Our brains like stories. That’s not a new theme here at Neuromarketing, but now there’s biometric evidence that supports what the best speakers already know: telling a story keeps the audience engaged.
In Avoiding Death by Powerpoint, the Neuro Way, I described how at a recent advertising conference a portion of the attendees were fitted up with special belts around their ribs to allow real-time monitoring of multiple biometric measures. This data was used to estimate the engagement level of the audience during each presentation. According to the analysis by Innerscope Research, one of the key strategies of the most engaging speakers was to TELL A STORY. The two presentations rated the most engaging both told stories:
– Mr. Moorhead describing how Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign led to an actual marriage proposal that was accepted.
– Mr. D’Arcy sharing inspiring anecdotes that the audience found personally relevant, such as how “creativity won” when media fragmentation and changes in the industry launched a “quest to find answers” that was “led by brave marketers.”
Biometric study shows the one thing that will get people to pay attention to you on stage #Neuromarketing Share on X
According to Dr. Carl Marci, CEO and Chief Scientist for Innerscope Research, noted, “Great stories told well, engaging videos, and simple take-home messages consistently increased the audience’s emotional engagement during presentations.”
I found countless references to support the story strategy, including:
- Tell a Story to Begin a Speech by Chris Witt at Life After PowerPoint!
- Story Telling vs. 10,000 Years of PowerPoint by Shel Israel at Global Neighbourhoods
- Ira Glass:Tips on storytelling from Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Zen
- Tell A Story and Make Your Presentations More Powerful! from PresentationTree
- Tell a story, or where’s the point in all this? by Claudyne Wilder at EllenFinkelstein.com
So, even if telling a story to make your presentation or speech more engaging isn’t breaking news, it’s good to know that strategy is confirmed by biometric data gathered from real presentations.
Giving a presentation? Biometrics show the one thing that makes people pay attention #Neuromarketing Share on X
Fantastic post Roger! Thanks for sharing important research that has huge application for the world of business and communication.
It’s another great example of how science can add credibility and “oh…so that’s how/why it works” insight to so called “soft skills”.
Best regards,
David Lee
É, parece que mais uma vez a igreja está na frente.
Afinal 99% dos sermões é iniciado com um testemunho, uma história ou uma parábola.
Entre outras coisas, como é citado no livro de Martin Linstron (Buyology).
In the post modern world we are driven by narrative and meta-narrative. The art of story telling has to be included in most, if not all, presentations.
I think this same theory applies to blogging. even if the message is about business, a good short story about how it applies or a personal experience not only makes the message clear, it encourages the reader to continue to the end. thanks for the good links in this post.
I couldn’t agree more, Victoria. Stories work in print, in spoken word, and online. I need to use more stories myself!
Roger
One of the tools I use when I work with clients is the power of storytelling. We talk about “romancing” products, when in reality, all your’e doing is painting a story picture around the product. Facts don’t engage, they educate. We all need to be educated, but we WANT to be entertained. If we can be edutained, we like it even more and stay more consistently engaged.
Great post!