HBR's 10 Must Reads for Sales and Marketing Collection (5 Books)

Structure Your Presentation Like a Story

by Nancy Duarte

AFTER STUDYING HUNDREDS OF SPEECHES, I’ve found that the most effective presenters use the same techniques as great storytellers: By reminding people of the status quo and then revealing the path to a better way, they set up a conflict that needs to be resolved.

That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently—to move from what is to what could be. And by following Aristotle’s three-part story structure (beginning, middle, end), they create a message that’s easy to digest, remember, and retell. Here’s how it looks when you chart it out:

Persuasive story pattern

And here’s how to use the persuasive story pattern in your own presentations.

Craft ...