Find the “wow” in a story: the surprise that makes people pay attention. The key is to give them something to remember. Great communicators intentionally design memorable moments by using some of the following tactics to make their stories memorable and make people remember what they hear.
Tell stories
Humans are wired to pay attention to stories, so tell more of them. Personal stories are among the most impactful. Share personal stories that are relevant to the theme of your presentation.
- For example, Steve Jobs told three personal stories about his life in his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University.
Plan surprise reveals
Packaging content creatively to reveal a surprise
- Your message doesn’t have to change; just change the way you express it
- Steve Jobs once announced three new products – the iPod, the iPhone, and an internet communicator – and then repeated the list several times.
Show photos, images, and videos
People pay attention to pictures and videos because they remember them better than words
- Use the “picture superiority effect”
- You will lose your audience’s attention if your presentation slides look too similar
- Break it up with photos or videos
Offer surprising statistics
The concentration of gas in the atmosphere that causes climate change is the highest it’s been in 800,000 years.
Create analogies
Our brains are wired for story and metaphor. We compare unfamiliar things to things that we know. Buffett uses analogies to make complex financial topics easy to understand
