dvl smith ltd free tips on becoming a corporate storyteller
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DVL Smith’s tips on becoming a Corporate Storyteller
1. Start from the end –what’s the goal?
2. Understand the decision making
audience
3. Review the presentation delivery
scenario
4. Frameworks for integrating individual
elements of the evidence
5. Developing an organising framework
for influencing and making an impact
6. Identifying a storyline structure
7. Developing the killer chart
8. Presentation style
9. Framing the decision choices and
advising the client
10. Handling conflict
The 10 step guide
• From the age of 18 Ali said ‘I am thegreatest’
• Not ‘I will be the greatest’
• By focusing on the end objective hecould channel his energies into winning!
Start from the end: Know what you want the outcome to be 1
1•Tailor your presentation to the audience
2•Speak their ‘language’
3•Use big actionable concepts, not jargon or
tedious detail
4•Make your presentation ‘stick’
5•Preparation is key
Key learning points
‘Highly effective people always start at the end’
Steven Covey
Do you have a clear understanding of all the
stakeholders in the study?
Could you write on a post-it note the exact expected
outcome of the study?
Have you mapped out all the likely outcomes of the
study?
Do you know what the audience will be able to do
with insights?
Do you know what outcome the audience
expects from the presentation?
Ask yourself
1•Who is in your audience?
2•Why are they at the presentation?
3•Which department do they represent?
4•What are their interests in the presentation?
5•How do they learn or process information?
Understand your audience
Understand the decision-making audience2
Know the 3 learning modes
‘When I want to persuade a man, I spend two thirds of the time thinking about what they want to hear and one third about what I want to say’
Abraham Lincoln
There are three broad communicationmodes by which we process information
Your presentation should seek to appealto all three modes
Try to pick the mode of your audienceand respond in that style
• Give as much energy to the ‘goldenhour’ as to the research itself
• Know early on the scenario in whichyou will be presenting
• Ensure your presentation is tailoredto the delivery scenario
Review the presentation delivery scenario3
1•What is the level of formality expected?
2•What technical capabilities are available?
3•What is your relationship with the audience?
4•What timeframe do you have to present in?
5•What is the added value on this project?
Know the delivery scenario
90% of success is explainedby strategic excellence –only 10% of success isexplained by tacticallyretrieving strategicallyflawed approaches.”
Corporate Strategist
Choose the right delivery method
Audio visual Verbal
PowerPoint Flipchart
Intimate
Formal
Hi-Tech Basic
• Thinking holistically is a corner stones ofpresenting an evidence-based narrative
• So it is important to analyse the differenttypes of evidence in a holistic way
• Remember quant data be analysedqualitatively, and qual quantitatively!
1•Do you believe this intuitively?
2•Did you expect this finding?
3• Is there other data to support this finding?
4•Could an error have lead to this finding?
5•Does this finding fit in with the real world?
Check all the evidence
“What’s in greatest demandtoday isn’t analysis butsynthesis – seeing the bigpicture and, crossingboundaries, being able tocombine disparate piecesinto an arresting newwhole.”
Daniel H. Pink
Use weight, power and direction
Frameworks for integrating the evidence4
• Decision makers love analyticalframeworks
This allows them to quickly makesense of complex data
• So learn to see the world from thedecision-maker viewpoint
Become familiar with a range of different business frameworks
Developing frameworks for making an impact 5
“When forced to work within a strict framework the imagination is taxed
to its utmost and will produce its richest ideas.”
TS Elliott
Credits Debits
Good news
stories
Bad news
stories
Stories are how we make sense ofthe world
So don’t present a slow build up ofisolated data
But tell an integrated story in anengaging way
Goodbye to building blocks
“Stories are important cognitive events, for they encapsulate, into one compact package, information, knowledge, context and emotion.”
Don Norman
Hello to an engaging story
Developing a storyline structure6
First let me tell you what the desk research said:
Building block evidence A
Wake up, now it’s time for the qual feedback:
Building block evidence B
You look tired, now for the survey data :
Building block evidence C
Then a pathetically weak link into
Well that’s me done, I guess you could do A or B
1
2
3
Desk
Qual
Quant
The key issues are
The conclusions write themselves!
Get your message over in anarrative
Make use of telling quotes andkiller stats
Use concrete practical examplesto make it concrete
Present in three modes
“Perfection is not when there is no more to add, but no more to take away.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Triads are a powerful tool
Developing the killer chart7
Use your three
weapons
Numbers
Use killer stats, and numbers to prove
your point
Words
These are your weapons, use them
wiselyPictures
A picture is worth a 1000 words….
Adds impact
Three is key
Group your points,
sentences, and example in
threes...
This maximises impact of your
message…And is a top
communications tip in any situation!
‘‘Once someone has framed the choices,
making the decision is easy.”
Lou Gerstner
Energise those around you with yourcompelling narrative
Involve management and respecttheir feedback
Take personal responsibility formaking things happen
Quick wins when presenting The three golden rules
Perfecting your presentation style8
Always remember
Stay in control
Get ‘lean-in’
Think ‘showtime’
1• Stand stage left
2• Involve the audience
3• Introduce surprises
4• Use stories to gain buy-in
5• Touch the world of the decision makers
It’s not enough to stand back and‘throw the data over the wall’
Researchers must frame the choicefor decision makers
And ensure that the appropriateaction is taken
5 steps to ensuring activation A cautionary tale
“The good presenter grabstheir minds at the beginningof the presentation, navigatesthem through all the variousparts, data and ideas, neverletting go; and then depositsthem at the call to action.”
Jerry Weissman
1•Deliver a power evidence based narrative
2•Engage decisions makers with the key findings
3•Analyse the potential impact of the insights
4•Test the theories to destruction
5•Allocate project champions
Framing the choices and ensuring activation 9
• A 19th century medical orderlyobserved disease was airborne
• This theory was ignored because hedid not know how to influence people
• This created a century long wait toarrive at preventative solutions
“Dad always told me that in any negotiation, let the
other guy feel he has won. Don’t take the last nickel
from the table”Brian Roberts
Always surface the issue, don’t let theaudience take the conflict with them
Assume benign intent and state theproblem as you see it
Validate their concerns and feelings andaddress the issues rather than the people
5 tips to handling conflict How to handle difficult audiences
Handling conflict10
1• Control your emotion
2• Don’t defend
3• Listen to their point of view
4• Ask for clarification and acknowledge their concerns
5• When emotions are vented, focus on the issues
• Flatter early onEgomaniacs
• Concede point, then destroyPedants
• Say it again in risk avoidance languageWorriers
There are three main types of audiences
For more information on:
• Our e-tutorial service for this module
• Attending face-to-face workshops on Corporate Storytelling
• Other skills development modules
www.dvlsmith.com
Quay House, Admirals Way, Marsh Wall, London E14 9XG, UK
Office +44 (0)20 7868 1440 : Mobile +44 (0)7766 753 775 : email: info@dvlsmith.com
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