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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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Home Blog Presentation Ideas The Power of Storytelling in Presentations: A Guide to Captivate Your Audience.

The Power of Storytelling in Presentations: A Guide to Captivate Your Audience.

Presentations happen daily in corporate meeting rooms, hybrid sessions, fully remote summits, seminars, and weekly check-ins. What was once referred to as “Death by PowerPoint” has become “This could have been an email.”

In a survey about the current work state, 91% of workers admitted that they daydream during meetings . They’re creating stories in their minds because they’re not concentrating on the meeting or the presentation on their screen. 

Nobody wants meetings that go nowhere; aim for efficiency and less time wasted. Mindful communication and some good old storytelling techniques are the best ways to reach that goal. On the other hand, stories present a different point of view on how to tell a story to an audience and disclose large chunks of data without losing the audience’s interest.

Research by the Journal of Neuroscience (2019) discusses the importance of using storytelling in business presentations to disclose information to the public in a more accessible format. Our brains are wired to process stories more effectively than raw data or facts. When we hear a story, our brains release oxytocin, a hormone associated with empathy and trust, which helps us connect emotionally with the speaker and the content. Hence, the importance of curating the script to deliver your story to the audience as stories have the power to inspire, worry, heal, and even to attract a negative impact, as suggested by the American Psychological Association .

You can harness this phenomenon in your presentations regardless of their scope. In this guide, we share storytelling techniques you might not have thought of and reinforce the classics with new ideas. This article is for weekly report presenters, sales agents presenting to clients daily, and anyone looking to improve their PowerPoint storytelling training skills. 

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Benefits of Using Storytelling in Presentations

Understanding the audience and tailoring the story to their interests and needs, data storytelling, storytelling structures for crafting a compelling story for a corporate presentation, practical techniques to improve storytelling in presentations, how storytelling enhances the effectiveness of the presentation.

• The Power of Visual Metaphors and your Stories

Strategies For Overcoming Storytelling Challenges in a Corporate Setting

The power of storytelling.

Communication through storytelling is the intersection between informing, connecting, and persuading. Stories have been the foundation of human connection since the beginning of human history. Before the advent of written language, history was shared through spoken storytelling. Then came books, plays, movies, and storytelling modalities that united people through communication.

Findings demonstrate that storytelling is essential for presenting innovative ideas and gaining interest and support from others. In any scenario, from academic to corporate, when people are engaged with a story, they are more likely to pay attention, ask questions, and participate in the presentation. This engagement can lead to better outcomes for the presenter and the audience.

Storytelling breaks the ice through empathy and relatability. Short, rapid-fire associations help overcome communication obstacles and connect the speaker to the audience, especially when the presenter doesn’t know the audience personally. 

Imagine that you’re about to present to a college audience of students, scholars, and teachers. Tap into what they can all relate to: the room you’re in, the event you’re all attending, the weather, and create a quick story or comment about it. If you’re a visual storytelling master, tie it into your presentation’s intro.

Stories motivate. It’s what they’re most appreciated for. Stories help people understand complex ideas or data by providing context, relatability, and a structure familiar to the human brain.

Using stories improves the memorability and strength of the message while creating a connection between the speaker and the audience. Practicing storytelling in presentations increases confidence in the speaker and, therefore, the audience. 

Research by Stanford University suggests that people remember stories better than simple facts, and incorporating stories into presentations can lead to better retention. A story also has the potential to turn a presentation into a conversation, opening up the possibilities of communication even further. 

Incorporating Storytelling into Corporate Presentations

The average corporate worker is involved in presentations at least twice a week. Incorporating storytelling into those presentations, no matter how small, improves efficiency and results. 

But simply telling a random joke isn’t going to cut it; your content has to be tailored to the audience, finding the right balance between story and data and incorporating structures for storytelling slides , and visual, textual, and auditory storytelling techniques. Storytelling techniques span from small touches like quotes, GIFs, or memes to a full-scale story spanning every presentation slide.

Corporate Storytelling is the branch by which we apply storytelling techniques to business environments, which can happen in the format of writing mission & vision statements, presentations, marketing, sales proposals , product design, etc. Its company-wide application ensures that communication is clear across all levels but also reflects on overcoming obstacles with real-life applications of what the corporation is producing. 

Audiences can be vertical or horizontal. Vertical audiences are people with more or less knowledge than you. Horizontal audiences have the same knowledge as you. This distinction matters because it directs your decision-making toward the terminology and story arc you incorporate into a presentation.

For example, the communication is horizontal in a small meeting with your peers where you present a roadmap for a project launch. You can use industry jargon freely because they’ll all understand. Here’s a possible storytelling technique for a roadmap presentation.

• Create avatars for each team member with a funny accessory or cool background. Place each avatar on their tasks and move them along every week when you have check-ins. Make it fun and build a story around it. Your plan succeeds if people are talking about it outside the meeting room.

In a hybrid orientation session with new employees and interns . There’s less room for jokes than in a horizontal team environment. Use storytelling to train and inspire 50+ people in a hybrid setting.

• Open the presentation with real success stories of employees who came into the company and thrived over time. Don’t just show this employee at work doing tasks; also show them in situations where they enjoy themselves and feel a sense of accomplishment. 
• Incorporate dialogue simulations into the presentation. Choose participants randomly and ask them to have a guided conversation about something they might encounter at work. 
• Separate the audience into break-out rooms and ask participants different “what if” questions. Afterward, have a group discussion and create possible user stories from the answers.
• Your storytelling plan succeeded if at least ¾ of the audience participated and there was some laughter and enjoyment during the session.

Presentations to large audiences, like keynote speeches and TED talks, are the easiest to add storytelling techniques to. Communication is typically a combination of vertical and horizontal in these cases. Here are some PowerPoint storytelling training ideas:

• Tell a story that happened to you that ties into the content you’re sharing. Use unifying and stringing techniques to bring the idea from the story to the content and vice versa. 
• Separate the presentation into parts and tell one story per section . Select tales that people can relate to, like overcoming obstacles, reaching goals, and surviving traumas. Everyone can relate to those.

Some scenarios present a particular challenge for presenters: how to implement storytelling if the presentation heavily relies on data? Certainly, text cannot replace factual information, not visual metaphors, so in such cases, we highly recommend you follow a methodology like the one exposed in our article about data storytelling .

A storytelling structure will always help create better presentations by captivating your audience’s attention and engaging them more deeply. Sequential steps build a sense of suspense, transforming mere information into a compelling narrative that resonates. By learning how to structure your presentation like a story , you can effectively convey your message and leave a lasting impact. Here are some of the most effective storytelling techniques tailored to their specific scopes:

SCQA – Situation, Complication, Question, Answer 

The SCQA framework is an essential tool for analytic storytelling in presentations. It’s a practical tool in business communication that audiences relate easily to. As it follows a logical flow to present a situation and the steps to its resolution, it is one of the easiest methodologies for implementing storytelling in presentations. In our detailed case study, we shall expose a step-by-step process for applying this framework.

These are the sections of SCQA:

• Complication

We introduce this case to quickly represent this model: A furniture exporter has found customer complaints regarding the parcel delivery system. Using the SCQA, they can pinpoint the story behind the situation: some third-party vendors don’t use the platform-approved parcel delivery service, which implies an extra charge for the vendors, and opt instead for their own systems. In turn, some orders get lost, and customers cannot retrieve information on the shipping status until it’s delivered.

