How storytelling can nail a pitch - and how to do it well

Imagine presenting in a pitch meeting and your audience is stifling yawns, checking their devices as you talk, and finally they walk out of the meeting with deafening silence.

It is in these meetings that the power of storytelling has often been overlooked. I speak from experience having been in the audience of these presentations.

For a pitch to be successful, strong facts, stats and figures are often deemed the most important things to include. Whilst they can be one way to hook an audience, creative storytelling is what will really set your pitch apart.

It will make it more powerful, more memorable and allow your audience to buy-in to what you offer.

Why storytelling is so impactful

As human beings, our brains are hardwired to tune into a story – when someone tells a story our brains light up. Weaving appropriate, relevant and compelling narratives into your pitch helps you emotionally connect with the audience. It also builds rapport, trust and relevance. People remember stories.

Some of the best speeches, marketing campaigns, and television advertisements use storytelling to reach their audience. Think of the Amy Cuddy TED Talk or the Qantas’ ‘I still call Australia home’ campaign.

Steve Jobs agrees

One of the most famous CEOs in recent times, Steve Jobs, is quoted as saying: “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and an agenda of an entire generation that is to come.”

Jobs himself used stories to make complex tech seem more understandable and relatable, and he incorporated real-life scenarios and personal experiences in the content he was relaying to inspire his audience.

How to swing good yarn into a pitch

You don’t, however, have to be a seasoned CEO to tell a memorable story that engages and compels your audience to listen. Everyone has the ability to do so.

Drawing upon NIDA Corporate Training’s 30 years of experience in coaching business founders, leaders, C-level execs and professionals in effective and persuasive communication skills – including storytelling, presenting and public speaking – here are some top tips for incorporating this critical tool into your next pitch:

1. Crafting the story – to craft a story for your audience, consider the fundamentals of storytelling: How will you structure your story and what is its premise? Who are your characters ? How can you incorporate conflict, or transformation?

2. Take your audience on a journey – structure is important for keeping your story on track. Think how Hollywood films have a three-act structure: ‘Set up’, ‘confrontation’ and ‘resolution’. The Pixar story structure – which uses the Kenn Adam’s ‘Story Spine’ to frame a challenge you are addressing, the solution you are offering, and the impact it will have, is also an inspirational resource.

3. Banish the boring delivery – there is often necessary information you need to include in a pitch, yet it sounds quite boring to relay. Treating the delivery of this material in the same way you’d tell a story can do the heavy-lifting in making your content sound interesting. When relaying a story naturally, you’ll become more animated in your voice, facial expressions and gestures.

4. Make the complex more compelling – if you have complex content you want to communicate in the pitch, consider leaning on the literary techniques commonly employed in storytelling. These can include metaphor, simile, allegory or imagery. Simplify your message, and make it more relatable to the audience.

5. Personal storytelling – some of us feel comfortable telling personal stories, and so many business stories will come from personal experience and answer the question “What happened to me?”. Others prefer to use ‘secondhand’ stories of what happened (or what will happen) to other people, organisations, industries, or countries. Decide what type of story will serve your objective best.

6. Finish strong – finish your pitch with a strong call to action that incorporates an emotional narrative. Can you tie it all back to the story you told? What are you asking from your audience? What do you want them to do?

Now, imagine presenting at a pitch meeting where potential investors are literally on the edge of their seat, hanging on to your every word and bombarding you with questions at the end and talk further about your shared interests. This is what the simple yet powerful tool of incorporating stories, anecdotes and metaphors into your presentation can do for your next pitch.

More information about influential storytelling can be found here.