Message not story

Message not story is the basis of a good presentation. We must communicate effectively with our audience and leave them with a message regarding the information delivered not simply a story about it or, even worse, a list of facts. The p1 encapsulates the message to be delivered.

message not story

I’m grateful to Gregor Prosen for his comment on twitter clarifying the comment in the recent blogpost.

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In my humble opinion, this sentence is CRUCIAL distinction – it’s not about theatrality of “story” but message one wants to get across. That gets better received and retained, when packaged in “story”. “Learning goals”, I guess?
ping @ffolliethttps://t.co/4ohWrzYxDA pic.twitter.com/n5qtPT3aUX— gregor prosen (@gregorprosen) February 18, 2019

The p1 is not a story, a “Once upon a time” but the totality of the message that the presenter want to deliver to the audience. This cannot be a list of facts as they will not be retained by the audience but must contain facts as this is the basis of Bloom’s Taxonomy. It is not simply a story but may contain story as emotional connection to a message increases retention and engagement. The totality of the message must be complete before considering the supportive media. The length of the message must be edited to 80% of the time allocated.

Story as narrative has a place in presentation but must be careful constructed and its purpose or analogy explained. All effective presentations are a message, not all contain story. I’m grateful for the opportunity to refine my message and improve.

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