“Harder to be Kind, than Clever”

Do you want to know where you’ll find some of the best, most inspiring stories? Think commencement speeches. Presidents, business moguls, actors, authors… influential celebrities often stress out for weeks and weeks trying to come up with the best advice that they can give to young adults venturing out into the real world.

Do you want to know what they usually come up with for one of the most important speeches of their lives? Stories!

Here’s one that recently made a TED talk by Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com fame. Take a listen and see how he weaves a long story into a simple message. Think about how the build up and background strengthen the message rather than just coming out and saying, “It’s harder to be kind than it is to be clever.”

http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_bezos_gifts_vs_choices.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_bezos_gifts_vs_choices.html

Use Psychological Influence

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/7-ways-to-use-psychological-influence-with-social-media-content/

Check out this link for some handy tips to keep in mind for using psychological influence within your presentation.  The article is focused and geared toward social media, but is applicable in some many other ways.  It just shows more support for storytelling.  Good overall article, but given the theme of my blog, I was especially interested in tip #3 Emotional Narratives are Remembered Best…

“…people tend to respond more strongly to stories…  Use stories in your marketing to make it more relevant and personal.”

The First Five Slides

http://www.sociablemedia.com/articles_first_five.htm

The link above is a great article by Cliff Atkinson containing tips on re-thinking your next PowerPoint presentation in the interest of telling a compelling story.  He has a great approach:

1) Establish the Setting

2) Designate the Audience as the Main Character

3) Describe a Conflict Involving the Audience

4) Explain the Audience’s Desired State

5) Recommend a Solution

Check out the full article for more detailed explanations and some examples.