Cause and effect is a literary concept to define actions and consequences. Simply put, cause is the “why it happened” and effect is “what happened.” This concept is useful in presentation storytelling because it can be persuasive, information and creative. Here are a few examples of how to use cause and effect in your presentation to sell your product or tell your story.
How to Use Cause and Effect in Presentation Storytelling
The Question
Opening your presentation with a question is a strong method for hooking in your audience and setting the scene. You can use cause and effect to set up an open-ended question and create a problem. Most presentations will dive into the problems their company or clients currently face before offering up solutions. Use these examples to create a cause and effect question to use in your presentation storytelling.
If a GPS constantly gave you the wrong direction, what would happen? Drivers would be forced to use maps to get them to their destination, or would have to stop and ask for help. How often does your GPS take you to the wrong address? With my system, you can install the most updated maps to all your GPS devices and never worry about getting lost again.
If robots were intelligent enough to take over our jobs, what would happen to us? We would see a shift in global economies, unemployment numbers skyrocket and protests erupt around the world. What if there was a way to secure our jobs in the future? What if we could continue to bring in an income while a robot fills in for our job? With my plan, all this can happen….
The Demonstration
Demonstrations are effective ways to showcase your product and persuade audiences. They can also be a form of cause and effect. This hands-on method allows the audience to experience how a product works or how a service can be helpful. You can create different activities to use in your presentation storytelling for your audience to demo.
Now that I have showed you how my product works, let’s put it to the test. I’m going to pass out my GPS device and I want you to type this address on the slide in. This address leads to a home on a rural highway in Montana that people have complained about being difficult to find. After you type in the address, watch what happens. My GPS can track down the home and create possible alternative routes for a quicker and easier drive.
The future of robotic workers is quickly approaching. I want you to role play a conversation you will have with your boss when robotics become a threat to your job. Partner up and have one person be your boss and the other be the employee. Try to sell each other on how robotic workers can be a benefit with the help of my payment plan for human employees. Explain the challenges and benefits until each of you are sold on the idea.
The Handout
Passing out a card, brochure or one sheet is an effective tool for calls to action. A call to action should always be an unforgettable moment that the audience can take home with them. You can use cause and effect on your handouts to serve as a reminder of your presentation. This is a simple yet impactful way to help you audience share your message with the world.
I used to always get lost… because my GPS would never update. Now I always know where I’m going with ABC Company.
I have job security in the future… because I know how to invest my money in an XYZ plan. No matter how the job market changes with technology, I can use robotics to my advantage.
Use cause and effect to highlight the problems and solutions in your presentation storytelling. Try these three tips on how to create content that is persuasive and impactful with these examples. If you want more presentation tools, download our free Presentation Starter Kit for endless advice on creating compelling decks. For more presentation storytelling tricks and templates, check out these posts on the Ethos3 blog:
Presentation Trick: Persuade Your Audience
