In the Beginning

Every story has three parts, a beginning, a middle and an end.  We can thank Aristotle for that concept.  As children we loved stories at bedtime and by the camp fire.  As adults, that love affair has not dwindled.  We love stories and it is an effective way of communication since humans have been using stories as a way of communicating for thousands of years.  Many people say that they can not tell good stories let alone write them.  This series of blogs on writing a script will be based on Cliff Atkinson’s “Beyond Bullet Points” book which I use with my work and think it is a very valuable tool for anyone who is serious about improving their presentation performance and effectiveness.  I strongly suggest you purchase the book and keep it close by as a reference tool. I will spend the next series of blog entries talking about the first part of the story telling process, the beginning.   The story script template can be found on Cliff’s blog.

The beginning of any story must set the scene for the message.  One of the issues with many presentations, especially those delivered by a presenter who is passionate about the topic is information overload.  This is prevalent with entrepreneurs.  When they get a chance to present their business they cram everything they possibly can into a short time period, hoping that something will stick.  The result is a confused audience.

The beginning or Act 1 needs to set the tone, provide clarity and make an emotional connection with the audience.  There are five scenes to Act 1.  Each scene needs to answer key questions your audience will have.

Q1    Where are we and when is it?
Q2    Who are we in this setting?
Q3    Why are we here?
Q4    What do we want to happen?
Q5    How do we get there from here?

Notice how these questions are phrased.  All of these questions are from the viewpoint of your audience.  This is a hint.  Your presentation’s beginning should address all of these questions.  Guess what?  Your presentation needs to be about them and not you.  Remember, nobody cares about you, your product or your service until you prove that you really care about them and their concerns.  When using the story template from Cliff Atkinson, the answers to your audience’s five questions must be a single short sentence, concise and fit within the space provided on the template.

Scene 1:    Where are we and when is it?

These are key questions to establish the plot.  For an example, in a business setting with your company, your presentation may be on the results from the last quarter or projections for the next quarter or fiscal year.

Scene 2:    Who are we in this setting?

Who is your audience?  This is one of the key questions you would have answered in Step #1 of the presentation - IMPACT approach.  What common thread weaves everyone together at this gathering?  Is it the same company or organization?  Is it the same department, profession, cause or interest?  What is it?

Scene 3:    Why are we here?

What is the audience’s pain?  What keeps them up at night?  What is their big concern?  Identify this and state it in this scene.

Scene 4:    What do we want to see happen?

You have identified a concern that your audience can identify with.  Now what is the desired outcome that your audience wishes to move to and will put everyone at ease?

Scene 5:    How do we get there?

This is where you provide the answer or the solution to their pain.  This may be your product, your service or your idea.

By following this process you have in effect established:

1.    the boundaries of the presentation by stating when is it and where they are.
2.    you care about your audience because you have acknowledged them as a community with a common interest, common pain or concern and a common desired outcome to put their minds at ease.
3.    you have the solution that will help them.

You have demonstrated to your audience that you care about them, you are aware of their concerns and pain, you know where they want to go to alleviate the pain.  Now they are ready to know a bit more about you because you may have a solution.

If you are preparing your presentation to represent your department or company, Act 1 is a great time to get the rest of the team involved in the process so that they too will buy into the message.  They will also provide invaluable input into the identification of the audience’s pain and where the audience may want to go.  It will not be uncommon to revise Scenes 3 & 4 several times.  It can be a painful process at times but the result is a better connection with your audience.

My next entry will discuss other practical uses for Act1.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.

Tags: audience, communication, Presentation Preparation, presentations, presenting, story telling