What is a springboard story and why you need one in your informative presentation?
I was talking to a client recently who is an exceptional speaker. She already had figured out a challenging story to start her presentation with. I recommended that she add a springboard story that the audience could relate to right off the bat.
I first learned about using springboard stories from the work of Stephen Denning. His books The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling and The Secret Language of Leadership are both excellent.
A springboard story is a relevant story that is positive in tone.
Once you get your audience’s attention with a Challenging story, you next need to stimulate their desire to know more, as Stephen Denning says. I think the best way to do that is with a springboard story.
To be effective, the story must be minimalist. You don’t want to have the audience lose themselves in your story, as in your challenging story. Instead, the purpose of a springboard story is for the audience to hear your story while simultaneously seeing themselves as the hero of their own similar story.
My springboard story is about me learning how people learn and remember and using that information to transform from a boring presenter just reciting facts to the presenter I am now using relevant stories in my presentation. It is quite minimalist and I hope my audience will be able to see themselves doing what I did.
Remember to include a springboard story in your presentation before you outline what you will cover and get to the important information that you are there to share with your audience.
One of the ways I help clients is in developing the best story for the various parts of their presentations. If you are interested in including stories in your informative or technical presentations to make them more memorable and engaging, sign up for my free 45-minute AMP Up Session here. https://calendly.com/brenda-memorablepresenter/45min-amp_up.
