Why Most Business Presentations Fail (and How to Fix Yours)

I recently received an AI presentation from a client. “As you can see,” they said, “the colors are off, and the design needs work to make it look more on brand.” I did see that, but something more important was missing, lingering below the surface. 

The facts were there, but there was nothing to pull me in, nothing to captivate. No story. Storytelling is one of the foundational tenets of human nature. You can get away with creating a presentation based on data alone, but if the data doesn’t tell a story, the likelihood that it will capture your audience’s attention will always be low.

We’ve all found ourselves in a meeting room at one point or another, trying desperately to keep our eyes from fluttering closed during a colleague’s big presentation. The last thing we want is for prospective clients to be feeling the same anguish while we drone on about an “exciting” new product. 

The Psychology of Storytelling

When we tell stories, multiple parts of the brain are engaged: language comprehension, emotional response, and empathetic reaction. When all of these areas of the brain are engaged at once, the hippocampus, which stores short-term memory, is more likely to convert the information it absorbs into long-term memory.

To put it plainly, without a story, the data slips away. Let’s talk about how to make it stick.

3 Key Components to Turning Data Into Insights

The ability to turn data into a compelling story takes combining three specific components:

• Data – You must begin with an accurate and complete data set to serve as the foundation for your story.

Do not attempt to create a magical mist of storytelling around incomplete data to make it more believable. Your audience is intelligent, and they will see through it. 

• Narrative – Incorporate a storyline to communicate the insights from your data, the context surrounding it, and recommended actions for your audience to take.

In other words, why should they care about this, and what do you want them to do about it?

• Visualizations – Use charts, graphs, diagrams, pictures, or video to represent your data and communicate your story more clearly.

Assuming you have accurate and complete data, we’ll focus on how to shape your narrative around it and how to choose and display visualizations to support it.

Shape the Narrative

Whether you’re writing a story, trading tales around the campfire, or telling a story with data, they all have the same fundamental elements. Define these elements for yourself in the planning stages of your presentation.

Skipping this step can result in messaging that doesn’t make sense for the person receiving it, creating confusion and lack of engagement. 

• Characters: Who are the players in your story? They might be stakeholders, customers, prospects, etc. How do they connect to the data? Why are they important? What do they need?

• Setting: Set the scene. Where does the story take place? What are the details? Get as specific as you can.

• Conflict: Describe the root issue. What is the problem that your data will solve? Why does this matter? How does it relate to your characters and setting?

• Resolution: Now, describe how the data is involved in the solution to the conflict or problem. Connect this to your characters’ “why”. 

Create Effective Visualizations

As you consider how to showcase your data, ask yourself the following questions:

• Out of all the data available to me, which is the most relevant for my audience to grasp the story I’m telling? The answer to this question will provide guidance on the data you will showcase. Some is always more important than others. Define your priority.

• What is the simplest and most familiar way I can display this data? Don’t try to get too fancy or obscure here. Consider how your audience is comfortable processing data visually and the most effective way to grab their attention. This can include charts, graphs, icons, infographics, etc. 

• Is this a digestible amount of data for my audience? Again, prioritize your data based on your ideal recipient. They might not need everything you have to offer. Choose what is best for the outcome you desire.

• Have I successfully focused the eye on the most important data? Take a look at your slide. Does the most important data jump right out at you? Is it surrounded by enough white space, or is there something that needs to be cut or moved to accommodate?

Put it All Together

Now that we have shaped a story our audience can connect with and relate to, with the data visualizations to back it up, we can finally put them together on the page to create a clear presentation that has the full attention of the audience.

Here are a few things to remember while setting the data in motion:

• White space is very important. Do not try to fit too much on the page. Give your slide fair margins (at least 1” on each side). This keeps your data front and center and creates a pleasing visual canvas.

• Don’t use more than three colors. Use one main color and two highlight colors. Anything more becomes confusing, and a single color is too monochrome. Use a bright color to highlight your most important data.

• Make sure fonts, images, and colors are consistent and on brand. If you have brand guidelines for these things, make sure to use them. If you do not, use 1-2 fonts that complement each other, and ensure that images share the same look, feel, and color palette so the audience isn’t distracted by a lack of cohesion.

Knowing Your Audience is the Key

Let’s go back to the story I shared at the top about my client. I only had to ask him one question before he realized that his presentation was going in the wrong direction: “Who is this presentation for, specifically?”

He hung his head. It dawned on him that the deck he built was actually for the type of clients he no longer wanted to attract. In order to appeal to the clients he wants now, we would have to change the way it was presented. We would have to tell a story.

Remember, you are not your audience. Put yourself inside their head, focus on what they really care about, and you can present the data in a way that truly speaks to them. Knowledge is power – make sure yours isn’t trapped inside a sleepy slide deck.

If you need extra help making your data sing for customers, colleagues, or clients, send me a message. I’ll be glad to help.