Advanced presentation skills begin with telling a great story. Whether you are selling a service, product, or yourself, stories help people connect with the presenter. In this episode, a professional storyteller and nonprofit business owner shares pointers on what makes a great story and how everyone (even you!) can be a great storyteller.

Presentation Skills Learned

• First, what is the definition of a story?
• Second, what are the parts of a story?
• Third, how are stories used in advertising?
• Fourth, how corporate presentations are stories in disguise.
• Fifth, how to use stories as anchor points in a presentation.
• Sixth, the three types of presentations: updates, inspiration, and advertising.
• Seventh, defining the story elements within your presentation.
• Eighth, defining the problem statement.
• Ninth, using memory lists.
• Tenth, where to start on your storytelling journey.

Your Next Great Listen

If you liked this episode, you may also like Shawn's first interview on the Business Minutia Podcast, Why Storytelling is Important in Business.

Other Resources

In this episode, Shawn Small recommended three resources for those who want to improve their presentation skills:

• First, The Moth podcast. This is a podcast of storytellers from novice to expert.
• Second, Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks. In this book, a five-time Moth GrandSLAM winner shows how to tell a great story — and why doing so matters.
• Third, The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. This book explores why certain brief experiences can jolt us, elevate us, and change us—and how we can learn to create such extraordinary moments in our life and work.