SCQA offers the advantage of helping presenters to structure complex concepts in a story format, which benefits situations like technical or scientific presentations as jargon can be reduced to easy-to-relate life situations.

Story Mountain

The story mountain or story arch is a literary structure for telling stories. It also works for medium size business presentations. It is a visual metaphor that illustrates the path to transit a mountain, from one point to the other end, and lists key points along the road, as well as the differences in the pace for each stage.

These are the stops in a story mountain:

• Opening: Start by introducing the main characters, the setting, and the context of your story, which, in terms of business situations, reflects the company, product, or service, then the problem your organization intends to address.
• Build-Up: This is the core problem to resolve. It should be disclosed in a manner that builds expectations and drives interest from the audience on which solutions are proposed and how they will work.
• Climax: The Climax can also be interpreted as an inflection point by which a direction change is introduced after an action is taken. This can be represented in the form of speaking about a strategic management shift that led your company into a successful path or an innovative solution later presented as a product or service that solves the core problem.
• Resolution: In this section, we illustrate how the core problem is solved due to the selected solution that arose from the Climax stage. Using testimonials is a great method to validate your authority on the topic and break the barrier between theoretical models and actual solutions. Other alternatives can come from case studies or introducing fact-based data.
• Ending: We conclude the story mountain structure by summarizing the key takeaways on the path to the mountain and highlighting how the organization solved the problem. Implement CTAs in this section, as it is where you should encourage prospective buyers to acquire your product/service. In the case of academic/scientific presentations, list down your contact information for possible collaboration projects.

We can showcase this model with a case like this: A manufacturing company producing paint cans is looking to implement production monitoring software on its shop floor. The aim is to increase efficiency, track real-time production, and better understand error codes.

• Opening: The company acknowledged its production needed more efficient, identifying hidden gems in their production process. They decided it was time to implement production monitoring software to take its production rates to new levels.
• Build-Up: As the company looks for different technology solutions, it can categorize the options offered by factors such as cost, features, and ease of implementation. They also ran an audit to get insights on which technology suits their production line the best.
• Climax: After a careful evaluation, the company chose a production monitoring software solution within its needs and budget. They opted to run a pilot on a limited number of machines, comparing the output results after 3 months. The implementation phase is handled by the software provided in terms of software, access points, and hardware required.
• Resolution: Over the first three weeks, the company observed significant improvements in its production process. They could locate bottlenecks that hindered the throughput rate, making the required changes to address them. This led to increased efficiency and brought cost-saving benefits to the company.
• Ending: The production monitoring software became an integral part of the company’s daily operations, influencing when maintenance tasks should be scheduled, providing insights about hidden production potential, and helping operators understand the consequences of each action taken more clearly. Due to the quick implementation process and the reports on cost-savings, especially from the scrap count reduction and energy-saving perspective, the company opted to install this production monitoring solution across all machines on the shop floor.

The Hero’s Journey 

The Hero’s Journey is a storytelling technique that fits neatly into a long-form presentation or keynote speech. This framework became popularized by Joseph Cambell’s book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces ,” it’s longer than the previous examples and can get quite elaborate. We can identify these sections in the Hero’s Journey:

• The Call to Adventure: The challenge/opportunity that initiates the path to the journey.
• Resisting the Call: The hero’s inner struggle to embark on the journey out of fear of failure or inadequacy.
• Meeting the Mentor: The encounter between the hero and a wise figure who provides advice on the journey.
• Crossing the Threshold: Moving from the comfort zone into the “Unknown,” walking into danger or uncertainty.
• Quests, Allies, and Enemies: The hero must transit obstacles and interactions to gather experience to face the key challenge of its journey.
• Approaching the Cave: In this stage, the hero faces the story’s main conflict.
• The Abyss: Where the hero experiences an internal crisis, inducing a transformation as it faces its deepest fear or a life-or-death choice.
• The Reward: After emerging victorious from The Abyss, our hero gains a valuable element (tangible or not) relevant to transit the rest of the quest.
• The Road Home: This stage represents the path back to their daily life, but finds new obstacles or challenges.
• The Rebirth: A final challenge emerges, where the hero is confronted with its greatest fear and must put all the knowledge to the test. This point showcases how much the hero has truly changed throughout the journey.
• Return: The hero is now back in its ordinary life, with the gained knowledge and a better understanding of the world. Now, that newfound knowledge is applied to benefit others.

That is a basic outline of the steps to cover in this road. If you wish to know more about this storytelling technique, we recommend you check our guide on The Hero’s Journey and its application.

Some presentations encompass various styles, functions, and objectives, each catering to specific communication goals. Internal and external presentations serve distinct purposes, requiring tailored approaches to effectively convey information. To enhance your storytelling prowess within presentations, here are some ideas that incorporate PowerPoint storytelling examples :

On Presenting Projects, Plans, Reports, etc.

Suppose you regularly present plans, project roadmaps , and reports to higher management. In that case, you can tap into what you intend to produce from the project and craft a success story, presenting the winning moments and obstacles your organization had to transit. Say, for example, a laptop manufacturer is presenting their newest model release plan. One of the main points to highlight in the marketing strategy is why this model is a flagship for the company. Well, since the product is due to be released in Q3 2023 and there were major differences in previous laptop designs by this company, the marketing team can build a narrative on how the Pandemic affected the initial design they had in mind due to the microchip shortage, the restrictions to work in shopfloor, and how they were presented with a new paradigm in terms of work. Those learnings were applied after noticing what customers needed regarding power and portability to work from anywhere in the world, not just a shared office. And that’s the background why this new laptop model is the solution for digital nomads and a brand new concept in the company’s strategy.

Introducing an Ideal Persona

For OKR sessions with newer employees , tell stories to inspire team members to feel invested in their objectives and key results. You can create one “ideal employee” model and craft a narrative around it to present common challenges, what objectives to aim for, and the benchmarks by which the company shall measure the new employees’ success rate. Express how this “ideal employee” came to the company fresh out of university, heading for a trainee role. How asking the mentors for advice helped the employee better understand their strengths and weaknesses and how to adapt them to perform at a greater level. Then, you can use this same narrative to cultivate the constant-learning mindset, as the “ideal employee” joined for extra-hours workshops that coach how to work with new frameworks, a well-paid sacrifice as it helped the employee to land an in-company promotion in less than 1 year. Use examples of other teams in the company and expose how they overcame new challenges or set new success metrics by collaborating as a team while staying true to your company’s mission & vision.

Strategies for Sales Meetings

Your best storytelling tactic for those presenting during external meetings like sales and proposals is the trusty “get to know your audience” technique . If it’s a big group, study the average person in attendance and direct your stories toward them. For smaller groups, research the client and mention things they’re interested in. Tie it into your presentation with stories, analogies, and metaphors. As an example of this tactic, let’s place ourselves in a sales professional’s shoes, presenting robotic vacuums to a group of investors and guaranteeing higher profits than they would make if investing in competitor brands like iRobot. The sales professional must gather information about the audience’s background, their individual investing profile, which projects similar to this product caught their interest, their expected ROI, and their threshold for risk. Then, the sales professional has to craft a narrative that attends to the needs of the average member in the meeting, with juicy details to spike the interest of the best 3 potential investors in the room. You can ask then what happens if there’s a conflict of interest in contrasting expectations. Step 1 is to stay true to your facts: do not present information your product or service cannot produce. Step 2 is to debate which position is more favorable to your interests and who is your ideal investor candidate. Step 3 is to calmly expose the facts that may drive the interest away from one/several investors and how your proposal aims to solve the problem in a different format than they expected. If, by chance, no consensus is reached, move towards Step 4, which is thanking the investors for their time and wishing that you can reach a business deal in another project.

