Vicki Arroyo begins her 2012 TED Global talk on climate change as all great presentations begin: with a story. She points to a photo of a skyline behind her, and says, “This is the skyline of my hometown, New Orleans. It was a great place to grow up.” Right off the bat, we learn something about our presenter, and thus we immediately feel more engaged and invested in what she has to say. Then she presents the difficult truth of the matter: Half of her hometown is below sea level, a fact that doesn’t bode well for the impending consequences of climate change.
Because Arroyo’s topic is still rather controversial, she’s smart to introduce the topic with a personal story rather than a mountain of evidence. Dumping a pile of facts, statistics and data on your audience is like asking them to put their shields up and grab their defense weapons. But if you begin with a story, as Arroyo does, you put your audience at ease, offering them an opportunity to put their guard down and relate to what you’re saying.
When Arroyo discusses the destruction New Orleans faced after Hurricane Katrina, she doesn’t just tell us how many people died and how many houses were destroyed; she shows us what the damage looked like. And not just in a vague, 30,000-foot way. Instead, Arroyo keeps it highly personal by showing before and after photographs of her mother’s and sister’s house. The images are memorable, and leave an impact on the audience because they are unique and personal to Arroyo.
Keep in mind that people respond easily to stories about individuals–– the more personal, the better. A list of statistics, even if they’re staggering and substantial, has no chance of resonating more with an audience than a personal story. Think of commercials for charities. They almost always feature one impoverished kid rather than a thousand impoverished kids because that one kid’s story tugs much harder at our heartstrings.
Arroyo also employs a solid organization throughout her talk. She’s very deliberate in telling the audience where she’s going (i.e. “this talk is about,” “I’ll give you three sets of examples,” “the larger point is this,” etc.) and what she’s saying throughout the talk. This kind of methodical organization can be helpful to audiences, though at times it feels a little prosaic. Find an adequate balance between the helpfulness and potential tedium of a clearly defined organization.
Last but certainly not least, we have a bone to pick with Arroyo’s slide deck. Some of the slides are designed with good principles in mind–– big, compelling visuals with minimal text. But there are a few classic Death by PowerPoint slides (we’re looking at you, graph of government data) and in general, Arroyo places too much text on her slides. A few times, we caught ourselves reading slides and neglecting Arroyo’s words, which is never a case you want to find yourself in as a presenter.
Moreover, the template-y design of Arroyo’s deck is tedious and repetitive. Including a header on every slide in your deck is also wildly unnecessary. Remember: You’re Batman and your slides are Robin. Everyone needs a good sidekick, but you’re the one running the show. Don’t let your slides eclipse you.
