Presentations in business often go something like this: Someone stands up in front of a group and delivers a list of data and facts. The information is soon forgotten, just like items on a conveyor belt in “The Generation Game.” The attendees leave the meeting, and when asked what it was about, they are forced to create a story about the facts they can remember, which can lead to an entirely confused message spreading throughout the company. This can even lead to more meetings, which may create resentment amongst team members who want to avoid attending unnecessary and time-consuming presentations.
How Can Leaders Avoid This Kind of Miscommunication?
People are not likely to remember data and facts on their own, but they do remember stories. That’s why important lessons are woven into myths and fables that have withstood the test of time. Leaders can apply the following storytelling techniques to presentations to create a message that everyone will remember.
Make one’s team members heroes. Most people like to put themselves in the hero’s shoes, but for leaders delivering a presentation, the listener must be the central character. If the presenter is the hero, who does that make the listener? Nobody wants to be the villain or the victim waiting to be saved. When listeners are in the hero’s shoes, they will feel much more motivated to take action, especially when the presentation speaks to their needs. By focusing on the team’s goals and challenges, they will be able to better understand what the message means for them, instead of being left to try and work it out. This will lead to both greater motivation for the team’s success and more effective communication, as listeners will better retain information that applies to them.
For listeners to put themselves in the hero’s shoes, they need to ask themselves three questions: Firstly, what are the facts of the situation, from their perspective. What do they know? What information are they missing? Knowing this allows the presenter to gain context on their perspective. Secondly, how do they feel about these facts? What thoughts or opinions are they likely to have about the situation? Thirdly, what is likely to be their core motivator when responding to this situation? By working through these three levels, the presenter will gain a greater understanding and empathy for their perspective.
Address MTV. There are three key pillars of business issues that everyone can understand: money, time and values (MTV). These are what people prioritize when making decisions, just like the hero of any story. Everyone has concerns and goals around money (wasting or making it), time (being efficient or hitting deadlines) and values (the principles that matter to them, such as family, reputation, honesty and work-life balance). Presentations should address each concern so every team member can leave knowing that their issues are being kept in mind, which will help them better retain the information that was shared.
Use the rule of threes. People’s brains are best equipped to remember information in groups of threes. If presenters list a whole range of ideas and themes, listeners will lose track, have trouble remembering them, and perhaps zone in on something of little importance. Presenters should stick with the three most important areas and repeat them throughout the meeting. Listeners will be able to retain them and confidently repeat and act on these ideas later.
How Can Speakers Know That Listeners Understand Their Message?
Because most of our communication is non-verbal, there are body language cues that presenters can watch out for when speaking to their team. Here are three ways to check how listeners are receiving messages:
Rapid blinking. If people are blinking rapidly, this means they are thinking rapidly. This is a sign for presenters to slow down and check in. The listeners may be struggling to process parts of the message.
Hand to face touching. When people feel a heightened level of stress, they instinctively touch their face or head. This can communicate to presenters that it’s time to ask the listeners if they have any questions or if any issues are coming to mind for them.
Unusual stillness. On the other hand, people may aim to hide their stress by staying as still as possible — the workplace poker face. If this is the case, presenters may check in with those listeners afterward to find out how they really feel.
Overall, these physical cues do not need to be acknowledged, but they can provide presenters with insights into how listeners are receiving their message and serve as valuable feedback.
Miscommunication Is Avoidable
When running a business or managing a team, leaders are faced with endless challenges, but miscommunication doesn’t need to be one of them. By prioritizing listener’s needs, addressing key issues and structuring messages in groups of threes, leaders can deliver a memorable message and exponentially improve communication, leading to a more successful, innovative and satisfying work environment.
Richard Newman is the CEO and founder of Body Talk, the global leader in evidence-based training on the psychology of communication, and author of the new book Lift Your Impact, which shows readers how to transform their mindset, communication and influence to achieve their goals.
Did You Know: Storytelling has been used for thousands of years by different civilizations around the world. The earliest record we have is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was written around 2000 B.C. on clay tablets. This has the same story structure that was used later by other civilizations who had no contact with the Babylonians, including the Ancient Greeks and William Shakespeare. The tablets of Gilgamesh were not discovered until 1839, showing that this story structure had been used universally, by different people, without any communication with each other. This is, therefore, the structure that the human mind prefers when receiving information.