Repurposing Customer Testimonials

In some cases, users crave tangible results from an innovative product. Talk to the customer satisfaction team at the company and ask them to tell you stories from the customers they talk to. Take notes of those experiences, remembering to write down the name in case you opt to cite a customer and need to ask for permission. 

By working with your customers’ testimonials, your organization can learn about flaws your product or service may present. Such information can later be repurposed as the ground research of a new product line and even be used in the product presentation as a punch line when to introduce “Why did we create this product?” – it is a powerful resource to count with, and automatically validates your efforts by working on suggestions made from real-life customers on what they expect from a product or service.

This approach is also used in the format of surveys held by the customer satisfaction team, as we count on valid insights to work from.

Creating a Dialogue

Turn the presentation into a conversation . Incorporating storytelling into a conversation can feel more manageable than in a speech. This process can be done by following these steps:

• Simplify the language: Avoid any unrequired jargon when transforming the presentation into a conversational format. If you must use industry-exclusive terms, introduce them in the context and with an explanation as if speaking with a colleague. Overly format language should be discarded as the aim is for a conventional business conversation, as it would happen in a coffee break during an event.
• Structure the narrative: Make it a back-and-forth conversation where questions and comments can be added by any of the two interlocutors (the presenter and, in this case, the audience). Write down any aspect of the conversation that you feel might be left out if you don’t follow a strict outline.
• Use examples: As you would in any normal conversation, have some references at bay. Working with your case study in the presentation as an example can help in most cases, as you are already familiar with the ins and outs of that example. If not, opt for an example that is relevant and easy to structure for your talk.
• Be adaptable: It is not a presentation format but a more relaxed take on delivering a topic. With this, we imply unexpected changes can emerge like a member of the audience raising a series of consecutive questions or making it a lengthy monologue to express an idea. Go with the flow and only return to your speech if you divert too much from your intent.
• Highlight key points: Don’t dwell too much on specific details that may consume much time. Instead, push the key points into the conversation early on so you can reference them later as the conversation goes on.

Case Study of Storytelling in a Corporate Presentation

A software provider for the retail industry, TechEase, seeks to win a large contract from a potential client, a major retail chain, to implement a new inventory management system. The client, MoreIsLess, has expressed interest in TechEase’s software but has yet to make a final decision. 

TechEase knows they are competing against several other software providers and must make a compelling sales presentation to set them apart.

First, the TeachEase team concretizes the client’s pain points to use them as a basis for a compelling story. TechEase must show how its software will meet the requirements to ease the client’s unique pain points.

• MoreIsLess needs an inventory management software solutionthat is more effective than the one they use now. 
• The current software is unstable and is constantly making employees frustrated. 
• It has also created issues with inventory data, making the company lose clients from its e-commerce platform due to undelivered orders and product sorting and packaging mistakes.
• MoreIsLess managers have previously had a negative experience with a software implementation project and are hesitant to take on another project that could potentially disrupt their operations.
• The client is concerned about the software’s complexity and whether it would be easy for their employees to use. 

To address these challenges, TechEase’s sales team develops a sales story that will resonate with the client. One easy way to understand this problem is by implementing a metaphor. In this case, TechEase interprets the inefficiency in the system used by MoreIsLess as a bottleneck problem, given that new orders are added to the queue. However, unresolved/failed orders still hang there, altering the inventory data. In graphical terms, it resembles a car jam on a high-traffic road, where at a certain point, all elements get stuck.

Using the SCQA framework, the team sets up a structure for their sales presentation with the client company. They’ll build a compelling story with this as the foundation. The slides follow this outline and the structure for a sales presentation. Our SCQA Slides Template for PowerPoint is used to illustrate this case.

• Situation = MoreIsLess needs an inventory management software solution that will be more effective than now.

• Complication = Their current system creates bottlenecks in the supply chain, causing behavioral and financial problems. MoreIsLess managers are worried about disrupting operations to implement new management software. They are also worried about the software’s complexity.

• Question = How will TeachEase offer an inventory management solution that will solve the bottleneck issue quickly and efficiently without disrupting operations? How will they ensure timely employee training?

• Answer = TechEase offers to implement the new software over one weekend and train all involved employees within a week. Bottlenecks will ease within two weeks with a full-scale fix at three weeks max. The TechEase team also works with the customer success team to inform customers of the changes when necessary. They will offer a discount code to clients as an incentive if they have any issues in those two weeks.

The story uses a visual metaphor, the bottleneck. In this case, a long-term inventory bottleneck with mistaken shipments and unsent orders is caused by the current software.

Ineffective inventory management software = a traffic bottleneck on a highway intersection

Everyone hates it when traffic becomes a bottleneck that makes drivers change routes, get lost, arrive late to their destination, etc. TechEase’s software solves the problem by creating more efficient inventory systems that relieve bottlenecks by “creating different lanes and making some of them wider.” 

TechEase uses the bottleneck visual metaphor in the presentation slides by turning an inventory flowchart into a traffic bottleneck. In the following slides, the bottleneck eases up, and the presenter explains how the software solves that problem. During the conversation, they use analogies and metaphors that tie back to the idea of the traffic bottleneck.

Storytelling can be a powerful tool for persuasion. A well-crafted story can help the audience relate to the presenter’s point of view and see the value in a proposed solution, idea, or product. Using the bottleneck visual metaphor, TechEase connects with the audience in a plane beyond what they’re immediately discussing. 

Finally, the TechEase team mentions a previous client with a similar issue. In a quick story, they explain how the software eased its bottlenecks without affecting daily productivity.

Tying the metaphoric story with a real story brings the idea home, from fiction to reality.

Resulting in MoreIsLess closing the deal and implementing TechEase’s software.

The Power of Visual Metaphors and Your Stories

Data and storytelling have many ways of working together to incentivize creative communication. One particular technique we’re fond of is visual metaphors and associations.

Relevant visual metaphors help you add storytelling to data without confusing the audience. It tends to do the opposite. Say you intend to represent what’s missing from a process to satisfy the customer’s needs. We can represent this situation as the following case study: a language learning application intends to compete on the same tier as top-industry solutions like Duolingo. They found out that users struggle to improve their pronunciation levels in some languages due to their way of pronouncing vocals and consonants in their native language. Take a look at this slide for a gap analysis. The broken road over a crevasse is the visual metaphor for the gap. It’s simple, it makes sense, and it’s effective. Using the gap analysis, the company can represent how the current state of their app is not helping users overcome pronunciation mistakes, as there’s no system to evaluate that in the app.

