The Mobile Presenter

The use of humour in presentations is, ironically, a common source of fear and loathing. This is mainly because people confuse humour with telling jokes. From experience, jokes told during presentations are usually not very funny at all and cause more of a collective groan than laughter. Also, the use of humour is often seen as unprofessional, especially in more business-oriented surroundings. But humour, laughter, and an element of play are natural parts of being human, so why should they be banned from presentations?

One of the simplest definitions of what a story is (which is going back to the greek philosopher Aristotle) is that it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. As Kendall Haven points out, though, that definition doesn't really help. Otherwise,

John went to the grocery store. He bought some milk, then drank it.

would be a story.

The Mystery of Picasso is a 1956 movie that lets us watch Picasso painting. Nothing else - it's not a documentary in the usual sense, it's really only showing how one of the most popular and influential painters of the 20th century works. Which makes for a fascinating film.

During the 78 minutes of the film, we can see Picasso working on a wide variety of paintings - from very abstract to more realistic ones. He's also using various different techniques. But there's a common theme:

A laser pointer seems like a useful tool for a speaker. You can use it to point out certain aspects or details in your slides, even if you're far away from the projected screen. It can, however, also be very annoying for your audience.

Story Proof: The Science behind the startling Power of Story by Kendall Haven

Whether you are preparing a presentation or trying to sharpen the marketing message of your product or business - when looking for advice, you will soon come across the recommendation to try storytelling. Stories, it seems, help your audience to better understand and remember whatever it is you are trying to tell them.

But do stories really work and if they do, why do they work? All the books and articles on the topic of storytelling that I've found so far only quote anecdotal evidence. Yes, it does seem to work, but there's this nagging feeling that the effect of stories is not quite confirmed yet, which leaves you asking for definitive proof.

That proof is finally here, in the form of the book Story Proof by Kendall Haven.