Your audience is bored: The antidote is to tell a story

We live in a society where technology is abundant. At the office, you couldn’t walk by a coworker’s desk without seeing their phone, tablet, and computer surrounding them, all with different notifications pulling their attention. In this digital age, how can you ensure that people are not distracted by their devices? When you present either virtually or in-person — whether in day-to-day meetings or formal presentations — it can be difficult to know what your audience thinks of you and if they’re paying attention. Luckily, there’s a tool you can use to engage and captivate your audiences: storytelling.

Naba Ahmed

Bridget Finkeldey

Naba is a marketer and virtual speaker who draws on her journalism experience to develop content for tech companies. Her dedication to creating compelling content led to her role as a Content Editor at Prezi, where she was the first hire on their Editorial team focused on supporting the business audience. Naba’s passion for storytelling stems from her roles in the newsroom and in content marketing which informs her keynotes about how incorporating stories and storytelling principles can be used to create stronger presentations. Naba has shared her keynote at nonprofit organizations and enterprise tech companies, including Cisco.

Meg Alexander

Bridget Finkeldey

Meg Alexander joined the PowerToFly community as a job-seeker in 2014, eventually landing her first remote role working for PowerToFly's Delivery Team. Her professional experience includes roles as a Talent Advocate, Head of Purchasing for a window factory, audiobook publishing, & more than 5 years as a paralegal. She has a bachelor's degree in Art History from Indiana University (mint condition, never been used!), where she also earned a varsity letter for Women's Rowing. She loves DIY projects and will never say no to french fries. She lives in Toledo, OH with her husband Aaron, an engineering technician, and their dogs, Radar & Cake.

In this talk, I’ll share how to apply storytelling as a powerful tool for engaging your audience through my experience in a newsroom paired with my experience in content marketing. Join me to learn how you get inspired to find a story that will work in your next meeting or presentation in order to stand out and impress your audience.

In this session, you’ll learn:

• The importance of storytelling How to format your presentation using a story’s structure
• Essential storytelling elements and common mistakes (and how to avoid them)
• How to apply storytelling principles beyond a presentation