In another example, a company faces communication issues due to workers creating immense email threads due to the “Reply All” function. Instead of replying to the team members who should be aware of the answer, workers keep replying to all, creating email chains of over 20 emails that may not be relevant to the members listed in the initial email, as the current messages include specific instructions for one team. Instead, a wiser solution would be to reply only to those who find that communication pertinent or create a new email thread with the members interacting. Using the 3D square peg metaphor, we can represent how the “Reply All” option is forced into the organization rather than opting for individual email threads per topic or testing communication solutions like Microsoft Teams or Slack. This slide has an adaptable visual metaphor for explaining that something isn’t working as it should and that you’re forcing a solution where it isn’t fit to work.

The funnel is a classic and highly effective storytelling technique in marketing and business. We can drive the attention from hard-to-understand data into visual cues. Instead of using numbers to express how a media channel brings users to our company and turns them into prospective buyers, we can represent the funnel and categorize from contacts through the next filtered stage of qualified leads, then to prospects, and finally, opportunities. And we can also filter out the users who partially meet the criteria, reformulating solutions to their needs. Make yours unique by using colored dots, icons, and a legend to pinpoint where your team needs to work harder and what areas are strong.

As we’ve seen, there are multiple methods to implement metaphors to tell a story . The problem lies in pairing the aesthetic of your visual slides with the rest of the content you are delivering; otherwise, it feels disconnected. A tool like the SlideModel AI Presentation Maker help to bridge the gap by creating an entire slide deck based on a pre-selected design style and theme.

Overcoming Challenges in Storytelling for Corporate Presentations

There are always challenges and obstacles when using storytelling in corporate presentations. They’re the reason why so many presentations could have been emails. And also why deals aren’t closing, sales aren’t being made, and internal meeting presentations are unproductive. These are some of the most common:

• The company doesn’t have a brand story, no corporate storytelling strategy, nor does its communication culture have any stories to tell. This foments a culture of basic communication that doesn’t inspire action and growth.
• Everyone just keeps doing “what works.” When faced with something new, they say, “We’ve always been doing it this way.” If a new idea for a presentation comes up, they say, “We’ve used this report presentation template for the past year. Why change now?”
• It takes time to craft relevant stories and practice them. Many presentations must be finished fast and then presented at a meeting nobody wants to attend.
• Sometimes, a story used means nothing, and the effort is wasted .

The number one strategy to overcome storytelling challenges is to understand and share that storytelling is worth the time it takes to implement.  

Here are some strategies for overcoming storytelling challenges in a corporate setting.

• Hire a brand storyteller to build a story from which the entire company can build more stories.
• Build detailed user personas and create stories around them.
• Hire a creative director to lead important presentation projects and client communication.
• Challenge your employees to get creative when building presentations and think of other ideas to implement instead of reusing the same report template every Friday. If your company has a brand story, share it with them. Involve the Learning and Development department and offer storytelling workshops for everyone to build their skills.
• Don’t create a story for each presentation. Keep a folder of potential stories to use in the future and reference it regularly. 
• Make the stories mean something. Stories that don’t relate to your audience are as good as nothing. 

Be ready for every situation; you never know when your in-person presentation will turn into a hybrid session at the last minute. If you practiced a presentation for a stage, with some walking around and eye contact, you’ll have to bring it all in and adapt it for the camera. 

In a few steps, you can adapt the storytelling from an in-person meeting into a hybrid session. 

• Set up a camera to record the front of the room where the presenters will be.
• Connect it to the webinar or meeting software and test it.
• Send attendees a digital copy of the presentation slides.
• When the session starts, don’t just show the front of the room to the virtual attendees; change views and show the slides fullscreen, especially those with the visual metaphor.
• During the session, have someone in charge of the chat box and motivate attendees to participate in the discussion.

The power of storytelling is undisputed. It differentiates between a presentation considered “this could have been an email” and a presentation that positively impacts the audience. 

Stories in a corporate setting are the glue that humanizes business meetings, making them more entertaining, effective, compelling, memorable, and successful. 

In this guide, we shared some storytelling techniques you can incorporate at different levels of your organization. Try them out and see what works better. Part of getting to know your audience is trying out stories with them and seeing how they react. Check out our storytelling templates for PowerPoint to create your next presentation.

Here’s to much better presentations in your future.

Zacks, J. M., Speer, N. K., & Reynolds, J. R. (2009). Segmentation in reading and film comprehension. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 138(2), 307–327. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015305

Source: Zak, P. J. (2014). Why inspiring stories make us react: The neuroscience of narrative. Cerebrum: The Dana Forum on Brain Science, 2014, 2. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445577/

Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000). The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 701–721. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.701

Hinyard, L. J., & Kreuter, M. W. (2007). Using narrative communication as a tool for health behavior change: A conceptual, theoretical, and empirical overview. Health Education & Behavior, 34(5), 777–792. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198106291963

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7 Essential Storytelling Techniques for your Business Presentation

All memorable presentations have at least one story. Just think about it. Without a story, presentations would fall flat - unless you’re Tony Robbins. Luckily, there are many storytelling techniques for business presentations that you can use to engage an audience, change their perspective, and get them to take action.

Here you’ll learn all about the power of storytelling in presentations and seven techniques to start creating more persuasive presentations today!

What is Business Storytelling?

If storytelling is about using a story to make an emotional connection with your audience, business storytelling attaches that well-defined story to your business purposes.

You might be familiar with names like Richard Branson, Tim Cook, or Sheryl Sandberg. They’re very well-known business leaders, and the three of them appeared on the Time 100’s list of most influential people in the world. But there’s something else they have in common: They all happen to use stories to get their ideas across.

Richard Branson once said:

“Entrepreneurs who make a difference are, in effect, professional storytellers.” - Click to tweet

But you don’t have to be an entrepreneur or a famous CEO to start sharing compelling stories. Everyone can benefit from storytelling in a business. Whether you want to pitch a project, close sales deals, or get your team excited about one of your ideas, good stories can take you there.

To sum it up, business storytelling uses stories to make people care enough about your company, product, or project and take your desired action.

But, Why Is Storytelling Vital for Your Business Presentations?

No matter what type of presentation you’re working on: sales decks, status reports, business plans, data findings, project proposals…all of them aim to influence a decision .

And here’s where the power of storytelling comes in! While data appeals to your logical side, stories speak to your emotions . Do you remember the last time you felt moved by a movie or book? Well-crafted stories put you in the character’s shoes, and you start to understand their challenges as if they were your own. This is called empathy .

The same can happen in a business setting. Storytelling can make your audience relate to the problems or issues you’re presenting. But there’s more. If we go to the biological side, stories increase our levels of dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins. These are chemicals in our body associated with our capacity to relax, trust, and bond with others. In this scenario, people are more likely to embrace the ideas and solutions you offer .

So, if you ask what difference storytelling can make in your presentations, the answer is simple. When you use stories, you build a stronger connection with your audience, making it easier for them to understand and support your ideas.

Maya Angelou said it best:

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

And that’s definitely something stories can help you with.

These are some other benefits of using storytelling in your business presentations:

• Shows the human side of your company
• It helps your audience understand complex information
• It makes your ideas memorable
• It enables you to stand out among your competitors
• It moves people to action

Presentation Topic vs. Presentation Message vs. Presentation Purpose

Before even thinking of a compelling story, you need to define three key aspects of your presentation: topic, central message, and purpose .

