Storytelling

The scene from Madmen season 1, "The Carousel", in which Creative Director Don pitches a campaign to Kodak for their new slide projector, is still the best example of storytelling from a communications agency, fictional or otherwise, that I've seen. Don deftly turns a story about technology into a story about family and nostalgia.

Most agencies can raise their game when it comes to presentations. This doesn't just mean abandoning Powerpoint (although it helps). It means weaving a story - the most compelling story, not the most obvious story - that draws the audience in, holds their attention and closes the deal.

You can't do this unless you really believe in what you're presenting, unless you give something of yourself in the presentation. This may be a personal anecdote, or experience, or a way that you connected to the target audience. Whatever it is, unless you take a personal interest, neither will your audience.