The customer is always the hero of the tale

The majority of  category development presentations include a great deal of information about how amazing the product is, how clever the business is and how the opportunity is unmissable. All of this information is relevant, necessary and normally true. It’s very likely that you have at some point delivered a presentation or a deck to a customer of exceptional quality, the planets aligned and you gave the performance of a lifetime (Oh my, perhaps a Ted talk next time)…mic drop. Then what? Siberian wilderness, absolute lack of traction and engagement. 

This happens. Fear not, all is not lost. Storytelling experts agree that making the audience the focus, the hero of your tale is the answer. When you have crafted your presentation take some time away from the work. Challenge yourself asking, will my work make the audience care enough to take action? Is it transformative? Does it inspire and motivate the audience to act and take the category development proposition forward? 

Moving the audience from nodding politely to leaning forward and engaging should be the focus throughout your presentation. Taking the audience through your idea or your journey is your most important task, and you should challenge every slide in your presentation, does it speak directly to your audience, are they motivated to act. Nancy Duarte talks about the concept of ‘Resonance’  and how it happens when the natural vibration frequency of an object responds to an external stimulus on the same frequency. 

It might feel strange at first not starting your presentation with the 20 standard corporate slides you normally used, remember, resonance. How much does your audience care that your business was started by a man with a suitcase and a dream? Questioning the resonance of ever slide you have created is a really powerful tool combined with the confidence to remove slides which don’t add to your hero’s journey.