Most people jump right into the slides and insert information on the go. And let's be honest, all of us tend to do this. But taking a few minutes to define these three elements will make a huge difference in how you present your ideas. And, most importantly, it will help you focus on what you really want to say. Let’s go quickly over each point:

Presentation Topic

This one is very simple. It’s a plain answer to “ What is your presentation about? ”. Let’s say you stumble with a colleague on your way to a meeting, and he asks you: “Hey, Alex, what you’ll be talking about today?” You don’t want to be late, so you summarize it in a few words. Short and to the point. That’s your presentation topic.

For example:

• A marketing campaign proposal for product XYZ
• The results of our latest market research in Idaho.
• The monthly subscription to our flagship service.

I know this step may sound basic, but trust me, it’ll make sense in a bit.

Presentation Message

Sometimes called your “big idea” or “central message.” This is a statement around your topic (hence, the importance of defining it first). In simple words, it’s what your audience should take away from your presentation . Ask yourself, “What do you want people to remember at the end?”

Let’s answer according to the previous examples:

• Video marketing on social media is the best way to introduce product XYZ to younger audiences.
• We can appeal to more of our customers in Idaho if we partner with local entrepreneurs.
• You can save up to 50% of the department budget with a monthly subscription to service A.

Your presentation message is the main idea you’re trying to “sell” to a specific audience. And knowing it early is key for building your story. We’ll come back to this concept later on.

Presentation Purpose

Finally, your presentation purpose, as its name says, is the reason why you’re making a presentation in the first place. What do you want to achieve? What’s the change you want to make in your audience? Your purpose is crucial to structure a convincing presentation.

These are some examples:

• Get your manager’s approval for a marketing campaign
• Get the board members to agree on increasing the budget for the Idaho team.
• Close a monthly subscription deal to our flagship service with a multinational company.

7 Storytelling Techniques for your Business Presentations

Now that we’re clear on our key concepts let’s see how to use storytelling in your business presentations. These are seven techniques that will help you craft better stories, build compelling presentations, and boost the impact of your ideas.

Storytelling Technique #1: Find Authentic Stories

In a world of fake news, people yearn for what’s real. So you don't want to use fictional stories. You need authentic ones.

Luckily, everything you do has a story behind it . You just have to be perceptive enough to catch them. And believe me, it’s easier to use an existing story than making up one.

For example, at 24Slides , our sales team tends to show clients the WHY of the business and WHO are the people behind it. Contrary to what others might believe, the 24Slides’ purpose story garners positive reactions from our clients and even increases their interest in learning more about the company.

Now, where do you find YOUR business stories? Here are some ideas:

• Your customer reviews
• The employees’ success stories
• Your company’s mission
• Challenges you’ve overcome with your team

Be aware that your story is not the same as your presentation message . But your story MUST support your message (aka “your big idea” - we talked about this in the previous section)

Storytelling Technique #2: Use Narrative Structures

Have you ever shared a joke and didn't get the explosive response you were expecting? Yeah, we've all been there.

It’s not enough to identify WHAT you want to tell, but also HOW you’re going to say it. You need to craft your story in a way that's appealing to your audience. Thankfully, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. I’m going to show you three proven narrative structures you can apply to your stories right now:

A) The Hero’s Journey

Every writing class teaches you this framework. The Hero’s journey or Monomyth starts with the protagonist (Hero) leaving their home and going on an adventure. Here, the hero faces different obstacles and learns a lesson that helps them obtain a victory. Finally, the hero returns home with that newfound wisdom and helps their community.

In short, it’s a story of transformation . And you can divide it into three stages:

• Departure: The transition from the ordinary world to the unknown.
• Initiation: Obstacles appear, lessons are learned, and the hero starts to change.
• Return: The big challenge takes place, and the hero wins thanks to their transformation. By the end, the hero comes back with a reward to their familiar world.

Some successful examples of the monomyth are The Lion King, Star Wars, and Mulan.

B) The Story Mountain

This one is perfect for building tension . You start by setting up a scene and introducing the characters. Then, the conflict appears in a series of small challenges. In the most important part of the story, the problem reaches a high point, and the action begins. After the climax, our protagonist sorts out the problem, and you end the story with a lesson.

I just explained the classical five-act structure that goes through a beginning, conflict, climax, deflation, and resolution. For a shorter version, you can also use the 3-act structure: set up, confrontation and resolution.

Think about which one gives your story a better chance to engage your audience and support your presentation message.

C) In-Medias Res

If you want to grab the attention from the very beginning , this one’s for you. The narrative technique in-medias res (Latin for “in the midst of things'') is used for stories that start in the heat of the action. This is how it works: You open with the climax (or near the end of your story) and keep your audience eager to understand what’s happening. Then you go back to the past and explain how things evolved.

Want a practical example? Watch 12 Years a Slave, Pulp Fiction, or The Greatest Showman. These movies start in-medias res and will help you understand its power.

Storytelling Technique #3: Make your Audience the Real Hero

One might believe that the hero of your story is obviously the company or your product...err. The audience is the real hero! Instead of conveying “THIS is what my product does,” you should go with “This is what YOU can do with my product/idea/solution.”

Let’s say you’re looking for approval of your campaign idea. In a normal scenario, you would list all the wonderful things your idea is, hoping your manager thinks the same and gives you the green light. Well, storytelling can get you there faster.

Share a story where company A is failing to address a consumer’s need. And two months later, before Company A realizes it, Company B already has a fair share of the market. What happened? Company B dared to break the mold in their industry and run a video ad campaign charged with strong consumers’ insights. The result? Company B conquered a new target audience, increased sales, and gained top of mind of the category. And you're confident your campaign proposal can do the same for the company. Now, you proceed to present your idea.

If you really want people to embrace your ideas as their own, they should be able to see themselves in your story. Always.

Storytelling Technique #4: Don’t forget the visual part!

We’ve already covered some points around your story, but what about your presentation? In business, everything influences how people perceive your messages. So, your PowerPoint slides should not only match up to your vibrant story but boost its effect on your audience.

Here’s a quick checklist of things to consider when working in your PowerPoint presentations:

• Use imagery to immerse your audience in the world of your story.
• Your visuals should support the key points of your story. Place them strategically.
• Use your slides to highlight only some phrases or powerful words from your speech. Let them be the ones related to your presentation message.
• Keep a consistent font from cover to cover.
• Colors also communicate! Make sure your color scheme delivers the right perceptions about your topic and persona.

Don’t believe presentation design can add up to your objectives? Check out this before-and-after example from the 24Slides team:

It’s a complete change from an unoriginal blank slide that makes you yawn to a stunning slide with a purpose .

And this even becomes a vital factor when you have to gain a client. Most of the time, you’re up there competing with other businesses, and your goal is to be memorable. Storytelling can do its part, but a branded presentation makes it easy for people to associate your message with your brand. It’s all about increasing the impact.

Storytelling Technique #5: The More Specific, The Better

At this point, it’s clear that the essence of storytelling is striking a chord with your audience. And one thing that helps you craft emotionally charged stories is adding details.

You need to present characters, scenarios, and situations that are easy to relate to. And being specific is what brings the elements of your story to life.

Remember, your stories should activate your audience’s senses . You don’t want people just to nod politely. You want them to FEEL your narrations.

Storytelling Technique #6: Don’t Hide Your Mistakes

When you work on your business stories, it’s very common to avoid mentioning the things that went wrong. But this is the opposite of what you should do.

