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The British have a reputation for keeping calm even when there is no crisis. So when I moved to London I knew that in order to get noticed I’d have to do a lot more than show up with some PowerPoint slides. My secret? Three techniques to engage my audience in a story:
Make It Personal
In 1999, before most people had ever downloaded a single song off the Internet, I spoke to a group of over-confident executives from the entertainment industry about the impact online music sharing would have on the their future. I began my talk by saying nothing. In my hand was a new electronic device hooked up to the sound system. I pressed “play” and the downtempo beats of K&D, two of the best DJs ever to come out of Vienna filled the room.
“Do you know who these guys are?” I asked the crowd. Silence followed. “Neither did I, until yesterday. My friend Greg e-mailed me the track we’re listening to.
I liked it so much; I downloaded K&Ds whole record collection. I brought the collection with me today. “It’s here.”I said, passing my MP3 player around as people chuckled at the electronic wonder. “By the way, do you know how much I paid for their entire collection? Nothing. Not a dime.” Now no one was smiling. |
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"If you want people to listen, tell them a story. If you want people to act, tell them a story about themselves."
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Get Them Involved
When I was in business school, my professor asked me to speak in front of a group of GE executives. The topic: ABB, GE’s fiercest competitor. I didn’t know much about the group I was about to address, but I did know GE was passionate about beating the competition.
Before the presentation began, I randomly selected three executives and asked the organizer to give me their names and titles. Shortly after I began my talk, I turned to one of the three executives and said: “Jim, you’re the general manager of the power distribution business in Europe. If you could change one thing about the way GE competes, what would it be? Jim was caught off guard, but quickly answered back. I stopped my presentation three times using the same technique. At the end, a number of people came up to personally thank me, telling me that mine was the best presentation they’d ever been to.
Even if you’re the best storyteller in the world, people will begin to “phase out” after hearing you yak for a few minutes. Instead of doing all the talking yourself, why not get your audience involved as well?
Show, Don't Tell
When Dave Nelson became head of global supply management for John Deere, the executive council gave him four years to shave $2 billion off purchasing costs. A few months into his job, Nelson realized that to meet his goal he’ll need more than management’s support—he’d need to re-wire the way management thought about purchasing. But how do you get an executive council to think differently? Nelson wasn’t sure. He did notice, however, that the company had an awful lot of different types of gloves.
So he counted them. He stopped at 424. To his next meeting with the executive council Nelson piled 424 different pairs of gloves on the boardroom table, each with a different price tag. He told the speechless executives that it was time to “fish or cut bait”. Nelson got a green light on the spot to execute his aggressive plan, resulting in Deere reducing its total number of suppliers from 1,675 to 20 in one year, while cutting its procurement costs by 13%. |
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"To his next meeting with the executive council Nelson piled 424
different pairs of gloves on the boardroom table, each with a different price tag."
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