Storytelling with You: Plan, Create, and Deliver a Stellar Presentation 1st Edition

I've done my share of presentations with almost 40 years in business and more than a dozen teaching in higher ed. I sure wish this book had been published about 20 years ago! It will be valuable for anyone aspiring to take their presentation prowess to the next level.It is organized over twelve chapters that represent a dozen key steps of which only the final two are related to the actual presentation event. I think that's important! The first ten cover topics such as consider your audience (chapter 1), craft the message (chapter 2), set the style & structure (chapter 5), and refine through practice (chapter 9). I love that the process considers key elements of telling the story including words (chapter 6), graphs (chapter 7) and images (chapter 8).I found the questions embedded throughout most chapters encouraged me to step back and ponder the purpose for the presentation and my approach. For example, to understand and assess your audience ask yourself several of the 15 starter questions to explore your audience. I found these starter questions to be just that...starter questions. They nudged me to begin a process of reflection that frequently led to new questions and then new insights and strategies to consider for my presentation.The strategies in this book will help anyone improve their presentation abilities since 80% of a successful presentation actually takes place before standing in front of the audience. Better prep leads to more compelling messages and higher levels of confidence which leads to impactful presentations!A note about the Storytelling with Data (SWD) books. I learned of this author (Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic) when a friend gave me a copy of Storytelling with Data. I was blown away with the simple approach and accessible style. SWD focuses a bit more on data driven presentations, reports and dashboards and delivering that information in insightful and impactful stories. (SWD Let's Practice is essentially a workbook to "practice" storytelling with data!) SWY covers any type of presentation including those that might not be as data intensive. I see these books as very complimentary. Though one doesn't require the other, you'll probably want to add all three to your collection at some point. Storytelling with You will benefit the product manager trying to sell her new product concept. It will also benefit the volunteer delivering a presentation at the local library on his favorite hobby. If you pick up just a half dozen new ideas, this book will have paid for itself! Order two copies since I'm sure you'll want to give one to a friend.

I’ve been a reader of Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic’s work from the early 2010s, when her “storytelling with data” blog was one of the only accessible and practical sources of information about communicating clearly and persuasively with data. When the “storytelling with data” book came out, I bought it and recommended it to several colleagues, since it was filled with excellent tips and strategies for making charts and graphs actually meaningful to a general audience.Eventually, in 2018, I got the chance to hear Cole speak live at a conference, and was bowled over by how engaging and compelling she was as a speaker…simply head and shoulders above the vast majority of presenters I’d seen before or since. Something about the confidence and presence in her speaking style, combined with the way she had organized and crafted the content, made for a memorable and motivational presentation.In the years since, I’ve had the good fortune not only to see and hear Cole present on a variety of topics in different venues and environments, but also to learn directly from her how to become a better speaker myself. This book, “storytelling with you,” will be an incredible boon to anyone who also wants to be more persuasive and confident as a communicator, because it is a compilation of Cole’s years experience and knowledge on the topic, distilled into a single, approachable work. I can promise that the guidance and direction found in these pages, when put into practice, will pay handsome dividends, in terms of the impact that your communications will have.These are lessons that apply whether or not your communications are data-heavy, by the way. Communicating effectively with data is certainly its own unique struggle; but to be fair, neither I nor many of my colleagues in 20+ years of working in analysis, design, and tech industries spent much time working on our presentation skills…much to our own detriment. How much more of the hard work we’d done would have been better received, and acted upon, if we had spent even a little bit more effort practicing how we’d present it for our intended audiences?Technologies, tools, and even industries will come and go, but one thing remains eternal: human beings will always have to communicate with other human beings in order get things done. Learning and internalizing the lessons from books like “storytelling with you” will build up skills that will never become obsolete.

Being able to convey insights in a compelling and actionable way is a critical skill that is too often overlooked. In my field (data analytics), technical skills are sought after with little regard for the communication skills that actually bring a project to fruition. Perhaps this is because technical skills are relatively easy to master — you can attend a course, complete projects, and Google the answer to any problem. There is a clear path to becoming proficient in that skill. With this book, communication skills can be built in the same way. The step-by-step process laid out in this book is an easy-to-follow guide to delivering your message. While the lessons require intentional effort to practice and hone (much like technical skills), the process is repeatable and full of tangible benefits. Each chapter is actionable, with real guidance that you can employ immediately. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic expertly guides you through the steps to plan, create, and deliver your Big Idea. I feel more prepared to communicate my opinions because of this book, and encourage anyone who is interested in inspiring others to act, to read it as well.