Creating Compelling Sales Presentations

After decades of working with leaders at companies like Apple, Salesforce, and Cisco, we've identified 4 storytelling techniques that consistently work to deliver important messages in high-stakes settings: 1. Start with the unexpected Don’t begin your presentation with context. Instead, begin with the moment that makes people think, “Wait…what?” Instead of something like: “Here’s an update on our September campaign…” Try starting with the most interesting detail: “I broke our biggest marketing rule last month, and it worked.” Lead with the surprise. You can add context later. 2. Let people feel the tension After the surprise, don’t rewind to the beginning. Take your audience to the moment where things weren’t working. Flat numbers. Missed goals. Stalled progress. Instead of: “The campaign was underperforming, and our team went back to the drawing board.” Try:  "We were two weeks out from the end of the quarter. The campaign wasn’t producing results, and the team was out of ideas. That’s when I decided to take a risk...” You don’t need to explain the problem. You need to make people feel it. 3. Use real dialogue When your audience hears what was actually said, they stop listening to you and start visualizing the moment. This helps them connect emotionally with what you’re saying. Instead of: “The campaign manager said team morale was low and they were struggling to find a solution.” Try: “My campaign manager pulled me aside in the hallway and said, ‘We’ve tried everything. The team has been working overtime, and we don’t know what else to do.’” Dialogue brings listeners into the moment with you. It makes the story real. 4. Share the lesson Never assume people will infer the meaning you intended. End your story by answering: - What does this mean? - How should someone act differently now? Example: “Breaking our biggest marketing rule helped us turn this campaign around and hit our numbers. I strongly suggest we revisit our marketing guidelines. We could be leaving a ton of revenue on the table.” Without the lesson being clear, even a good story feels unfinished. These are the same techniques we teach to our clients at Duarte. Try them out during your next presentation and watch how people lean forward and tune in to your message. #ExecutivePresence #BusinessStorytelling #PresentationSkills

Last night, former President Obama and First Lady Michelle reminded us of the power of compelling storytelling in their speeches at the Democratic National Convention. But what’s the secret behind these moments of excellence? Jon Favreau, Obama’s former director of speechwriting, shared five golden rules that are just as applicable to our business presentations as they are to political speeches. Here are five insights you can apply when delivering your next presentation, whether on stage, in a meeting, or in the boardroom: 1. The story is more important than the words Too often, we focus on the right words, but the real question is, “What story am I telling?” Before writing a speech, Favreau would always begin with a conversation, drawing on Obama’s ability to outline a clear narrative first and build the words around it. Always start with the story you’re trying to convey—it’s the backbone of your message. 2. Keep it simple Long presentations may feel thorough, but they are often forgettable. Favreau emphasized brevity: aim for twenty minutes or less. "A speech about everything is a speech about nothing." Narrow your message down to the essential points. 3. Address counterarguments upfront Don’t wait for the Q&A to address objections. In business, as in politics, it's key to acknowledge opposing views and deal with them during your presentation. When Obama delivered his Health Care Reform Plan, he anticipated objections and tackled them head-on. 4. Empathy is key Knowing your audience isn’t enough. You have to step into their shoes. Obama’s speeches resonated because they were written in a language his audience understood. Whether you're presenting to colleagues, clients, or an entire audience, connect by understanding their challenges and perspectives. 5. Persuasion requires inspiration Logic alone won’t motivate. The best way to connect is through stories that touch the heart. In Obama’s 2008 victory speech, Favreau chose the story of Ann Nixon Cooper, a 106-year-old woman who had seen the full spectrum of progress in America. Her story was the perfect reminder that change, though slow, is always possible. Whether you're stepping on stage or presenting in the boardroom, these timeless tips from Obama’s speechwriting playbook can help you connect with your audience, deliver your message effectively, and inspire action. What stories are you sharing in your presentations? #Leadership #PublicSpeaking #Storytelling #Empathy #Inspiration

