The 2019 Communicate Innovate Conference was held in Bristol – a hub of creative businesses. Entitled ‘War on Attention’, the two-day event brought together over 100 participants from a wealth of industries, including law, sport, banking, and design.
The sessions covered numerous presentation topics such as visual storytelling, creating story plots and choosing the best resources and images. Who better to deliver the session than Russell Anderson-Williams, a Certified Prezi expert and Director of The Prezenter and Onside Presentations?
The reason we remember and engage with great stories is because, while we listen to the presenter, our brains actually start to put us into the story.
Throughout the course, Russell showed participants how to use different tools and features in Prezi to make presentations more engaging and memorable. Well-paced, the sessions were delivered in a conversational way, which allowed the audience to dictate the flow of content and which subject Russell would start from during the event. This was done using an interactive polling tool called Sli.do.
Does your presentation have a strong story plot?
Storytelling has played an important part in the way humans learn and shape as individuals for thousands of years. With intriguing plots and quirky characters, stories captivate the audience whilst delivering important messages. Hence, good storytelling is vital in presentations.
However, in order to connect with the audience, stories need to have a strong story plot. From fairy tales to Hollywood blockbusters, you’ll notice the same main plots re-written for different audiences: the quest, rags to riches, voyage and return, etc.
For presenters, stories play an important part in gaining the audience’s attention. As Russell explains, “The reason we remember and engage with great stories is because, while we listen to the presenter, our brains actually start to put us into the story. We place ourselves in the scenes being described, we imagine feeling the fear being described, we get excited about the reward being described.”
Here, Anne Moirez from Altus shares her thoughts on the War on Attention event.
To learn how storytelling can help you create and deliver more engaging presentation, join one of our upcoming courses. To book your place, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-prezenter-3632596415