Mistakes, failures, and struggles are what make your story exciting and more human - Click to Tweet

Just think about it. Would you rather listen to a story where everything is fine, and everyone lives happily forever or a story with challenges, ups and downs, and life lessons?

Next time you consider not sharing the struggles your team faced during a summer sale, think twice. It could lead to a unique story for a business presentation.

Storytelling Technique #7: Change the Status Quo

Nancy Duarte, a communication expert, studied persuasive presentations and identified a structure she called “Sparkline.”

It consists of moving your audience between two scenarios: “What is” and “what could be.” This approach allows you to showcase the value of your idea with more impact.

The “What is” responds to the problem you’re trying to solve or the current situation, while the “What could be” is the ideal situation your solution proposes. So, you spend your presentation going back and forth between these two sides and including stories or media that illustrate your ideas.

“Sparklines” is an excellent method to challenge the status quo in your audience’s mind and open a window for your ideas to be embraced . Plus, it engages people in your speech and spurs action.

Extra Resources to Improve Your Presentation Storytelling

If storytelling for presentations really caught your attention, there are more than techniques to hone your skills. Here are online resources that will help improve your presentation storytelling.

Book recommendation: “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath

Have you ever spent hours putting together a presentation, and when you delivered it, people seemed bored and distracted? No judgment. It has happened to the best of us! This is because you're not making your idea interesting enough for people to pay attention. In “ Made to Stick '', you’ll learn how to use the five elements of the SUCCES framework to make your messages interesting, actionable, and memorable. This is essential reading for anyone who has something to share and is looking for their ideas to be unforgettable.

TEDx Talk: “Why storytelling is more trustworthy than presenting data” by Karen Eber

If you have a hard time implementing storytelling with your sales reports and quarterly reviews, this video is for you. Leadership consultant Karen Eber points out that storytelling and data don’t have to be two opposite things. It’s the conjunction of both what makes people care and open their eyes to the problem you want to solve. She also demonstrates the link between storytelling and neurology masterfully, so it’s a must-see talk for any presenter!

You might also like: How to improve your presentation storytelling with Pecha Kucha Presentations .

Presentation Designers

Who said the one who delivers the presentation needs to design it too?

A great way to improve your storytelling skills is getting rid of the tasks that are slowing you down. Like your presentation design! According to our survey, average executives spend around 4 hours every week working on their PowerPoint slides. That's roughly 20 hours a month you can use to gather the right figures, craft better messages, or rehearse your speech instead.

The 24Slides’ PowerPoint designers can help you work smarter by taking full care of your slides' visual appearance and allowing you to focus on what matters most: Polishing your presentation storytelling techniques.

As in all things, the only way to master these storytelling techniques is practice. It’s normal if you feel nervous at first. After all, you’re getting out of your comfort zone. But once you start using storytelling regularly (and see the results!), it will become your secret weapon for successful business presentations .

You might also like this article: 10 of the Best Productivity Tools for Working in PowerPoint

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• Vague subject line is a missed opportunity to state BIG Idea
• Resolution is unclear with no specific details of the ask
• Meeting context is missing, leaving recipients wondering why they are receiving this email

• Context is established in first line with setting and characters
• Conflict is stated clearly so recipients know exactly what’s at stake
• Variation of BIG Idea is repeated and highlighted to restate the WHAT + BENEFIT

• Confusing headline - this is about clinics, not patients' health. Plus, there is no Big Idea
• Data is confusing and doesn't clearly connect to anything
• Resolution comes too early before any context is set

• Big Idea is a headline blazing from the top of the page
• Select data shows setting and characters
• Resolution comes last and is put into clear, visual buckets

• Title is vague
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PowerPoint Storytelling: How McKinsey, Bain, and BCG use the SCQA framework to create elite presentations

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Big name consulting firms like mckinsey, bain, and bcg all do one thing really well: they create amazing presentations for their clients. but it’s not just the formatting and design that makes these presentations so special. it’s the stories they tell..

In this article you’ll learn the PowerPoint storytelling techniques major consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG use to build elite presentations. You’ll see how these storytelling experts build presentations with clear takeaways, compelling insights, and an engaging narrative. I’ll walk through each step of the storytelling process in detail, and show you some examples of what this looks like in the real world.

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When building a presentation, regardless of who the audience is, you have one primary goal: to make it as easy as possible for the audience to understand what you’re trying to tell them. And this can be difficult – business presentations tend to have a lot of data and information, and it can be hard for the audience to grasp the key insights right away. Especially if they’re trying to also listen to the speaker and think about what they’re gonna say in response.

So when building your deck, it’s especially important to make sure it’s structured in a way that makes it clear, insightful, and engaging. It’s something top consulting firms do really well, thanks in part to two important concepts: the SCQA framework and the Pyramid Principle .

Table of Contents

SCQA Framework

In simple terms, SCQA is just a framework for presentations that allows you to craft a story around the information you’re trying to present. It stands for Situation, Complication, Question, and Answer.

Every presentation is an answer to some question, such as “should we acquire this company?” or “How did this marketing campaign perform?” or even “What did you find in your research?” – and the SCQA framework just allows you to provide context for that answer.

Practically speaking this means that your main deck is used to show your answer, and the situation, complication, and question are how you provide context for that answer.

Lets consider an example…

Disney Case Study

Let’s say you’re on a consulting case for Disney and the executives have asked you to make a recommendation for where they should build their next theme park. 

The main part of your presentation will be the actual recommendation and all the supporting details. But then the situation, complication, and question will form your introduction slide. 

The situation is how things are right now. The complication represents a change in that situation and is the reason why the presentation is needed. The question is what gets raised by the complication (and what needs to be solved). Then the answer is the resolution. 

So here, the situation might be something like, “Disney is looking to grow revenue by opening a new park”. The complication could be, “they need to decide where to open this park”. Which then leads to the implicit question which is, “where should Disney open its next theme park?”

Then the main part of your deck answers this question. 

And notice how this brings the presentation to life. It puts the presentation in context, and it tells the audience why they should care. Instead of just dropping them in the middle of your data, you’re leading them along and creating a narrative. Remember, your goal is to make it as easy as possible for the audience to understand what it is you’re trying to tell them.

Now, an important rule here is you don’t want your introduction to have anything new or controversial. It should all be something your audience already agrees with, so you can focus on the answer. All you’re doing is establishing relevance, and making sure you and the audience are on the same page.

BCG Example

Here is a great SCQA example from BCG .  

The presentation is for a non-profit organization that invests in open education resources (or OER) – which are basically education resources that are made available to everyone. 

“The Open Education Resources ecosystem” BCG, June 2013

They’ve titled the introduction slide “context of the work”, because ultimately that’s what it is. They’re just giving context before diving into the presentation. 

The first line says, “Since the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation began investing in open education resources in 2002, the field has grown significantly: the past decade has seen an influx of OER and increased awareness and adoption”.

And notice how this just clearly and plainly explains a steady-state situation. How things are right now. This is the situation.

Then the next line says, “However, more work remains to push the OER movement from the sidelines of mainstream education into the center of the classroom”. This line essentially tells us that things are looking good for OER, but more work remains. This is the complication.