After creating hundreds of thousands of presentations, Nancy Duarte discovered a framework in 2010 that changed her life. She mapped it over Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech and Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone. Both aligned perfectly. She cried in her office - the pattern she'd been desperate to find was real. See, most founder pitches fail the same way. You stack all the customer pain points at the start, then demo your product at the end. By the time you reach your solution, people have already decided if they're interested. They tuned out at slide 8. Duarte's Sparkline does the opposite. You alternate between “what is” and “what could be” throughout the entire pitch. Pain, solution. Pain, solution. The pattern works because contrast commands attention and open loops create psychological discomfort. The brain needs recurring tension to stay engaged: - MLK toggled between injustice now and "I have a dream" repeatedly. - Jobs contrasted clunky smartphone limitations with iPhone capabilities throughout the 80-minute presentation. - JFK alternated between the US’s space limitations and “we choose to go to the Moon in this decade.” Each toggle made staying in the current state unbearable. The execution: 1. Make your customer the hero by using their exact words Interview five target customers or investors before you build slides. When they describe frustrations, use their language verbatim. This proves you understand their reality before pitching your solution. 2. Paint “what could be” with sensory detail Not better accommodations. Instead: a family arrives in Paris, their Airbnb host left fresh croissants and a handwritten neighborhood guide on the kitchen table. They feel like locals, not tourists. Concrete outcomes stick. Abstract benefits are forgotten. 3. Alternative problem/solution throughout - never batch Pain 1, solution 1, pain 2, solution 2, pain 3, solution 3. Never group all problems then all features. Batching lets investors and customers mentally check out before you finish. 4. End with an immediate next step (24-48 hours) For investors: “By Friday, confirm the partner meeting date and three references you want to call.” For customers: “By tomorrow, send three use cases and I'll record a custom demo by Wednesday.” Make the decision immediate and concrete. Watch for these signals mid-pitch: You're losing them when investors lean back, check phones, or pivot to questions about your burn rate and competition. You're winning when customers interrupt to describe their specific use case, ask about implementation timeline, or want to loop in their team immediately. When every startup in your category has similar features, the pitch that creates unbearable tension wins the round, the sale, and the talent.

Stop selling slides. Start showing reality. Would you install this door in your house? Too many pitches are still built on specs, benchmarks, and endless bullet points. But customers don’t buy slides. They buy what they can see working. Data backs this up: • People retain ~65% of information when it’s visual vs ~10% from text alone • Demonstrations can increase conversion rates by 2–3x compared to static presentations • The human brain processes visuals ~60,000x faster than text The moment you demonstrate your product in action, everything changes: • Doubt turns into clarity • Interest turns into imagination • Questions turn into decisions A live demo (or a real use case) does what 20 slides can’t: It makes value real. Specs still matter—but only later. They justify the decision. They don’t create it. The best pitches follow a simple rule: Show the problem Prove it works (live or real-world) Then back it up with data If your audience has to “figure out” why your product matters, you’ve already lost them. Don’t explain the future. Let people experience it. #Sales via @custom.doors #Leadership #Innovation #GoToMarket #CustomerExperience

Most brilliant ideas die not because they’re bad, but because they’re pitched wrong. And that collapse usually happens in the first 90 seconds. A 2023 McKinsey study found that senior leaders make decisions up to 5x faster when information is presented with clarity and relevance rather than sequence and storytelling. And neuroscience backs this up. Our prefrontal cortex, the part involved in complex decision-making, has limited working-memory capacity (about 3–4 chunks of information at a time). If your pitch starts with a long background story, you overwhelm the very system you’re trying to engage. You feel you have no influence? Let’s fix that. 𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Executives process outcomes first, explanations second. Open with: “The decision I’m asking you to make today is…” This immediately reduces cognitive load and boosts listener retention by up to 30%, according to research. 𝟮. 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 Executives listen for impact drivers (P&L, risk, timing, strategic alignment, reputation…) If your idea doesn’t connect to their priorities, it becomes noise. 𝟯. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝟯-𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 Layer 1 The One Sentence Your idea in 12 words. If you can’t explain it simply, it’s not clear, and the brain can’t store it. Layer 2 The Value State the pain and the outcome. One slide. One paragraph. Keep it simple and straightforward. Layer 3 The Proof Pilot data, customer insight, small wins… you need facts that make the idea tangible. And remember... people trust a message more when it includes a concrete marker of progress. 𝟰. 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 Senior leaders don’t buy ideas. They buy safe momentum. Close with: “The smallest low-risk step we can take is…” Micro-commitments trigger the brain’s preference for loss avoidance. We’re more willing to start small because the perceived threat is low. And it goes without saying that you always need to prepare for objections. Executives consistently push on cost, risk, and timing. When you proactively address these, you show confidence and reduce perceived uncertainty. Common mistakes that people make (that kill a pitch)? - Starting with a long narrative instead of the decision - Explaining the problem in painful detail - Using vague verbs such as “improve,” “optimize,” “enhance” - Not making an explicit ask - Pitching to be liked instead of aligned - Having no clue of the company’s priorities And a small trick before you enter the room to enhance your influence… Ask yourself: “What do I want them to feel?” Your intention shapes your tone and tone shapes the room.   Ready? GO!

