Why do we remember some presentations more than others? Better presenter? More interesting topic? Good visuals? Yes, all could contribute, but a good story told with heart is key to helping your listeners connect with your message.Recently, after hearing many fabulous presentations, Jamie LaJoie, a tenured sales leader and trusted colleague approached the stage. His topic was “Employee Performance Appraisals.”
He approached the stage, telling this story:
“I took the job of coaching my daughter’s basketball team this year. Even at age nine, the season starts with a draft. Of course, I didn’t get asked to take the job until the draft was complete. And, it wouldn’t surprise anyone that the team without a coach had a great group of girls who were all fast friends but have no skills in the game of basketball.
I first asked them how they had practiced in the past and I also talked to other coaches about their approach to practice. Everyone’s advice? “Just play the game, the girls enjoy the scrimmage the most.” But, I wondered, “Wouldn’t that just be practicing bad habits?”
Approaching a tough situation, I evaluated their skills and decided on three areas of focus. Then, I built fun skill building exercises that allowed them to improve in those three areas. Each practice, we would run the drills for the first 45 minutes and then they would get to scrimmage for the last 15 minutes. Along the way, the girls always seem to catch up on the weekly gossip – always a top priority.
The first game was a loss and we headed back to the drills. Then the second loss, third and so on. We were 0 and 6. I started to question my focus on teaching just three skills. Maybe the original advice was right. What if the best plan was just to scrimmage at practice because that is what they enjoyed the most?
Then came game seven, our first win. Everyone celebrated, especially the assistant coach. (Not really a coach, but more a team parent to assist with the goodies and scheduling. Maybe she didn’t know the game, but she knew how to pour on the fun with cookies and kool-aide.)
At the next practice, everyone came in heads high, all the girls wanted to start with the scrimmage. But we went right to the drills and continued to practice exactly the same way we did for the past seven weeks.
Today, I can tell you that we have won every game since then. Tomorrow night, we will be playing in the championship game. I won’t be at that game, since I will be here with you. Remember my assistant coach/team parent? She’s been watching, she has the entire playbook written out, knows the strengths of every player and when to play them. I know they can do it.”
The audience was glued to the story. Everyone connected with the characters, cheered for the first win, all the way through to the championships.
The moral of the story? It takes assessing team players, setting a plan and continuous coaching to be successful. There are no short cuts. Jamie went on to lead a great session about how everyone in the room could improve on how we deliver performance appraisals.
A well-told story can last for a long time, but it is worth it to engage your audience. All through the next day, everyone was asking about the team. The final outcome; they won the Championship Game. It was so fun to see Jamie tell our colleagues of the win the next night after our meetings were finished. As the consummate coach in the story, he reminded everyone that better coaching in performance appraisals would lead to championship performances on our teams.
I always suggest collecting stories and factoids for presentations. My hat is off to Jamie for a great presentation with a great story.
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Great suggestion Ken. I come across such stories all the time that I think would help me illustrate a key point in a presentation or speech. The challenge is how to archive those stories in such a way that they’re easily referenceable/available while preparing. What ideas do you have for archiving such stories.