Structuring Stories:<
Table of Contents
Foreword xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
PART I: WHO? 15
CHAPTER 1: AUDIENCE
Understanding What Types of Communication Will Be Most Effective for Your Audience 17
Step 1: Identify the Communication Preferences of the Different Personality Types in Your Audience 17
How to Estimate Your Audience’s Personality Types 18
How to Match Your Presentation Design to Different Personality Types in the Same Audience 19
Additional Information About Your Audience 25
PART II: WHAT? 27
Why You Should Have Specifi c Presentation Objectives 27
Why Discuss Problem Solving in a Book About Presentation Design 28
Why You Should Always Focus Your Presentation on an Audience Problem 28
You Do Need Evidence! 29
The Reality Principle: Show Concrete and Specific Data Whenever Possible 30
CHAPTER 2: OBJECTIVE
Setting a Measurable Objective for Your Presentation 33
Step 2: Set Specific Objectives for What You Want Your Audience to Think and Do Differently After Your Presentation 33
The Typical—and Wrong—Way to Set Presentation Objectives 33
Developing Effective Presentation Objectives 35
The Curse of the “Update” Presentation 37
How Do You Know Whether You Have Set the Right Objectives? 38
CHAPTER 3: PROBLEM SOLUTION
Articulating the Audience’s Problem and Your Proposed Solution to It 39
Step 3: Identify a Problem Your Audience Has That Your Presentation Will Contribute to Solving 39
Choosing the Right Problem 40
Crafting Your Solution 48
CHAPTER 4: EVIDENCE
Marshalling Your Evidence 57
Step 4: List All the Information That You Think You May Need to Include in Your Presentation 57
What Kinds of Evidence Should You Include? 57
Is There Any Kind of Evidence That You Should Exclude? 61
Where Do You Find All This Evidence? 62
PART III: HOW? 64
PART IIIA: HOW TO TELL YOUR STORY 64
Facts and Logic Alone Are Not Enough to Persuade Most People 64
The Importance of Storytelling 65
Ethical Persuasion 66
CHAPTER 5: ANECDOTES
Assembling the Anecdotes That Will Illustrate Your Evidence 67
Step 5: Identify Brief Anecdotes That Highlight Your Most Important Points 67
What Kinds of Stories Should You Use in Your Presentation? 67
How to Tell a Story Using the Seven Basic Plots 70
Where to Find Useful Stories 73
CHAPTER 6: STORY
Sequencing Your Evidence 77
Step 6: Sequence Your Information So That It Tells a Compelling Story 77
The Structure of All Effective Stories 79
Using the S.Co.R.E.™ Method to Sequence Your Evidence 82
What to Do with What Doesn’t Fit into Your Storyline—The Role of the Appendix 91
PART IIIB: HOW TO SHOW YOUR STORY 93
Should You Use Visual Aids? 94
Should You Use PowerPoint? 94
Should Each Slide Have Seven Bullets and Seven Words Per Bullet? 96
CHAPTER 7: VISUALS
Visual Presentation Elements: Graphics, Charts, Color, Animation, and Fonts 99
Step 7: Identify the Most Effective Graphical Elements to Use in Your Presentation 99
What Kinds of Graphics Should You Use? 99
Should You Use Clip Art? 100
How Do You Decide Which Type of Chart Will Best Communicate Your Data? 100
Which Type Fonts and Sizes Should You Use? 105
Should You Use Bullet Points, Color, Animation, Transitions, or Animation? 105
CHAPTER 8: LAYOUT
Laying Out All the Elements of Your Presentation 109
Step 8: Create Visuals That Communicate Your Information Concisely and Effectively 109
How to Lay Out Your Visuals So That They Grab the Audience’s Interest and Convey the Intended Message Persuasively 110
How to Decide Which Presentation Design Style to Use 113
How to Design Effective Ballroom Style Presentations 115
How to Design Effective Conference Room Style Presentations 115
How to Design Prezi Presentations 120
When to Use Multiple Presentation Styles in the Same Presentation 121
How Much Detail to Put on Each Slide 122
How to Avoid Bad Detail (“Chartjunk”) 130
How Much Text to Put on Each Slide 132
Whether to Combine Graphics and Text on the Same Slide 135
Preparing to Lay Out Your Presentation 135
How to Draw Your Slides—and Where to Find Examples of Layouts That Pass the Squint Test 140
PART IV: WHO, AGAIN? 145
CHAPTER 9: STAKEHOLDERS AND MEASUREMENT Satisfying Your Stakeholders and Measuring Success 147
Step 9: Identify Any Potential Roadblocks to Achieving Your Objectives, and Make a Plan to Deal with Each 147
Step 10: Decide How You Will Measure the Success of Your Presentation 147
CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSION
The Scalability of the Extreme Presentation Method 151
A Language and a Framework for Providing Effective Feedback 151
Contradicting Other Approaches to Presentation Design 152
PART V: APPENDICES 155
Appendix A. Worksheets 157
Appendix B. Extreme Presentation Makeover 163
Appendix C. Thirty-Six Layouts That Pass the Squint Test 173
Appendix D. Further Reading 177
Appendix E: 1,000 Good Books 179
References 181
Index 191
About the Author 203
