Tell a good story

From our thought leader partners at Root Inc.

A leader is standing in front of a swanky PowerPoint deck with graphs, charts, bells, and whistles. Yet 20 minutes in, you glance down your row and 2 of your peers are checking email on their smart phones.

You suddenly realize you forgot to eat breakfast and wonder if anyone will notice if you sneak to the back of the room to snatch a company-provided muffin that you failed to spot on the way in. Then WHOOSH, you’ve missed 3 slides—where was he?

Was it your fault for zoning out? Does this mean you’re a horrible employee? Probably not. Every company has a story; some companies just suck at telling their story.

Here are 3 tips to elevate your storytelling game:

1. Don’t use PowerPoint – The only person the PowerPoint presentation really resonates with is the person who built it.
2. Don’t rely on a big personality
3. Don’t spoil the ending – let people take a voyage of self-discovery

The rest of the story: How not to suck