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When a Picture Is Not Worth a Thousand Words
There was a time early in my speaking career when I refused to have a
PowerPoint or slide deck. I claimed it was because I was a storyteller and my
edge was that I could make a compelling presentation without technical
assistance. The real reason was I was terrified of PowerPoint and technical
difficulties. But after a few presentations, I had the distinct impression that,
although the audience enjoyed my stories, they were having a hard time
following the accompanying points. Reluctantly, I started using PowerPoint.
Now I have slides for almost every presentation I give, and I am a firm believer
that, done right, a slide deck is an extremely effective tool for keeping both you
and the audience on track.
Please note the words “done right” in the previous sentence. They are
important. Because done wrong means certain death to many of your
presentation dreams. Here are a few key pieces of advice to make sure your deck
and your stories work together in perfect presentation harmony.
First, make sure you leave dedicated space in your deck for the stories. Think
of it as a slide that signals “Story Goes Here.” Perhaps you’re going to tell a
story about the day you founded your company; include a slide that is simply
your logo. The audience sees a logo and you see the signal to tell the story.
Include these story slides throughout the deck as constant reminders to shift from
the bullet points and data and information to the stories that make that
information matter.
Second, while a story slide is a great reminder to switch to a story, choose
the image wisely. Where a digital presentation becomes a problem for
storytelling is when you rely on the images on the slides to tell your stories
instead of your telling them for yourself. Remember, an audience’s favorite
thing about hearing a story actually occurs subconsciously. While you tell a
story, the imagination of each listener creates the imagery to go along with it.
They pull from meaningful material and experiences in their own lives to create
this imagery so that, in the end, what the audience is left with is a meld of your
words and their memories.
This is how your message sticks.
Which is why I warn you to choose your images wisely. The temptation is
often to, while you tell a story, flash photos from the story on the screen. Telling
a story about your kids? Here’s a picture. Telling a story about you waterskiing?
Here’s a picture. And while that seems like the way to go, it creates a cognitive
bypass and, in doing so, violates the power of the co-creative process. Give them
the image and they won’t create it for themselves. And now you’ve lost your
cognitive edge.
I heard a speaker talk about his dream home, and he did an exquisite job of
describing it. From how big it was to the picturesque windows to the way the
streets looked as you gazed out the picturesque windows. He was describing his
dream house, but I was imagining
my
dream house. And then he posted a picture
of his dream house on the screen. He said, “See, there it is. There’s my dream
house.”
I looked at the picture and thought,
Oh. That’s not what I pictured. But okay.
And in that moment, all the work he’d put into engaging me in the co-creative
process was wasted.
To avoid this mistake, when you tell a story in a presentation, use your words
instead of relying on the images in your deck. Instead of putting up a picture of
your kids, simply describe them, and the audience will, no matter how different
your kids are, imagine their own. And when you choose an image for your story
slide, choose a nondescript one that still gives room for the audience to create
their own.
The good news is that storytelling and slide decks play well together. The
combination satisfies both visual and aural learners, as long as you give yourself
the cue to tell the story and then actually tell it, with your words, instead of
relying on pictures to do it for you. No one enjoys watching someone flick
through photos of their family vacation. They won’t enjoy it in your presentation
either.
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