You’re excited because you’ve just been asked to give a presentation that could be a defining moment of your career. It’s a big opportunity, and you have so much to say. But you just don’t know where to start. How do you know what to include and what to leave out so that you actually deliver a clear message and make an impact?
Recently I spoke with international speaker (and one of my coaches) Briony McKenzie about how she prepares for public speaking engagements. Briony’s known for her ability to captivate audiences with authentic stories and compelling content. In our conversation, we broke down her process for designing a talk that leaves a lasting impact. Here’s what I learned from her approach.
Get clear
When I asked Briony about her process, the first thing she said was that she reverse-engineers her talks. She starts with the end in mind.
“When my audience leaves this room, what do I want them to know, believe, and feel?” —Briony McKenzie
She breaks it down further, “’Know’ is the intellectual piece, ‘believe’ is about shifting perspectives, and ‘feel’ is about creating an emotional connection. Once I’m clear on those outcomes, I build the talk to achieve them.”
“For example, for the talk in Finland, which was about building high-performing teams. Everyone wants ‘A’ players, but ‘A’ players don’t want to work for ‘B’ leaders. You have to be an ‘A’ leader. That was the keynote. So, how do I help them be an ‘A’ leader? Reverse engineering the distinctions that go into that talk, I talked about the distinctions of living from radical responsibility, leading from empowered consciousness, some fundamentals of actually running your team, and then the beliefs work. And when I think about beliefs work and transforming someone’s belief in a talk or an event, it’s a lot of storytelling, right? Because you need to believe what you’re sharing. But for someone to have the same epiphany or transformation you had, often the best way to do it is through a story.”
What I see in my work is that the majority of professionals start with creating a slide deck instead of getting clear about their message first. When we start working on the presentation, the first thing I’ll ask them is, “What’s your objective for the talk?” They have a hard time putting it into words. It’s a shame because their objective should inform their content, not the other way around.
When you’re in the early stages of planning your talk—and definitely before you start creating any slides, start by getting clear. Here’s how you can do that. Start by asking yourself these questions to clarify your objective and intention:
- Who is my audience?
- What do they already know, believe, understand about my topic?
- What’s my objective? (What do I want them to DO at the end of my talk?)
- What’s my intention? (How do I want them to FEEL so that they do what I want them to do?)
Once you have clarity on your message, the next step is to find stories that reinforce your main points and connect with your audience emotionally.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briony-mckenzie/
Gather stories to shift beliefs
One of the most pervasive myths I bust on a daily basis in my work is that “the audience just wants the data.” The world’s most effective speakers know this is not true. In fact, if we’re using TED talks as a rubric, TED speakers use, on average, 65-75% storytelling to communicate their ideas and shift beliefs. Why? Because they know that in order to shift beliefs, people have to feel something. It’s not just about the intellect. After all, if the audience just wanted the data, why wouldn’t they just use a large language model to break it down for them? If you’re just “sharing the data”, how are you any better than ChatGPT?
What many people don’t realize is that emotions are essential for decision-making. Research by Dr. Antonio Damasio shows that emotions guide decision-making more than we realize. So if you think, ‘I don’t need a story,’ think again—you absolutely do. To change minds, you need to reach people’s hearts first. So where can you begin?
Begin with your own story. I know what you may be thinking, “No one wants to hear my story.” I invite you to consider that they actually do.
McKenzie speaks to this when she says, “Before I would just get on stage and just start getting into my content. Who doesn’t want to learn? And then people would ask me so much more. ‘Who are you? Why are you talking about this? How did you end up here?’ So now, whenever I do my planning, I lead by asking myself, ‘What’s my story? Why am I here? Who am I for these people? Why have I been invited onto this stage?’ I do this to really create context for them.”
“I lead by asking myself, ‘What’s my story? Why am I here? Who am I for these people? Why have I been invited onto this stage?’” —Briony McKenzie
I used to think the audience didn’t care about my story. I felt imposter syndrome creeping in, and I thought sticking to the data would make me more credible. Have you ever felt the same way? What was the impact on your presentations?
Through years of speaking, I realized that when I did share my story, my talks became ten times more powerful. Why? Because it’s authenticity, not just expertise, that resonates with people.
Storytelling isn’t just a way to hook your audience’s attention—it’s a force for transformation. When you share a story, you’re not just relaying facts; you’re creating an experience that invites your audience to see things from a new perspective. It’s the bridge between what you want to say and what they need to hear.
Story Power: The Psychology of Story – DR. PAM | MEDIA PSYCHOLOGIST
For the speaker, it’s a chance to own your voice and show up authentically. Telling your story means you’re not just delivering information; you’re showing who you are, what you care about, and why you’re standing in front of them. This kind of openness builds trust and connection, which makes everything you say after that more powerful.
For the audience, stories do what data and bullet points can’t: they make people feel. They make complex ideas relatable and memorable. When your story resonates, it sticks. People see themselves in your experience, and that’s when real change happens—when someone walks away seeing things just a little differently than before.
The magic of storytelling isn’t just in the telling. It’s in the transformation—for both you and your audience. It’s what turns a good talk into a great one, and a great one into a career-defining moment that people remember long after the slides are gone.
Communicating a clear message and inviting your audience into your content through storytelling are the keys to an impactful presentation. Clarity drives your message, and stories are the fastest way to communicate complex ideas and hook audiences emotionally. So how do you go about finding the right stories to tell, and where can you use stories in your content?
If you’re ready to turn ordinary presentations into career-defining moments, check out my new on-demand course Presentation Mastery, where I teach the step-by-step process for creating captivating talks people remember.
I’m curious, what’s your process for creating presentations?
Watch the full interview with Briony McKenzie here.
👉🏻If you’re not yet subscribed to my newsletter but would like to be, you can sign up here.
👋 P.S. When you’re ready for more…
↘️ Check out my new public speaking course, Presentation Mastery.
❤️ Follow me on Instagram
👋Connect with me on Linkedin.