And already you can see how this is setting up the presentation. The situation leads to the complication, and the complication very naturally leads to the question, which is the next line:

“The Foundation engaged the Boston Consulting Group in late 2012 to evaluate the state of the current ecosystem in the United States and to help understand how to measure the movement’s progress towards a sustainable, mainstream end-state”.

Now although they don’t state the question explicitly, you can see it in the text. The question is “What is the state of the current ecosystem in the US, and how can we measure the movement’s progress?”

And now we have the right setup for the presentation, and we’re ready to hear the answer. Everyone is on the same page, and the audience is ready to go. 

It might seem like a small piece of the presentation, but all the major consulting firms use this PowerPoint storytelling technique to turn what otherwise might be a dry presentation into a persuasive story with a clear narrative. 

Pyramid Principle

If you’ve watched our other videos, or taken some of our advanced courses , you’ll know that we talk about the Pyramid Principle a lot – especially as it relates to slide structure. But here I’m going to focus on how it applies to storyboarding and the presentation as a whole. 

Put simply, the Pyramid Principle is just a method of communicating information where you start with the main idea, and then provide the supporting details and data of that idea. Going back to our Disney example, the main idea would be on top, then the two supporting points would be below that. 

If you recall, the question is, where should Disney build a new theme park? 

Let’s say that your answer is that Disney should build a new theme park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two supporting reasons for that answer might be that Rio is a major tourist destination, and that the Disney brand is strong in Brazil. And if you wanted, you could continue creating additional layers to your pyramid with more supporting details and data. 

In a presentation, the way you would communicate this is from top to bottom. And the reason why that approach is so effective is because you provide the audience with context first, before giving them more granular detail. Plus it helps the audience know exactly what you’re trying to tell them, and how you’ve reached each of your conclusions. Remember, your main goal is to make it as easily as possible for the audience. 

If you were to turn each of these ideas into its own slide, you would rearrange them with the highest level ideas coming first, then the supporting details following each idea. Then throw your introduction slide up front, and voila! you’ve got yourself a story.

And this is the exact PowerPoint storytelling technique they use at every major consulting firm to build client presentations that are incredibly clear, compelling, and persuasive. 

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, PowerPoint storytelling doesn’t always happen this smoothly. In practice, there are lots of factors that can influence the final version of deck. Not to mention other slides that I didn’t mention like an executive summary slide, next steps slide, or the appendix. But generally speaking, this approach works really well.

In fact, did you notice it’s the same approach I used for this article. I started by stating the situation: I said that when you build a presentation you want to make it as easy as possible for the audience. Then I introduced a complication: business presentations tend to have a lot of data and information, so making it clear can be difficult. The implicit question then became, how can you make data heavy presentations easy to understand. 

Then I moved on to my answer, which was to provide a clear structure to your presentation, using two key concepts: the SCQA framework, and the Pyramid Principle. And I used this structure to then build out and explain my answer. 

The end result is an article that’s clear, easy to follow, and insightful (I hope!).

You can watch a video version of this article on  YouTube .

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The Power Of Storytelling In Presentations

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Telling stories never gets old. Our brains have an embedded need for narrative, whether it’s schemas, scripts, cognitive maps, mental models or metaphors. In many ways, stories are how we think and make sense of the world around us, and this extends to business concepts as well.

This hidden power of storytelling can influence how we make decisions and how we persuade others of our ideas.

In presentations, stories are the most effective way of organizing information. A powerful form of communication, they translate ideas and move people to action. Moreover, they turn the audience into viral advocates of the proposition , whether in life or in business, by paying the story—not just the information—forward.

Harnessing the power of storytelling for presentations

Humans are hardwired for storytelling. Neuroscientist Uri Hasson of Princeton University researched the effects of storytelling on the brain by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Hasson and his team scanned the brain activity of several participants while they listened to a story. Once the story began, the brain activity of the listeners synced up on a deep level, and “neural entrainment” spread across all brains in higher-order areas including the frontal cortex and the parietal cortex. He found that the storyteller’s brain activity synched with the listeners, while he was telling the story. Hasson’s research showed that an effective storyteller causes the neurons of an audience to closely sync with the storyteller’s brain, which has significant implications for presenters.

A key rule of telling stories is giving your audience an emotional experience. Purposeful stories that reach the listener’s hearts and minds are those that move them to action. Specialists say that the most effective and efficient way to do that is through the use of metaphor and analogy. These linguistic devices are key components of the way we think, building blocks of the very structure of knowledge. They can be used to evoke images and turn on memory, along with rich sensory and emotional associations, bringing the listener into the story, cognitively and emotionally, as an active participant.

We perceive and remember something based on how it fits with other things. One way the brain sorts things is by metaphors (…).

When you’re describing things in a story, you are creating visual imagery that engages you in multiple ways.

Pamela Rutledge, Psychologist  and Director of the Los Angeles-based Media Psychology Research Center via

Every story has to fit within the context of your presentation, or at least tie in with your surrounding remarks. Forced stories have the opposite effect, they disconnect the audience and make it harder for them to understand where you’re going with the presentation.

Stories have purpose. They have to be relevant to the experience and interests of your audience. Each story should have a point to it that your listeners can easily grasp and identify with. You want to use stories to put information into perspective, not replace it. Make your stories clear and relevant, to support the information in your presentation. That means keeping them fairly short and removing unnecessary details.

You want to use stories to put information into perspective, not replace it. (Click to tweet)

When you think of a story to accompany an idea in your presentation, think of it like painting a picture of your idea. Create an easy-to-visualize story where something happens in a specific time and place, played out by characters that your audience is likely to connect with. Don’t try to overdo it or use too many stories. If you’re not comfortable including a story, don’t do it. Otherwise it might seem forced and have a negative impact on your listeners.

If the type of presentation allows it, opt for a personal story. These are naturally embedded with emotion, making you vulnerable and connecting you to your audience. It will also make it easier for you to select how you want to tell the story, what details to include and what elements are most likely to strike a chord with the audience.

The power of stories also comes from scarcity. Don’t go overboard with stories; instead, use them sparingly and make sure that they are the right ones to stay with your audience even after the presentation is over.

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Storytelling structure in presentations

I’ve recently finished reading Christopher Booker’s book: The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. I think the book captures the essence of how and why all stories boil down to one of a few plot structures, and how they can act as outlines for effectively presenting all sorts of information.

Here’s an infographic I found detailing the seven plots that the book talks about, for you to try out in your presentations:

Another interesting way of structuring stories is the classical three-act formula , recommended by Nancy Duarte. You’re probably familiar with this format—the protagonist is identified as likable, then they go through all of these difficult times, and finally, they emerge transformed.

This is a type of structure that enables you to create a story arc to support the hero’s transformation. It’s a technique that builds tension within the audience and releases it, creating that emotional impact we talked about.

Storytelling in business presentations

It might seem counterintuitive but telling stories is actually key to many business presentations. Whether we’re talking about a pitch deck for an investment, a sales pitch for a new client or a product presentation, you should aim to sell a story, not list of numbers.

A great example is tech giant Cisco Systems. The company used to deliver fact-heavy presentations promoting their products. But when they stopped listing features and started telling stories, they became much more effective and successful. By telling the story of a small, struggling, local business owner who grew his company and managed it more effectively using Cisco, the company was able to humanize information about technology and make their benefits more relatable.