Most B2B pitches are a snooze-fest. Feature-heavy. Jargon-filled. Forgettable. But great salespeople know that decision-makers don’t just buy products—they buy stories. And not just any story. A story where the customer is the hero. You? You’re just the guide. Let’s break this down with a simple but powerful storytelling framework I’ve used in pitches and workshops: The Hero-Guide-Conflict-Transformation Framework for B2B Sales Storytelling: Hero → Guide → Conflict → Transformation Applying the Framework to Your Sales Pitch 1. Hero (Your Customer) Make them the center. Not you. Frame the story around their ambitions, their role, their goals. They are Luke Skywalker. You are not. 2. Guide (That’s You) Your job is to help them succeed. Show empathy (you get their challenge) and authority (you’ve helped others like them). You are Yoda, not the chosen one. 3. Conflict (The Challenge They Face) Every hero needs a dragon to slay. What’s standing between them and their goal? Is it inefficiency, confusion, lack of alignment, slow execution? Be vivid. Be real. Make them feel the pain. 4. Transformation (The Happy Ending With Your Help) Paint the future where the hero wins—thanks to your guidance. What changes? What’s faster, easier, better? This is not about your tool’s features. It’s about the emotional and business impact of working with you. Example: Selling a Collaboration Tool Hero: Meet Laura, a Head of Product at a fast-scaling B2B SaaS company. Her team is remote, growing fast, and losing clarity. Guide: We’ve helped hundreds of teams like Laura’s regain alignment without slowing down innovation. Conflict: Laura’s team is struggling with too many tools, scattered feedback, and endless meetings. Roadmaps are getting lost. Morale is dropping. Transformation: With one shared visual workspace, her team now collaborates asynchronously, aligns in real-time, and cuts meetings by 30%. They ship faster—and Laura’s back to leading, not firefighting. Why It Works This framework taps into emotions, structure, and clarity—even in B2B. It makes your pitch feel more like a movie than a manual. And in sales, attention is the gateway to conversion. Use this story arc in your next pitch call. Your customers won’t just understand what you do—they’ll feel why it matters. Want to dive deeper into storytelling and presenting with BAM, BOOM, POW, and WOW? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter via the link in the first comment.

Imagine yourself in a pitch meeting: you are surrounded by senior leaders and are trying to resolve a sticking point in your pitch. You are proposing different solutions, but each suggestion is met by a ‘No’, a ‘Nope’, a frown, a shrug, and ‘That won't work’. Each time you feel the pressure rise. You’re stuck. You can't find a solution. Nothing is working and the pitch date is imminent.  You're running out of time and the only solution is working late and more frustrating meetings. Your stress levels rachet up another notch. You are supposed to be the strategic lead and you need to come up with an answer. So, what do you do? Early in my career I thought the solution was to look inwards: to work harder, to think more and to beat myself up. ‘Why can't I come up with a solution that works?’ ‘Why can't I come up with a solution they like?’ ‘Why is it easier for other people and harder for me?’. That approach and perspective put a lot of pressure on myself: some of it not always healthy. There is a time and a place for it but just saying ‘No’ isn't constructive and it's not always useful. Saying ‘No’ looks like you're being decisive, but it also crushes germs of ideas before they have had a change to grow. And it's worse than that; a no also kills energy and enthusiasm. So, what should you do? Firstly, realise it’s not your problem.   It’s not a lack of thinking you are suffering from but a lack of the right thinking environment. It is a group issue not an individual failing. Start by reinforcing your shared ambition: you all want to win the pitch and you are going to do that by developing solutions to problems.   Then highlight how people’s current behaviours aren't helping realise that ambition, show how comments people think are helpful aren't and how they're sapping energy and enthusiasm. Next suggest some small changes to their behaviour – particularly use of the words IF & AND.  Rather than highlight problems encourage people to suggest solutions to those problems.   Instead of “That won't work..”  try  ‘That won’t work but it could work IF we…”  .  And encourage people to build on thoughts rather than break them.  Instead of ‘I like that idea BUT…’. try ‘I like that idea AND…”. You will notice that your role in these situation changes.  Instead of feeling the pressure to find a solution yourself you are teaching and teasing out thinking.   It might feel awkward at first, but it is amazing when people’s behaviour changes and how much better you feel as a result.  Pitches can be stressful situations at the best of times and there are many issues that are beyond your control.  But there are things you can control and there are small things you can do to make the experience less stressful and more enjoyable for all. I’m exploring how individuals can be better supported and equipped to manage the stresses of large, global media pitches.  If that’s a question that interest you, we should talk.

