Storytelling has, as many good things do, become a buzzword. Companies, researchers, and business professionals are all trying to get their message out, and storytelling promises a way to do so.

The problem is that most people go about storytelling the wrong way—especially in presentations.

They’re trying to tell their story and push it onto others the same way the cliché used car salesman tries to sell you your next lemon. The used car salesman doesn’t really care about what you’re looking for. They’re looking to sell products. They may ask what you want and direct you to something similar, but if they don’t have that plug in electric hatchback that you’re looking for, they’ll direct you to other hatchbacks, or sedans, or electric cars. They just need to move inventory.

The same is true when it comes to presentations, presenters focus on what the presenter needs (tell the audience X, get the word out about Y, get the audience to buy Z). Presenters don’t often think of what the audience is looking for. Instead, they’ll tell you stories like the used car salesman, “I started selling cars in 1990, and I’ve worked at Honda. Then in 1995 I moved to Toyota, but my manager didn’t really get what I was doing that was so special, so I moved to GM. Now, I’m at Carvana. I’m pretty amazing at what I do, so come buy my cars and talk to me about what you need.”

That’s not a story. That’s a resume. That’s badly done self promotion.

But that’s what we so often get for a “story”.

A story is, “A young woman came into the dealership looking for a vehicle that was less than $10,000 and would allow her to safely transport her 3 kids around, but that type of safety and room comes with a price tag that she couldn’t afford. She had been to a ton of different dealerships, and been shown car after car that didn’t fit her needs or her budget. So we started talking about what options we had that would fit. There weren’t many. But I asked more questions, what type of safety features, how old were her kids, how did she come up with her budget? Eventually, we realized that safety to her was not these new bells and whistles, like tire pressure monitoring. It was simply that if someone hit her car, her kids would be okay. We were able to find some older models at our sister company and sent her over there to take a look at them. One week later, she came by to thank me in her new-to-her minivan. That is what I do for people who come see me. So whether you’re looking for a car now, need advice on car shopping, or just aren’t sure of what you need, I’d love to help, come chat and I can help you find a solution.”

The Call to Action is the same: Come see me and talk about what you need, but in story one, it’s all about the presenter. What they’ve done, and what they want. In story two, it’s about an individual who was helped by the presenter, and by making it about the customer, it clearly implies that you can receive that assistance too.

Storytelling isn’t about you.

Effective storytelling in presentations is about connection, not self-promotion. And you can’t connect with your audience unless you know who they are.

Before you build a presentation, pitch, or proposal, your first step should always be defining your audience.

• If you’re creating a business presentation, who is making the decision?
• If you’re pitching through an RFP, who is reviewing it?
• If you’re presenting research, who needs to understand and trust your conclusions?

This group is your target audience. And while you can have more than one audience, your target audience is never “everyone.” Sure, anyone could listen. But storytelling that tries to speak to everyone usually connects with no one.

Once you’ve identified your audience, your goal is to learn as much as you can about them so you can tailor your message accordingly.

Ask yourself:

• What is their background or level of expertise?
• What problems are they trying to solve?
• What do they care about or worry about?
• What would success look like for them?

These questions should come before you open PowerPoint, Canva, Google Slides, etc and start drafting slides. Storytelling that makes presentations stick starts with intention, not decoration.

Choose the right story.

Not every story works for every audience. Before you settle on what you’ll say, it helps to storyboard your ideas and test them informally with colleagues or collaborators. There are countless story structures, but I’m highlighting three below that should help get you started.

1. Audience-Centered Stories

If you’re trying to persuade: sell a product, win buy-in, secure funding, or position yourself as the right choice; audience-centered stories are key.

In this structure, the audience is the protagonist, not you.

You remove yourself as the hero and instead position yourself as the guide. The story uses “you” language and helps the audience picture themselves using your idea, service, or solution. This is similar to the second story example above.

This structure shows up everywhere:

• Frodo Baggins and Gandalf
• Harry Potter and Dumbledore
• Simba and Rafikii

Ideally, you’re having your audience picture themselves using your product, service, or idea. When they visualize this, it is powerful. When audiences see themselves in the story, they’re far more likely to stay engaged than if you spend your time listing your credentials.

2. Case Studies

Case studies are ideal when you need to:

• demonstrate results
• explain complex ideas
• show how research or theory works in practice

Research consistently shows that people understand and retain stories more easily than abstract data alone. A well-told case study can carry the same (or more weight) in someone’s mind as a research study that looked at 100’s of individuals (terrifying, I know).

For presentations, case studies help bridge the gap between what works in theory and what works in the real world. They’re especially effective for business presentations, research talks, and proposals where credibility matters.

3. The Journey Story

The journey story works well when you’re:

• summarizing a long research process
• walking through a complex project
• offering lessons learned or guidance

This structure can be a blend of others, for example you might use a case study to show the journey a client or participant went through, or you might use the journey to illustrate what your audience will experience if they buy your product, say yes to your proposal, or greenlight your solution.

Here you talk about the difficulties you (or your protagonist) faced and how you/they overcame them. This uses the standard story arc movies, TV shows, and books use. You build the time, place, and character (setting), the protagonist encounters a problem (conflict), something or someone guides them on the right path (rising action), the main character struggles (climax) and succeeds (resolution).

When used thoughtfully, the journey story adds credibility without turning the presentation into the self promotional story of the cliched used car salesman.

Making Presentations That Stick

There are countless storytelling approaches, and while there’s not one best way to do it, there are different structures that work best for different ideas, messages, and audiences. But the key question to ask yourself is always the same: What will connect for this audience? You can also ask: What will help them understand, trust, and remember your message? or What will motivate them to act: buy, invest, approve, follow up, or continue the conversation?

If you put yourself in your audience’s shoes, you’ll most likely create content that sticks regardless of the structure. That’s what makes presentations memorable, and that’s what storytelling, when done right, is actually for.

If you need help creating your next presentation (or story), I’d love to help.