Episode 44: The Case for the Art of Storytelling

A few weeks ago, Simon Sinek posted his answer to a question that asked him to summarise the art of storytelling in one sentence. He responded, “The art of storytelling is a way of communicating that makes people want to listen to what you have to say.” This definition is quite effective, but how can we turn it into reality when presenting? After witnessing over 10,000 case-solving presentations, I’ve observed significant misunderstandings regarding what storytelling actually entails.

Common Misinterpretation

One of the most frequent mistakes I see among students on case-solving teams or those presenting in class is the belief that storytelling simply means telling a story. They often begin their presentations with a narrative they think relates to the rest of their content. Unfortunately, this introduction often feels disconnected from the main presentation and is rarely referred to again, even towards the conclusion.

In 2015, during the Eller Collegiate Ethics Competition at the University of Arizona—my first international competition—my team introduced our solution with a short story about a daughter named Jenny, who was transitioning from high school to college. During our 30-minute preliminary presentation, we began with the story and linked it to the behavioural changes we recommended for the client organisation, circling back to the story at the end. As a result, we advanced to the finals, where we had to shorten our presentation to the required 10 minutes. Once again, we started with the story, but due to confusion regarding timing, we were unable to finish it. This may have influenced the judges’ deliberation, as they took considerable time to decide between the first and second place teams. However, what was clear was that our story created a connection with the audience; when we left the presentation room, people were eager to know what happened with Jenny. This illustrated the power of storytelling done properly.

This contrasts with many instances where storytelling is not conducted effectively. Often, these stories are emotional and initially engage the audience, but they fail to be referenced again. This is quite common in case-solving competitions. As I observe these presentations, I often find myself distracted by thoughts of what a missed opportunity this is. This situation contributes to what I refer to as a “slide-by-slide attack,” where each slide stands alone without any connection to the previous one. As a result, the presentation consists of one key message after another, lacking coherence and continuity.

Emotional Connection

In the previous section, I discussed emotional connections, which can be a powerful tool when paired with storytelling. One example that stands out is the contrast between a compelling emotional story told by our opposition and our generic narrative. Both presentations were well executed and provided solid solutions backed by good support. They both incorporated effective storytelling throughout. After speaking with the judges, it was clear that the competition was close, and it was the emotional strength of the story that ultimately made the difference.

The emotional story took advantage of the emotions they had from the summer fires in Australia in 2020, the team’s home country. They used the fires and the message of climate change and fossil fuels to advance their solution throughout the presentation. This was opposed to my team’s generic story of a millennial investor and how their solution would influence that investor’s choices.

“Brand Jitsu”

In his book Brand Jitsu, Michael Dargie emphasises the importance of making your brand memorable, which ultimately revolves around building and telling a compelling story. As Michael points out, many stories end up being “meh.” He provides numerous examples and tools to help transform your narrative from “meh” to memorable, and I highly recommend reading his work to gain valuable insights.

Now, let’s focus on how the concept of moving from “meh” to memorable applies to presentations. This is where the art of storytelling plays a crucial role.

It’s essential to create connections with your audience, as these connections contribute significantly to the memorability of your presentation. The story you tell should capture attention from the very beginning to ensure your audience engages with you. Moreover, as you progress through your narrative, you should continuously re-engage the audience, culminating in a call to action that resonates with the story you’ve shared.

“Brand Jitsu” in Practice

When I watch presentations, I often see presenters struggling with their openings, frequently failing to connect them to the overall message of the presentation. They tend to present disjointed ideas as they transition from slide to slide. Additionally, some tell opening stories that are unrelated to the rest of their content. They may not give the audience a clear understanding of their approach until well into the presentation, and they often fail to create an underlying message that ties the pieces of the presentation together.

These issue worsens when presenters simply read the text on their slides without enhancing the narrative. In many cases, they become memorable for all the wrong reasons. As a judge or coach, the most influential non-scorecard factor in my evaluation is my immediate recollection of the presentation, which often outweighs the clarity of what was actually said.

For example, I judged a series of presentations from top MBA schools competing in a virtual competition hosted in India. It was early morning for me, so even more important to get me engaged, and none of the presentations resonated. While they all presented great facts, they failed to tell compelling stories about why their solutions were the best. To make matters worse, most teams didn’t explain their approach until about 7 minutes into a 10-minute presentation. Without a clear narrative, I found myself distracted, asking questions in my head about what they were doing, and they left me with unanswered questions about what they were trying to communicate. As one of the four judges, I described this experience as “MEH,” as Michael calls it.

In his book, Michael emphasises the importance of understanding a client’s purpose, core identity, and personality—these are the foundations from which brands originate. As I read his work, I frequently reflected on this concept because it aligns closely with my coaching philosophy. I often tell Michael that I wish I had discovered his book when I first started coaching, as it would have saved me many conversations with my teams. I would have encouraged them to read it as well.

Ultimately, it’s essential to tell a story that connects your ideas to the client’s future actions and links those ideas to both your narrative and the client’s core mission and values. As I often remind my teams, the best story wins, and this is often true in practice; frequently, it is the team that successfully tells a compelling story that prevails. When multiple teams present stories rather than a series of slides, it becomes a competition to make your story more memorable through elements like understanding, credibility, and emotion.