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Content That Tells a Story

Presentation management helps companies tell better, more engaging stories.

All of the technology in the world can’t make up for having strong branded content that relays your message effectively. Great content tells your audience a story that resonates with them and convinces them to act in a certain way. This is precisely why organizations big and small, across all industries, are investing more and more dollars into content creation.

We’ve all sat through excruciatingly boring presentations before. All we think about is when we’ll be able to leave. As for being persuaded to open our wallets? Forget it.

To convince customers to act how you want them to act, you need to tell a compelling story that’s persuasive and engaging. Need some help? Harvard Business Review provides a chart of the elements of a persuasive story pattern:

Harvard Business Review: Structure Your Presentation Like a Story

As you can see, great stories are filled with emotion—unlike bullet points which just stand alone on PowerPoint slides. For maximum impact, stories must have a beginning, a climax and a resolution that helps the audience connect with the message.

Very generally, there are four kinds of stories your presentations will try to convey:

  • Your Company’s story. How long has your company been around? What is its value proposition? What are you trying to accomplish? Tell your company’s story to connect with your existing customers and help new prospects get to know you. Create content that enables you to control the narrative of your own company—instead of leaving that to the media.

  • Your Product’s story. How can your products transform the lives of your customers? There are millions upon millions of products in the world. You can’t expect people to select your product out of a sea of many competing products if you don’t let them know it exists and how it stands to benefit their lives.

  • Your Service’s story. How do the services you offer help your customers get to the next level? The same holds true here. Why should a prospective customer choose your service over your competitors’ service? Let your audience know what you do differently than your competition, why you do it that way, and how it will positively impact them. Convince them that yours is the best business to support them.

  • Your Client’s story. How have your products or services benefitted actual real-world companies in a demonstrable way? If you’re a B2B company, you need to create case studies that explain, clearly, the value you provide to actual companies. When prospective clients are able to see how your products and services translate into tangible benefits, it’ll be easier to convince them to give your offerings a try.Stories breathe life into your content, making it easier for your team to sell. In fact, storytelling is a critical component in any successful presentation. You can’t just expect to throw up a few slides and win over your customers.Tell a good story and you’ll captivate your audience.