Carla had spent weeks preparing to pitch her idea to executives. The slides were clean. She was nervous, but had rehearsed what she wanted to say. She took a deep breath and started talking. A few minutes in, she scanned the faces in the meeting and her heart started to sink. Heads were down, clearly multitasking. Someone put in the chat “didn’t we try this last year and it failed?” Someone raised a hand to interrupt. “How is this relevant to our goal to increase customer acquisition by 25% next quarter?” The executive who had final decision making authority dropped early because they had a conflict. She left feeling entirely deflated. All that effort, and the idea never even got off the ground. Carla had done what so many people do: Build a presentation, not tell a story. When she arrived at my Innovation Storytelling workshop, she was ready for a new approach. She learned the 5 step process for building a corporate pitch that gets funded. We covered everything that stands between a good idea and a yes: the evidence, strategic alignment, the objections, the audience, and the story that ties it all together. This was a lightbulb moment for Carla: "Instead of focusing on everything I want to say, I now focus on what my audience needs to hear. It's helped me communicate more effectively, especially in situations where I have limited time or influence." After leaders rework their pitches, they start to see new reactions: 🔷 Engagement & debate - the good kind 🔷 Partners prioritizing the ideas into upcoming sprints 🔷 Advocacy at the team level, with more voices rallying behind the ideas 🔷 Executives show up interested because you’ve earned their trust (and they’ve likely already heard about the idea from their team) This isn’t about luck or the perfect performance. This is a deliberate and systematic way to build the kind of pitch that motivates action and commitment, at every level. And it’s something your team can learn too. 🔗 Link to all the workshop details is in the comments. 💡 What is the biggest a-ha moment you’ve had that improved your executive storytelling? #WorthyToLead #Storytelling #Innovation #ExecutivePresence

Some executives inspire action. Others get ignored. Why? Because facts fade. Stories stick. After a 1-minute pitch, Stanford research found: ⟶ 5% recalled a statistic ⟶ 63% remembered the stories Here’s how storytelling can reshape your career: Too often, leaders default to data dumps: ⟶ Dense board decks ⟶ Endless bullet points in team updates ⟶ Info overload in all-hands meetings The result? Information is shared—impact is lost. After a career in corporate communications, I know firsthand how storytelling makes the message stick. Here are four ways to bring your messages to life with narrative: 🟡 Board Meetings ⟶ Don’t just share quarterly results—frame them as a journey: What challenge did you overcome? What shifted? ⟶ When outlining strategy, position it as the next chapter in a larger story. People engage with progress they can visualize. 🟡 Team Communications ⟶ Go beyond status updates—share moments of resilience, creativity, or lessons learned. ⟶ Instead of reciting company values, illustrate them with real team examples that people remember. 🟡 Customer Presentations ⟶ Open with a real customer journey: their pain point, your partnership, and the change they experienced. ⟶ Before/after stories make transformation tangible—more than any stat ever could. 🟡 Change Management ⟶ Paint a picture of the future state so people see themselves in it—not just the steps to get there. ⟶ Share your own experience navigating change to build empathy and trust. ↓ ↓ Want to start? 1/ Look for the human impact inside your metrics 2/ Use a simple structure: beginning, conflict, resolution 3/ Practice with small stories—in meetings, Slack, or 1:1s 4/ Always end with a clear shift or takeaway Facts inform, but stories move people. Try adding one story to your next presentation using these ideas—then watch what changes. P.S. Have you used any of these approaches already? I’d love to hear what worked. ♻ Repost to help your network lead with more story. (Research: Jennifer Aaker, Stanford GSB)