The techniques you’ll be learning in these pages are a blend of new and old concepts from a broad array of disciplines.

When creating television public affairs programs, I had to wade through hours of archival and new film footage and reels of videotape, rifle through massive reports, sort through stacks of interviews, and boil it all down to a clear 28-minute-and-40-second program that would capture . . . and hold . . . the audience’s attention. I’ve netted these story-development methods into a simple set of techniques and forms for businesspeople like you. Most professional writers use these same techniques to tap into natural creative processes that every human being possesses.

In television, I worked in multimillion-dollar control rooms equipped with electronic character generators, vast color palettes, chroma key insertion, and computer-driven on-screen animation. Most of these capabilities are now readily available in Microsoft’s PowerPoint software, installed in over 250 million computers. Unfortunately, as anyone who has seen a recent business presentation can attest, most presenters apply these powerful functions with all the subtlety of an MTV video. Instead, they should be following Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s surgically appropriate advice: Less Is More. You’ll find a simple set of guidelines to help you apply Mies’ principle to create visual support for your presentations, to help you design your numeric and text charts so that, rather than overwhelm, confuse, and distract your audience, they enhance and clarify your persuasive message.

In television, I directed both film and video cameras and then spliced and arranged their output into a compelling story. In doing so, I employed the professional practices of cinematography and editing to tell a story and create an impact on the audience. I’ve translated these sophisticated methodologies into a simple set of continuity techniques . . . that you can readily implement with PowerPoint . . . to help you tell your story.

I’ve also drawn many of my communication and persuasion techniques from classical sources, such as the writings of Aristotle. (Please don’t let the word “classical” intimidate you. A wise person once defined a classic simply as something that endures because it works. You’ll rediscover the truth of that definition in these pages.) In ancient times, rhetoric was considered the greatest of the liberal arts; what the philosophers of old called rhetoric is, in fact, what we refer to today as great storytelling. As you read, you’ll come to see the relevance of Aristotle’s concepts to all the types of stories you need to tell in business . . . storytelling that will persuade your audience to respond to your call to action.

Other methods are based on established knowledge, as well as recent discoveries about the human mind. These scientific findings that detail how all brains and eyes absorb information relate directly to how every audience reacts to any data input.

This combination of traditional and advanced techniques for communication and persuasion will provide what I’m confident you’ll find to be a unique and effective system that will help you present to win.

You’ll notice that I give frequent and significant emphasis to the word “story,” which is intentional. In this book, as in my programs and seminars, the focus is first and foremost on helping you define the elements of your story and the story of your business. The traditional presentation skills . . . body language, gestures, voice production, eye contact, and answering questions from the audience . . . are also important. They are so important that I’ve covered those subjects in detail in two separate books: The Power Presenter, which shows you how to develop your delivery skills, and In the Line of Fire, which shows you how to handle tough questions. But in this book, the main focus is on defining your story.

Many clients, when first meeting me, say, “Oh, I don’t need any help with my story. Just show me what to do with my hands while I speak. And just show me how to keep myself from saying ‘Ummm.’” I tell them that I will address those factors, but only after we’ve organized their story. There are two very good reasons for this.

First, there are no quick fixes; it takes a considerable amount of time and effort to develop a natural delivery style, unique and yet comfortable to each and every person. (You will, however, find a checklist for the physical presentation environment in Appendix A, “Tools of the Trade.”)

Second, and more important, getting your story straight is the critical factor in making your presentation powerful. In fact, when your story is right, it serves as a foundation for your delivery skills. The reverse is never true. You may be the most polished speaker on Earth, but if your story isn’t sharply focused, your message will fail.

Let me share an illustrative anecdote:

In 1991, I got a phone call from the public relations people at Microsoft, regular clients of mine. “We have a young executive here named Jeff Raikes,” they explained. “He’s scheduled to make a presentation about a new product of ours, and we wonder if you could help him prepare. It’s called Windows for Pen Computers, the newest member of the Windows family of products.”

“Fine,” I replied, “Let’s book a three-day program for Jeff.”

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line. “Well, we’re very pressed for time. Jeff has only one day. But it’s really important that his delivery skills get polished. He’s very smart and knows his stuff, but he just isn’t comfortable. Can you make a difference in one day’s time?”

“I’ll try,” I said.

What happened next is revealing. As requested, I spent one day with Jeff. But we had no time to work on Jeff’s voice or body language. Instead, we used our time to develop a cohesive focus of Windows for Pen Computing: about what this remarkable new software product was designed to do, about the markets Microsoft hoped to serve with it, the history behind its development, the benefits it offered computer users. In short, we created the story Jeff had to tell.

I helped Jeff make some decisions about his story: which elements were most relevant and compelling to his audience; which technical details were necessary; and, equally important, which ones were superfluous. Then I helped Jeff organize his presentation so that the key ideas would flow naturally from beginning to end. By the end of the day, we’d worked through the entire story. Jeff was not only in command of the material, but also comfortable about delivering it.

The results? Jeff’s presentation went over phenomenally well. Afterward, the public relations people at Microsoft, who knew I’d coached Jeff, praised me for the job I’d done on his delivery skills, though in fact we’d never discussed those at all. Simply getting the story right helped to transform a hesitant and uncertain speaker into a dynamic and confident one. Jeff Raikes went on to rise through the ranks to become the president of Microsoft’s Business Division and one of the company’s most prominent and effective spokesmen. After 27 years, Jeff left to head the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates’ charitable organization. One of Jeff’s last projects at Microsoft was the Tablet PC, the evolved 21st-century version of the technology that began as Windows for Pen Computing.

The lesson: All the vocal dynamics and animated body language in the world can’t improve a confusing story, while a clear and concise story can give a presenter the clarity of mind to present with poise.