Before developing any story, you need to know your audience and the message you want to leave them with. As Ken Haemer, former Presentation Research Manager for AT&T Corp., put it, “Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it, 'To whom it may concern.’”
The start of the story-telling process is to determine: - Who do I need to influence? What are their roles? - Which decisions and actions do I need to affect? - What single, overarching message do I need to deliver? - Will the audience be receptive to the message or resistant to it? - What do they already know about the topic? Do they know the back-story? - Would they prefer to see the big picture and then debate the issues, or do they need to hear the full argument? The next step is to take your overarching message and identify the three strongest supporting messages. Having four messages is acceptable, but 'threes’ are lucky and magical, and good things come in them. This determines the content of the story you’ll be developing later, so make sure you’re happy with it before moving to the next stage. Being clear on these key messages means you have a ready-made 'elevator version’ of your story - if you bump into the CEO in the lift and they ask you for your point of view, you’ll be ready with a compelling 30-second overview. See also: Messages & Persuasive Points. |