01 THE SYNOPSIS
Imagine that your presentation is a book. The synopsis is at the back of that book. It’s the text that most people read before buying the book. The outline helps you hone your thinking and makes it easier to sell your talk to event organisers, employers, or line managers. The synopsis is more than just having a text you can put on a website and send to potential speaker agents, conferences or event agencies; no, the synopsis is your elevator pitch. The synopsis frames your presentation. It gives it meaning. Describing and selling your keynote externally will help you internalise the presentation. The synopsis also turns your presentation into a product: it’s a keynote in a box, something understandable, and something that people can buy. This part of the process is your opportunity to introduce a storytelling layer before anyone has even seen your talk - you can give your presentation context, place it in a moment, and put it in a once-upon-a-time. The synopsis’s purpose is to spark interest in a potential audience or buyer, ignite your creativity and push you to be more ambitious. People will get a sense of your presentation, and, more importantly, so will you.
02 THE PRESENTATION STRUCTURE
Every story has a beginning, middle and end, and so should your presentation. The first act typically covers the status quo or the current situation of what you’ll be presenting. In Act Two, we introduce chaos or change – the “something happened” part of the presentation – an event, person, decision or “thing” that altered what was happening in Act One. Finally, in Act Three, we resolve the chaos, find answers and leave the audience with the tools to do something with the information. Give each chapter a title. Giving the chapter a title will help frame the chapter’s content, how you tell the story and what kind of internal or external stories you want to use.
ACT ONE - STATUS QUO
The contents of Act One are a mix of anecdotal stories, external stories that give the status quo of your story context, and key facts that support the overall theory of what the audience is about to see. This is the “once upon a time in a land far, far away” chapter.
ACT TWO - CHAOS
In Act Two, we introduce the significant change. Something shifts in the story you are telling. Maybe sales dropped, crypto bombed, the steam engine was invented, Gutenberg started printing Bibles, Airbnb was launched, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, or we chose to go to the moon. Act Two is where any story, presentation or keynote makes it clear to the audience that this significant change, whatever it may be, is relevant to them and that they need to understand, navigate and embrace it. Act Two is often dramatic, sometimes uncomfortable and can even be provocative. It’s the mic-drop part of your presentation.
ACT THREE - THE RESOLUTION
Where Act Two might leave an audience feeling shocked, provoked or confused, Act Three is there to pick up the pieces. In Act Three, you should give the audience tools, answers, or possible ways forward. It’s where the story is resolved. Act Three provides the audience with closure.
03 YOUR AUDIENCE
Who is the intended audience for your presentation? Salespeople? Young people? Boomers? Internal or External audiences? Beginners, intermediates or experts? To whom do you want to present your story, and why should they care? And don’t simply write “everybody”. You have a specific story you want to tell; a particular audience will benefit from listening to it. You don’t need to try and be everybody’s darling, so define the audience before writing, and when you have, write your presentation accordingly. This works exceptionally well if you know who will be in the audience: pitching to a small group of investors or a potential client or presenting to the board. Write down the names of the people who will be there and think about what they need to hear and see.
04 KEY PRESENTATION TAKEAWAYS
Writing a list of things the audience will take away from your presentation sounds deceptively easy, but it is both hard to do as it is critical. Therefore, you must write these down and define them before you start writing your presentation. You’ll find most of the audience takeaways will be packed into the third act of your presentation.
05 EXTERNAL DATA, FACTS AND STORIES
No story is an island. Everything has a context. Whatever specific story you are trying to tell, however niche or industry-focused it may be, there will always be a similar story to be found elsewhere. Who else has experiences that could relate to the presentation? What fantastic, relevant and exciting stories can you incorporate into yours? In Act One of my keynote, The Shape Of Change, I use Moa Zedong, Blockbuster and Kodak as examples of poor decision-making that looked good at the time but turned out to be cataclysmic. External stories are essential because they help the audience see that you’re talking about real-world stuff relevant to them, their lives, jobs, careers, hopes and aspirations. You’re also giving them great stories to show off at their next dinner party, down the pub or on their next Tinder date.
06 INTERNAL DATA, FACTS AND STORIES
Personal or internal stories are what qualify you to give your presentation. Where external stories can be curated and researched, the heart of your presentation must come from something that you or your business has or is experiencing. These stories are more than just anecdotes; they are facts. Only someone who has climbed Mount Everest can honestly speak about the experience with any level of authority. Only someone who has transformed a process or launched a product, hired people, invested millions, filed for bankruptcy, or examined the data can talk about those things with any authority. You did the Excel. You know what’s going on. Internal stories are particularly relevant when presenting to your peers, colleagues, staff, or superiors. Where the external stories within this context help the people in your organisation understand that they are not alone, the internal stories will have the most significant impact.
07 THE ONE BIG THING - YOUR PRESENTATION‘S NORTH STAR
And finally, I’d like you to consider what I call The One Big Thing. This is the point of your presentation. It’s more than just its title, no; The One Big Thing is its reason for being and the reason anybody should care about it. All of the story elements, anecdotes, facts and figures, questions, answers, tools, images, sounds and video elements should point to this one critical thing. It can be an idea. It can be a call to action. It can be an observation. Whatever it is, The One Big Thing is the critical component that will positively impact the audience. It is the presentation’s driving force. Without it, the presentation is just words and pretty pictures.
