At the heart of any good story is an emotional appeal – it may be subtle or it may be dramatic, but without that emotional connection, the story is quickly forgotten.
You’ve given your first formal presentation in class. Not bad, not bad. But I’ve detailed some of my guidelines and suggestions that should be taken seriously and maturely. Whenever trying to convince a peer, colleague, instructor, or boss about ideas you want to expand – you need to be able to articulate clearly and quickly. Read more below:
1. It’s all about story-telling.
It’s not story-telling to put me to bed. In fact, it’s about summarizing for your viewer/reader the beginning, a middle and end to keep them enticed and wanting to hear more. Make us think with the bare minimum. Then we have something golden. If stories are told well, then we are inspired to learn more or act.
A good story has some or all of the following attributes:
- Good stories don’t appeal to everyone – your story should be targeted to the people you are most interested in communicating with. If the audience is not your targeted focus group, then make sure you let them know that.
- Good stories resonate – they are familiar and strike a chord with the audience because they can relate to the story being told. Have you tested your idea with selected members of your target audience before you start production? If not, why not? Once you have all your diagrams, you should pitch them to someone who fits the profile of your audience.
- Good stories are credible – the story teller, the content and the outcome of the story have to work together and all have to be believable, trusted – your audience can see through the lies (the hype and the exaggeration). Please be able to back-up your statements – I will pin you to the ground if you’re making an assumption without credit.
- Good stories are usually simple – they can be grand tales or ripping yarns but in the end the best stories have a simple outcome and a simple message. Keep the razzle to a minimum and forget the dazzle. Don’t tell us unnecessary details.
2. Show them, don’t tell them.
Having up on the projector some compelling visual examples of exactly how your solution pitch will work and how it could solve the problem will help us believe you’re on a right path. A couple of other things that are great assets to support your proposal are testimonials, case studies, and demos. However, all of this needs to be documented so we believe what you’re saying.
- Testimonials are more compelling when you see and hear someone talk about their experience with your site.
- Case studies are more engaging when you can actually see how a user integrates your prototype in to their process and how your prototype measurably improves their bottom line.
- Interface demos are far more powerful when you illustrate (i.e. using video or information graphics in After Effects, Flash, etc. ) exactly how your patented process works and benefits your user.
3. Choose your words very carefully.
You have to do a lot of critical thinking in the production process for designing communication tools. Your aesthetics and prototypes will be great but you need to be able to back them up with reasoning. Whether emailing someone or talking in front of the class, make sure you have an idea of what vocabulary to use.
Some things to consider when reviewing yourself as a communicator:
- Do you understand the key issues affecting your industry?
- What are the top three messages that you have to communicate?
- Are you clearly outlining the benefits that will best resonate with your target audience?
- Are you speaking your user’s language?
Style won’t count for much if your message doesn’t resonate with your audience. Deciding on the right thing to say is always more important than how that information is ultimately presented.
4. Build‐in Interaction (and ultimately, conversion).
The more interaction you can build into the experience the more engaged the viewer is with your brand. Interest, engagement and interaction should be the goals of your redesign . What do you want the viewer to do when they have finished watching your web video? How deep do you want to take your viewer in an interactive presentation? Here is a short list of options to include when building your online presentations:
- Click here to find out more about this service (teasing the user with an excerpt)
- Click here to read a white paper on this topic (providing the user with a resource)
- Click here to watch a related presentation or video (educating the user in a theatrical format)
- Fill out a quick survey to discover if you are qualified for this promotion (allowing the user to generate input)
- Take a quick poll (allowing the user to give value and insight)
- Click here to have a technical expert answer your questions (producing a live dialogue with the user)
- Sign up now for our weekly industry update (allowing the user to regularly and easily receive more information)
- Conversion is the goal. Whatever your conversion mechanism is you want your users and prospective users to take the next step.
5. Chose the right format, structure and style of layout.
Every website problem is unique and there is a multitude of rich media tools and methods to solve your important communications problems. Consider alternative approaches and formats before committing. Don’t just go with the standard.
6. Consider the only perspective that matters: your user’s.
It’s not about you or your product. There are lots of designers just like your and frankly, it’s getting tougher to tell everyone apart.
7. Define objectives (and outcomes) first.
Consider the following when planning to implement your redesign (plus the following questions from last week):
- Who is your audience? If your answer is “…well, everyone really” you’re probably wasting your money. Successful redesigning always starts with targeting.
- What are the measurable outcomes? How do you measure success? You should be able to quantify this value by measuring click‐thru’s, registrations, time spent watching the presentation or some other objective metric.
What I’m listening to at work right now:
Grenadine girl by jovian
