technology. The technology is used to impersonate friends or family members by manipulating videos and recordings found on social media. That information is then used to create realistic sounding voice recordings.

On average, there is a new identity theft victim in the U.S. every two seconds.

In an effort to stay safe from scammers, Nessel suggested frequently changing passwords, using two-factor authenticators, making purchases using credit cards rather than debit cards, and reporting illegal robo calls and text messages.

“Don’t walk around being scared,” Nessel said. “Be informed and be aware. When someone calls you asking for personal information, that is a red flag. Ask questions the scammer would not know. The IRS and Social Security will never call you asking for information. They will only contact you by mail.”

In addition to phone calls, text messages and emails, Nessel said check fraud has been on the rise since the height of COVID-19. She talked about Positive Pay, a service used by state and local governments to prevent and monitor check fraud such as duplicated checks, altered check amounts and counterfeit checks.

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Before closing the session, Nessel provided information on Michigan Identity Theft Support , the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act and Licensing and Regulatory Affairs when trying to locate or verify a licensed professional or business. Information cards were made available with a list of resources and how to contact the state’s consumer protection team.

The attorney general urged those in attendance to sign up for consumer protection alerts on the state of Michigan website to stay informed of unfair, misleading and deceptive business practices.

Goodnough said Nessel wanted to visit Monroe on Tuesday to meet with several different agencies on a variety of topics.

“Today’s presentation was fantastic. She’s a great presenter and she’s passionate about taking care of the citizens of Michigan and, more importantly, seniors,” Goodnough said. “You heard in her presentation, they are very vulnerable.”

Theresa Radu of Monroe attended the presentation because she was interested in learning more about scams and consumer protection.

“There were some areas I had not heard of and I pride myself in being as safe as I can. For instance, I don’t have Facebook,” Theresa Radu said. “I knew using a credit card was safer to use over a debit card and I’m careful when I write checks. I do not place them in my mailbox anymore. I hate that we’ve gotten to this point.”

Program coordinator Lisa Ghigliazza said she was pleased at the response of those who attended and plans to have more events highlighting consumer protection. Information provided at the meeting will be posted on the Frenchtown Center for Active Adults' Facebook page and website .  

— Contact reporter Lisa Vidaurri-Bowling at [email protected] .