A Powerful Presentation Technique

Appealing to emotions is the most powerful way to transfer learning in an information cluttered training or presentation. A compelling story woven with a lot of information in the telling with a conclusion that appeals to the emotion can permanently etch the learning in an otherwise unresponsive training or meeting fatigued audience.

Right from childhood the best learning we have had has taken place through grandma tales, or reading stories through books or stories narrated to us in schools and by friends. We remember them better than the thousands of lectures and classes we have attended.

So what are the elements of a powerful story and how does it work.

A story is woven around a situation

You need an interesting situation where the protagonist is up against seemingly insurmountable odds. The story should leave out mundane details of what our heroes dress or the chronology and focus solely on the situation he is confronted with, which throws his life out of balance. The focus should be on the emotional elements, the struggle and stratagem to overcome the adversity and how he wins in the end. Don't we all like the prince to fight the dragon and carry away the princess and live happily ever afterwards.

The situation need not always be good against evil or win vs. lose. They could be funny, humorous, tragic, situational, or just a corporate incident. It only needs to be infused with the right emotion.