One storytelling technique useful in business presentations is using visual elements. Visual design is an universal language that can help you connect the dots between important data points and business conclusions that everyone sitting in that presentation can follow. In fact, in a survey conducted by TDWI, 74% of respondents believed data visualization to be responsible for a “very high” or “high” increase in business user insights. For example, you could organize data from a report in an infographic instead of a table. Or you could translate a strategy into a visual concept that you illustrate with an image.

Another effective technique is to create contrast, in a what is vs what could be scenario. For example, in a pitch deck , when describing the problem that you’re trying to solve with your product/service, it’s easier for investors to connect to it and relate if you explain the two scenarios: how your target market conducts life and business without a solution, and how their lives and businesses would be significantly improved if they had your product/service.

Storytelling isn’t just a way of entertaining audiences, it’s a way of presenting your ideas in a language that the human brain understands best. Used wisely, it’s a powerful device to keep listeners engaged in what you are saying, and it is a motivating factor for action.

As you practice your storytelling abilities, you’ll find that right mix between facts, ideas and stories that keep audiences attentive and move them to action.

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How can I create an effective PowerPoint presentation to summarize my company’s performance?

July 8, 2024 /

Creating an effective PowerPoint presentation to summarize your company’s performance involves several key steps to ensure clarity, engagement, and impact. Start by defining the core message you want to convey. Identify the most important metrics and achievements that reflect your company’s performance, such as revenue growth, market expansion, customer satisfaction, and key projects. Organize your content logically. Begin with an introduction that outlines the purpose of the presentation and provides a brief overview of what will be covered. Follow with sections that delve into specific areas of performance, using data and visuals to support your points. Charts, graphs, and infographics can be particularly effective in illustrating trends and comparisons. Keep your slides clean and uncluttered. Use bullet points to break down complex information and avoid overcrowding slides with too much text. Choose a professional design template that aligns with your company’s branding, and maintain consistency in fonts, colors, and layout throughout the presentation. Engage your audience by incorporating storytelling elements. Highlight key successes and challenges, and explain the strategies that led to your results. Use real-life examples and case studies to make your data more relatable and compelling. Practice your delivery to ensure you can present confidently and clearly. Rehearse with colleagues to get feedback and make any necessary adjustments. Remember, the goal is to provide a clear, concise, and engaging summary of your company’s performance that leaves a lasting impression on your audience. By following these steps, you can create a PowerPoint presentation that effectively communicates your company’s achievements and future prospects, making a strong impact on your audience.

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The Unique Burial of a Child of Early Scythian Time at the Cemetery of Saryg-Bulun (Tuva)

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In 1988, the Tuvan Archaeological Expedition (led by M. E. Kilunovskaya and V. A. Semenov) discovered a unique burial of the early Iron Age at Saryg-Bulun in Central Tuva. There are two burial mounds of the Aldy-Bel culture dated by 7th century BC. Within the barrows, which adjoined one another, forming a figure-of-eight, there were discovered 7 burials, from which a representative collection of artifacts was recovered. Burial 5 was the most unique, it was found in a coffin made of a larch trunk, with a tightly closed lid. Due to the preservative properties of larch and lack of air access, the coffin contained a well-preserved mummy of a child with an accompanying set of grave goods. The interred individual retained the skin on his face and had a leather headdress painted with red pigment and a coat, sewn from jerboa fur. The coat was belted with a leather belt with bronze ornaments and buckles. Besides that, a leather quiver with arrows with the shafts decorated with painted ornaments, fully preserved battle pick and a bow were buried in the coffin. Unexpectedly, the full-genomic analysis, showed that the individual was female. This fact opens a new aspect in the study of the social history of the Scythian society and perhaps brings us back to the myth of the Amazons, discussed by Herodotus. Of course, this discovery is unique in its preservation for the Scythian culture of Tuva and requires careful study and conservation.

Keywords: Tuva, Early Iron Age, early Scythian period, Aldy-Bel culture, barrow, burial in the coffin, mummy, full genome sequencing, aDNA

Information about authors: Marina Kilunovskaya (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] Vladimir Semenov (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] Varvara Busova  (Moscow, Russian Federation).  (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences.  Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Kharis Mustafin  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Technical Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Irina Alborova  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Biological Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Alina Matzvai  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected]

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For one global leader in the Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) space, innovation is, and has been, the norm. They’re used to leading the way and evolving ...Continue Reading

How to Create a Consistent Sales Communications Culture

Without a consistent message, your business can’t succeed. But how do you ensure that you have a consistent message that your team can adapt to ...Continue Reading

Key Questions for L&D Leaders: How to Evaluate Employee Training Gaps

When there’s a big push from the C-suite or Learning & Development (L&D) to train their workers, many leaders immediately think of some technology platform ...Continue Reading

How One Medical Device Manufacturer Transformed Its Communications From Eye-Glazing to Impactful

For years, the technical teams of a global manufacturer of medical devices struggled to communicate effectively with their business partners. Their messages were overly technical ...Continue Reading

What Employees Want: A Stable Career Built on Communications Training

Employees everywhere are quitting their jobs in favor of a more stable, quiet life away from the busy city. That includes their careers. After a ...Continue Reading

It’s Time to Reframe Soft Skills as Power Skills

It’s time for business leaders to appreciate the impact of soft skills on the bottom line. There’s hidden gold in the nontechnical skills that can ...Continue Reading

The Future Is Hybrid: How to Use Business Storytelling to Effectively Connect With Everyone, Everywhere

Hybrid work is here to stay — and that’s not just anecdotal watercooler conversation. Microsoft’s 2021 Work Trend Index, a study of over 30,000 people ...Continue Reading

How L&D Can Support an Internal Communications Initiative Through Business Storytelling Training

Fill out the form below to get a link to our slideshow. ...Continue Reading

How to Get Learning to Start, Stick, and Scale Within Your Organization

Nine times out of 10, training is just an event — but what happens after it’s over? Learning can be hard work, its outcomes aren’t ...Continue Reading

5 Questions to Ask Business Communications Training Vendors Before Partnering

Finding a good partner can be challenging, but it’s possible when you know what to look for — and what to avoid. So you’ve identified a ...Continue Reading

10 Business Challenges You Can Solve With Improved Communication Skills

When you think about what it takes to solve big business challenges, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s reevaluating strategic goals. Or maybe it’s undertaking ...Continue Reading

Here’s Why You Should Put Storytelling at the Center of Your Company Culture

It’s no secret that storytelling is a key to success in business communication. Whether it’s writing an email, delivering a presentation, or creating any number ...Continue Reading

How to Build a Future-focused Leadership Development Program

Leadership development programs do exactly that: They develop leaders. But how they do that is the tricky part. What separates the best from the rest? ...Continue Reading

Why You Shouldn’t Give Up on Communications Training Yet

Does this sound familiar? You’ve invested in communications training in the past, but the skills didn’t stick. You still find yourself reworking decks, editing your ...Continue Reading

Packaged Pitch for Executives

You’ve had a front-row seat to far too many confusing and meandering presentations – or ones that just don’t keep people’s attention. And now you’ve ...Continue Reading

Workshop Testimonials

For over two decades, TPC workshops have helped the world’s top brands tell visual stories that powerfully connect with their audience. By now you may have ...Continue Reading