Nail Your Presentation in the First 30 Seconds

Want to nail your presentation in the first 30 seconds? Here’s the greatest presentation hack there is: start every presentation with a story. Here’s why.

First, a story makes you a human instead of an expert. Sometimes it's tough to win over an audience – whether it’s a pitch, a presentation for your boss, a sales presentation, or an industry address. There's an automatic divide between the speaker and the audience. The sooner you can transition from “expert in front of the room” to “human just like you,” the smoother the rest of the presentation will go. A story is the fastest way to make that transition happen.

Second, a story will calm your nerves. Public speaking triggers that ancient self-preservation fight or flight response. Starting with a story can actually cut the nerves off at the source by answering the only question a speaker’s lizard brain cares about: “Do I like me?” Starting a presentation with a story gives the audience something they want (humans always want stories) and they'll like you for it. They will visibly engage, nodding, laughing, even closing their laptops. All of these signals soothe your reptilian brain so you can do what you came there to do.

Lastly, a story is easy. Yes, it takes work to find it and craft it, but the story is already within you. It’s not additional research you have to do or stats you have to crunch or data you have to decipher. Think back on life experiences that illustrate the message you want to deliver. You've already lived these stories. All you have to do now is tell them.

The number of messages I get a month with people telling me about their presentation success stories all because they started with a story is overwhelming. Give it a try. Start your next presentation with a story and you will be destined for success within the first thirty seconds!