Ready to get what you actually want from your next presentation? If your carefully crafted, bullet-packed slides still aren’t winning you the budget or headcount you deserve, you might be doing PowerPoint all wrong. This blog dives into why most presentations flop, what neuroscience says about how leaders process information and the five key ingredients to creating a business narrative that not only sticks — but sells.

Why do some department or team leads always seem to get the headcount or budget that they ask for while you don’t? You couldn’t possibly blame the PowerPoint you tirelessly crafted to showcase all your team’s achievements.

Right?

Like it or not, PowerPoint has become far and away the most used tool to get what you want in corporate America. But 90% of people leaders are using it wrong.

Paint a picture

A study conducted by John Sweller, the psychologist who developed the cognitive load theory, found that reading aloud bullet points written on a slide actually reduces audience comprehension. Because people cannot inherently read and listen at the same time, you’re virtually guaranteeing that the audience won’t absorb much of anything.

The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. Last time I checked, business executives are, indeed, humans. (At least for now.) A simple slide with an emotionally compelling image, paired with 30 seconds of well-crafted narrative, will do more to engage your audience (and move them to act) than 30 slides chock full of bullet points, no matter how important those bullet points seem to be.

Keep it quick

If emotion is the glue to memory, then brevity is the key to comprehension. There is no better model to follow than TED Talks. 

If you watch enough of these informative presentations, you’ll notice they tend to hover around 18 minutes. That’s by design. Researchers have found that the act of listening is equally as draining as “thinking hard” about something. Dr. Paul King (no relation) calls this phenomenon “cognitive backlog.” The longer we listen, the heavier the backlog. Eventually (usually around the 18-minute mark), the brain starts to forget what’s it’s already heard. 

TED’s 18-minute rule works because, as the brain processes new information, millions of neurons are firing, and the brain consumes copious amounts of glucose, leading to fatigue. When crafting your next presentation to your VP, keep in mind this critically important rule. Get to the meat and potatoes quickly. 

Shape a story

Fewer words, more images and brevity are all steps you can take to make your next presentation your best one yet. However, I think what’s needed in corporate America is a mindset shift. 

In a business context, stories need to do more than just inform. They must emotionally stir and keep the attention of an executive audience AND compel them to act on the information presented.  

At KWI, we don’t simply call these “PowerPoint presentations.” Instead, we call them “bulletproof business narratives.” The goal is to use facts, images, stories and videos (persuasive content) to leave no doubt in the audience’s mind what needs to happen. 

Build your own narrative

As corporate communicators with nearly 20 years of experience working alongside some of the world’s most successful corporations, KWI embraces the art and science of presenting to an executive audience to achieve incredible results.

We’ve broken down the components of the hundreds of successful narratives we have built into a five-ingredient formula: 

• Discipline: Is everything important to your audience? Heck no. Especially not to executives. Edit ruthlessly. Leave the details in the appendix. Concentrate on outcomes, not activities. If you need to dive in further, you can. Chances are, you won’t. The main deck story should be around 18 minutes. After that, your audience will start to check out and forget things you already said.
• Empathy: For a moment, shed your curse of knowledge and put yourself in the shoes of someone who is seeing and hearing this presentation for the first time. Context is key. But don’t confuse context with sharing the all-inclusive, exhaustive backstory. You’ll lose their attention before you get started. A single sentence or simple graphic that answers the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) will be sufficient.
• Clarity: Craft the narrative with clarity and focus. Shed the pieces of the story that don’t matter to this presentation. One takeaway from each slide — don’t overwhelm or confuse. Clarity is achieved when the audience’s brain aligns with the flow of the story and starts to understand what the next slide will be without seeing it. 
• Creativity: Less text, more imagery. Photos of human faces, emotion-inducing words, infographics and unique data visualizations are all ways to capture and hold the attention of your executive audience. Graphics should be relevant to your business, and style should be consistent throughout. Remember, the most effective presentations are crafted with a blend of art and science. 
• Action: Ask for the sale. Make no mistake, every presentation is a sales presentation. Maybe you’re asking for budget. Maybe you’re asking for additional headcount. Maybe you’re justifying your entire department’s existence. Be clear and convincing when asking for what you want. Don’t leave your audience guessing.

By following these five principles, your next presentation will hold your executives’ attention and compel them to seriously consider your request.

For more information about how to build bulletproof business narratives, contact Ed King, KWI’s Head of Insights, and download our one-pager.

Ready to flip the script on your next presentation? Email us at info@kwicomm.com.