How Storytelling Can Improve Your Presentations
From the Voices on Project Management Blog
by Cameron McGaughy,
Lynda Bourne, Kevin Korterud, Peter Tarhanidis, Conrado Morlan, Jen Skrabak, Mario Trentim, Christian Bisson, Yasmina Khelifi, Sree Rao, Soma Bhattacharya, Emily Luijbregts, David Wakeman, Ramiro Rodrigues, Wanda Curlee, Lenka Pincot, cyndee miller, Jorge Martin Valdes Garciatorres, Marat Oyvetsky
Voices on Project Management offers insights, tips, advice and personal stories from project managers in different regions and industries. The goal is to get you thinking, and spark a discussion. So, if you read something that you agree with--or even disagree with--leave a comment.
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Date
by Wanda Curlee
I often write about neuroscience and its affects on project management. So I spend a lot of time scouring academic research, trade journals and even LinkedIn for new information on the topic. That’s how I came across this recent Business Insider article about what makes a good speaker.
Neuroscience is the very first thing mentioned in the piece, which makes the cognitive case for storytelling. It argues that understanding how our brains work can make us better speakers.
According to the article, you have about 15 seconds to grab your audience—and the average attention span is about 5 minutes. So how do you keep people engaged?
By using stories, says Princeton University researcher Uri Hasson. Mr. Hasson and his colleagues used fMRI machines to measure blood flow to regions of the brain of a speaker and the audience while a story was being told.
This research “found that the brains of a speaker and his or her listeners ‘exhibited joint, temporally coupled, response patterns.’ Simply put, the listeners' brains mirrored the speaker's brain—only when the speaker was telling the listeners a story.” The implication? Our brains are wired for story.
While I was in the Navy, stories were often used as a learning tool. And as a university professor, I’ve seen this approach work with students, as well. But what does this mean for people working in project management?
Relate and Resonate
Project professionals need to be storytellers. We may not all be on a large stage speaking to a big audience, but we’re always presenting, whether it be to stakeholders, sponsors, senior executives, etc. And think about the mundane information we often have to report.
An effective presenter is able to tell a story that will resonate with his or her audience and make mundane information more interesting.
Recently, I was a speaker for the Human Capital Institute (HCI). I used stories to make neuroscience resonate with the audience. I was delighted with the feedback I received. Each person that approached me remembered one of my stories that stuck with them and even resurfaced previous memories.
So when it’s your turn to talk to the C-suite, interject stories. You will be remembered by your ability to relay the information well—and that may serve you well when the next difficult assignment comes up.
What’s one of the best presentations you’ve ever heard? Did the speaker use stories to illustrate his or her presentation?
Posted
by
Wanda Curlee
on: March 31, 2017 07:13 AM |
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Comments (35)
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Wanda Curlee
Dr. Wanda Curlee| PMI
Ferguson, NC, United States
Crystal - Thank you. I will make sure I take a look at the book.
Wanda Curlee
Dr. Wanda Curlee| PMI
Ferguson, NC, United States
Wanda Curlee
Dr. Wanda Curlee| PMI
Ferguson, NC, United States
Abhishek - Thank you. I agree a story can help decompose a complex situation or task.
Nasrullah Mohammed
Portfolio Manager| Advanced Electronics Company
Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
nihad kasraoui
Head of Process Engineering| Metafuels AG
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
I couldn't agree more. Stories attract the attention of the audience and get then more involved.
Definitely, I have a friend that speaks frequently in conferences and does storytelling to engage with people. Great tool!
Wanda Curlee
Dr. Wanda Curlee| PMI
Ferguson, NC, United States
Nihad - Thanks for the comment and confirmation.
Wanda Curlee
Dr. Wanda Curlee| PMI
Ferguson, NC, United States
Alfredo - It is nice to hear that your friend confirms the idea of storytelling.
Hello Wanda, your are right with storyes, is easiest to remeber a storyand keep public focused on it than in a techinical presentaion
Great article thanks for sharing. I think storytelling is a great approach for presentations.
Prachi Shah
Actively looking for Job in Project Management
Lancaster, Ma, United States
Thank You for sharing. Great post
Jess De Ocampo
Lean Six Sigma Professional/Project Manager/Consultant/| .
Manila, Ncr, Philippines
Thank you for sharing the article. I agree that it is a good presentation/communicating technique. We have used the storytelling technique in our presentations to our stakeholders to connect the relevance of the presentation and initiate engagement using layman's terms. We also avoid using the jargon of project management, Six Sigma, etc. since not all stakeholders have PM, Six Sigma backgrounds. The stakeholders are usually only interested in the results and recommended solutions. We keep the story simple and relevant.
Brian Grafsgaard
Retired Program/Product Manager| Previously: Polaris Industries
Minnetonka, MN, United States
Well done, Wanda! Insightful and valuable article.
Wanda Curlee
Dr. Wanda Curlee| PMI
Ferguson, NC, United States
Stéphane Parent
Self Employed / Semi-retired| Leader Maker
Prince Edward Island, Canada
One of my recent MeetUp was about exactly this topic in relation to data analytics. We understood that you could not simply present data tables or even graphs. You have to paint a story with your information. And it has to be the right story for your audience. The best stories are the ones that leverages personal anecdotes.
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