When was the last time you left a conference feeling truly moved by a presentation? Most talks fade from memory within minutes. I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing the ones that stick. What’s the common denominator? They all tell a story.
Stories Make Presentations Memorable
People remember stories. In fact, according to a Stanford study, people remember 65% of story elements and only 5% of data/statistics. So if your presentation is crammed with data alone, there is a slim chance your audience will walk away retaining that information.
A client said to me before going on stage in Amsterdam, “There’s no story in this one—sorry.” He continued, “I just wanted to share a lot of data.” And he did. He spoke for 10 minutes, and shared 25 data points. The result? I don’t remember anything and the audience looked exhausted. What could he have done differently?
Connect the Dots
Data tells a story, but you have to be willing to name the story it’s telling. Connect the dots for the audience by framing the information in a way that sparks curiosity. Here are four questions to help:
- Why does this data matter?
- What does this data reveal?
- Why should the audience care?
- What now?
It’s not enough to just dump numbers in front of an audience—an LLM can do that. Your job isn’t to share data; it’s to show the meaning behind it.
Include a Personal Story
I often hear technologists say, “This isn’t a TED Talk—it’s just a conference talk.” Ironically, TED’s so-called “fluffy” format is one of the most effective vehicles ever created for spreading ideas. The resistance usually isn’t to storytelling itself—it’s to vulnerability.
I’m not talking about being formulaic—I’m talking about giving the audience insight into why this topic matters to you personally. Why are you passionate about this? I see too many founders hesitate to do this. Why? Because I believe they think the audience doesn’t care. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Audiences want to be moved. And as a presenter, it’s your job to move them. Presentation expert Nancy Duarte states, “Staying flat and factual can work in a scientific report setting, but it won’t help motivate most audiences.” If your goal is to “just share data”, you could email a report and save everyone a lot of time. But if you really want to motivate, influence, or inspire, tell us why you care.
THE BIG PRINT
Being the most memorable presenter at the conference means telling stories.
How to Include Storytelling in Your Conference Talk
The next time you sit down to prepare a talk for a conference, use these questions to help surface some stories to make your talk more memorable:
- When did my / our / the company’s perspective about the topic change?
- What was the catalyst?
- Why do I care about this now?
- Is there a single number, trend, or visual that made you say “Wait—what?”
Once you have some content to work with, here are three solid ways to use stories in your presentation:
1 – Open your talk with a story, then refer to it again to “close the loop” at the end of your talk.
2 – Tell a story to break up dense areas of data delivery. This gives the audience a mental break while you’re sharing the information.
3 – Use a story as a transition between sets of data. (Eg. “What we are seeing now→ Where we think it’s going”)
Great speakers aren’t born—they’re built through story. If you’re ready to make your next conference talk unforgettable, book a strategy session with me here.
TAKE IT FROM… Meltem Demirors, general partner at Crucible Capital and expert presenter.
I had the pleasure of hearing a presentation Meltem delivered at the Legends4Legends conference in Amsterdam last week. She told stories, she used engaging visuals, she wore a fabulous cheetah coat that left me drooling.
She told me at the post-conference drinks, “I used to not be good at presenting, then I realized how important it was and got training.” You can tell. Great job, Meltem!
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