After conflict comes action and resolution

When building your business story you will want to include a challenge or conflict, as per my previous article. Then you need to talk about the action that was, or will be, taken to deal with the challenge.

Too often in business presentations we are tempted to jump straight to the what was done and results. However the impact of this is dented if we do not set the scene correctly by starting the with the "who" and the "why" - namely the hero and the challenge. You need not spend slides and slides on this but you should still start with these.

Similarly in an investor pitch presentation it can be tempting to focus more on the results - the "what" for the investor. Of course this is a critical element - investors are interested in the results of their investment - but again not framing the action and results around the challenge being solved can reduce the perception of impact.

If you frame it right however you can drive emotions through the action and resolution. It is emotions that support decision making and make your presentations memorable.

So what should your action be? Well this is often quite easy to determine! The action is the "how" of your presentation or story. It details how you will tackle or resolve the challenge or conflict you shared. If you are pitching a new product the action might be how it works (to address the challenge you have already shared).

The action can be passed - we did this - or future - this is what we plan to do. Continuing on with the investor example the action might what the Start-up will do with the investment. In a business meeting the action might be what the team plans on doing in the next cycle.

Once you have talked about the action then you also need to talk about the results - the "what". The results offer a resolution to your challenge. This is often the "aha" moment or the climax of a presentation. This is the answer to all conflicts and queries.

If you are presenting data this may also be the point you show the data - the results. Too often I have seen data presentations that just jump straight to a slide with tons of data on it. When this happens you have lost me ... and half of the audience too. Setting your data up as part of a story means that when you get to this point people are listening and interested.

If you have told your story well - setting up your hero, the challenge, the action taken - then the result should be the high point. This is where your audience are at their most engaged and where you have fully secured their attention.

In the majority of cases the results will be positive ... but not always. If, for example, you are trying to secure funding or raise awareness, you may depict a "this is what might happen" scenario. You may set a negative scene to drive action after your presentation ends - along the lines of "this might happen ... act now!"

Many years ago I was involved in the rescue of 60 dogs from Romania. I followed this storytelling structure in my campaign. The heroes were the rescuers or the dogs (depending on who I was talking to), the challenge was that these dogs were about to be rounded up and killed, the action we needed to do was to get funds and homes. My resolution though was not a happy ending. In fact my resolution was the result of what would happen to these dogs if people did not step in immediately to help. My result was the death of 60 dogs - "these dogs are going to die". It worked - we got the dogs to the UK and into homes in under a month.

Either positive or negative your result is a moment of high emotions. Again if you have a big ask coming - such as a request for budget - then setting your audience up on this high should make them more inclined to accommodate you.

So whatever you do, do not lose them on the results. If you have built your story do not then drown them in poorly presented data! As with each previous step in the framework focus on engaging your audience through your story. Each step is important so remain consistent in your approach. If necessary remind them of the hero when you share the resolution. In my dog story I specifically called out the hero - the dogs - when I shared the result. I reminded the audience of the "who". I tapped into the human psyche and I triggered the audiences emotions, and neurochemistry, to drive the result I needed.

This is what storytelling is all about. This is why when you want results ... don't just jump straight to them! Build them into a story and reap the rewards.

If you would like more information around my storytelling framework and how to apply it, or if you are interested in business storytelling and presenting coaching, then please get in touch.