The Stickiness Litmus Test of Presentation

We know that stories are THE most sticky type of information you can present, but rarely do we think about specifically engineering a story to communicate a point. It’s generally only after the fact that we realize a story has had an impact and has stuck with an audience long after it was presented.

Look to Last Year

I was reminded of this in the run up to Edelman’s recent annual all-staff meeting, an event I was intimately involved in producing. When planning an annual event, you have no choice but to recall and reference years past. And in meeting after meeting with different people, many mentioned a small one-minute story told by an executive at last year’s event.

It was a simple story, but it had the effect of perfectly explaining one of the reasons our company was continuing to grow. To be honest, until I heard this story myself, I didn’t really know why certain companies might feel the need to expand absent Wall Street pressures. (Edelman is a privately held company.)

The two slides the executive used are at the top of this post. Here’s the story he told:

I was on a flight back from Europe, and this woman next to me struck up a conversation. She owned a very successful spice exporting company, but felt that she needed to expand her business—something which she wanted to do, but which was causing her a lot of stress and difficulty. I didn’t understand: she seemed well-off and comfortable. “So don’t expand,” I said. “Why grow if you’re happy and doing well now?” She explained that it wasn’t for her sake, but for her very devoted and talented employees. “I need to give them opportunities to grow and advance or else I’ll lose them.” I suddenly got it…

The story took 40 seconds (I know this because each slide was timed to advance after 20 seconds in a Pecha Kucha style), and yet it perfectly encapsulated the reasoning behind the growth of so many non-public companies, large and small. This executive got it. I got it. And apparently many of our employees got it. They still remember it a year later, and are still getting it.

That’s stickiness.

So, if you find yourself repeating an event or presentation, ask what people remembered from last time. Chances are, it will be a story—not your colorful pie chart.