by Nancy Duarte | 8:00 AM October 31, 2012
After studying hundreds of speeches, I've found that the most effective presenters use the same techniques as great storytellers: By reminding people of the status quo and then revealing the path to a better way, they set up a conflict that needs to be resolved.
That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently — to move from what is to what could be. And by following Aristotle's three-part story structure (beginning, middle, end), they create a message that's easy to digest, remember, and retell.
And here's how to do it in your own presentations.
Craft the Beginning
Start by describing life as the audience knows it. People should be nodding their heads in recognition because you're articulating what they already understand. This creates a bond between you and them, and opens them up to hear your ideas for change.
After you set that baseline of what is, introduce your vision of what could be. The gap between the two will throw the audience a bit off balance, and that's a good thing — it jars them out of complacency. For instance:
What is: We fell short of our Q3 financial goals partly because we're understaffed and everyone's spread too thin.
What could be: But what if we could solve the worst of our problems by bringing in a couple of powerhouse clients? Well, we can.
Once you establish that gap, use the rest of the presentation to bridge it
Develop the Middle
Now that people in your audience realize their world is off-kilter, keep playing up the contrast between what is and what could be.
Let's go back to that Q3 update. Revenues are down, but you want to motivate employees to make up for it. Here's one way you could structure the middle of your presentation:
What is: We missed our Q3 forecast by 15%.
What could be: Q4 numbers must be strong for us to pay out bonuses.
What is: We have six new clients on our roster.
What could be: Two of them have the potential to bring in more revenue than our best clients do now.
What is: The new clients will require extensive retooling in manufacturing.
What could be: We'll be bringing in experts from Germany to help.
As you move back and forth between what is and what could be, the audience will find the latter more and more alluring.
Make the Ending Powerful
You don't want to end with a burdensome list of to-dos. Definitely include a call to action — but make it inspiring so people will want to act. Describe what I call the new bliss: how much better their world will be when they adopt your ideas.
So if you're wrapping up that Q3 update from above, you might approach it this way:
Call to action: It will take extra work from all departments to make Q4 numbers, but we can deliver products to our important new clients on time and with no errors.
New bliss: I know everyone's running on fumes — but hang in there. This is our chance to pull together like a championship team, and things will get easier if we make this work. The reward if we meet our Q4 targets? Bonuses, plus days off at the end of the year.
让演讲如同讲故事一样
通过对几百例演讲的研究，我发现最能给人留下深刻印象的演讲者都使用了同样的技巧—他们都是很棒的故事讲述者。他们先让听众回想现状，然后再指出一种更好的解决途径，这样就设立了一种需要解决的冲突情境。
冲突情境的紧张感有助于演讲者说服观众采用新的思维模式，或者做出不同的反应（也就是从现实情况转变为理想情况）。通过借用亚里士多德的三段式故事结构（即开头，发展，结尾），他们创建出一种易于理解、记忆和回想的信息。
可以以图表方式说明：
下面我们就谈一谈自己做演讲时应如何做。
精心打造开头
首先，应该描述观众熟知的生活。人们就会不停点头，表示认同，因为你清楚说明了他们所理解的事物。这有利于在你和观众间建立起某种联系，并且使他们乐于听取你要求改变的意见。
先陈述现实情况来作为基准线，之后就能引入你所设想的情境。两者之间的落差会让观众有些心理不平衡，不过这是好事，这种落差能让他们脱离自满的情绪。比如：
理想情况：但如果我们能带来几个大客户并由此解决最坏的问题呢？当然，我们能做到。
一旦你建立起这种落差，就应该利用剩下的演讲来消除它。
继续发展中间过程
既然观众们已经意识到他们生活中的不平衡，那么你就应该继续突出当前情况和理想情况之间的反差。
我们再回到第三季度目标的例子。总收入已经减少，但你想激励员工们继续努力尽力补救。那么你可以按照下面的方式来组织演讲的中间部分：
现实情况：我们第三季度的业绩比预计目标低了15%。
理想情况：第四季度业绩必须上涨，我们才能发得出奖金。
现实情况：我们的名单上有6位新客户。
理想情况：其中两位投入的资金有可能超过现在的最佳客户
现实情况：新客户会要求制造时进行大规模的再加工。
理想情况：我们会从德国请来专家进行协助。
这样不断反复重申现实情况和理想情况，观众就会觉得后者越来越有吸引力。
来个有力的结尾
你不能以一个繁重的工作清单来结束演讲。结尾一定要包括让人们采取行动的呼吁，但要让它鼓舞人心，人们才愿意有所作为。可以描述一下我所说的新期望：如果他们采用了你的建议，他们的生活将会变得多么美好。
那么，要是你想包装一下上文提到的第三季度的例子，你可以通过下面的方式达到目标：
呼吁行动：为了完成第四季度的业绩，所有部门都需加量工作，但好处是我们能准时无误的将产品送达重要的新客户手上。
新期望：我知道大家都精疲力竭了，但请坚持住。这个机会能让我们像一支冠军团队一样齐心协力，如果我们成功了，一切都将变得容易起来。要是我们达到了第四季度的目标，能得到什么奖励呢？当然会有奖金，还会有年底时的休假。
将未来的奖励具体化，你就能告诉大家，参加到工作中来一定能让努力有回报。那就会满足他们的需要，而不仅仅是满足你自己的需要。
