38 Resonate
The Hero’s Journey begins when “a hero ventures
forth from the world of common day into a region of
supernatural wonder.”
7
Your presentation may not offer
“supernatural wonder,” but you are asking the audience
to leave their comfort zone and venture to a new place
that is closer to where you think they should be.
The beginning of the presentation form is everything
that comes before the first turning point, the call to
adventure. The first flat line of the form represents
the beginning of your presentation. This is where you
describe the audience’s ordinary world and set the
baseline of what is. You can use historical information
about what has been or the current state of what is,
which often includes the problem you’re currently facing.
You should deliver a concise formulation of what everyone
agrees is true. Accurately capturing the current reality and
sentiments of the audience’s world demonstrates that you
have experience and insights on their situation and that
you understand their perspective, context, and values.
Done effectively, this description of where your audi-
ence currently is will create a common bond between
you and them and will open them up to hear your
The Beginning and Call to Adventure
unique perspective more readily. Audiences are grateful
when their contribution, intelligence, and experience
are acknowledged.
Additionally, describing their existing world gives
you the opportunity to create a dramatic dichotomy
between what is and what could be. Proposing what
could be should throw the audience’s current reality
out of balance. Without first setting up what is, the
dramatic effect of your new idea will be lost.
The beginning doesn’t have to be long. It might be as
simple as a short statement or phrase that sets the
baseline of what is. While it can be longer, it should not
take up more than 10 percent of your total time. The
audience will be anxious to know why they came and
what you are proposing. So, although the beginning
is important, it shouldn’t be long-winded.
The first turning point to occur in a presentation is the
call to adventure, which triggers a significant shift in
the content. The call to adventure asks the audience
to jump into a situation that, unbeknownst to them,
requires their attention and action. This moment sets
the presentation in motion.
“A bad beginning makes a bad ending.”
Euripides
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What
could be
What is
The
gap
Lessons from Myths and Movies 39
To create the call to adventure, put forth a memorable
big idea that conveys what could be. This is the moment
when the audience will see the stark contrast between
what is and what could be for the first time—and it’s
crucial that the gap is clear.
What is: Analysts have been placing our products in the
top spot in three out of five categories. Our competitor
just shook up the industry with the launch of their T3xR.
It has been heralded as the most innovative product in
our space for the last four years. The predictions are
that firms like ours will have no future unless we license
the T3xR from our competitor.
Dramatic tension
is created by
contrasting the
commonplace
with the lofty.
The call to adventure in a presentation plays a role
similar to the inciting incident in a movie. Story author
Robert McKee says, “The inciting incident first throws
the protagonist’s life out of balance, then arouses in him
the desire to restore that balance.”
9
That imbalance is
what elicits the audience’s desire for a reality different
from the current one. Pose an intriguing insight that
your audience will want the presentation to address. It
should stir them up enough (positively or negatively) so
that they want to listen intently as you explain what is at
stake and what it takes to resolve the gap.
This turning point should be explicit, not muddled or
vague. The remainder of the presentation should be
about filling that gap and drawing the audience toward
your unique perspective of what could be.
What could be: But we will not concede! In fact, today
we will retain our lead! I’m pleased to tell you that five
years ago we had the same product idea as the T3xR.
But after rapid prototyping we discovered a way to
leapfrog that generation of technology. So today,
we’re launching a product so revolutionary that we’ll
gain a ten-year lead over our competitors. Ladies and
gentlemen, introducing the e-Widget. Isn’t it beautiful?
BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF A CALL TO ADVENTURE FOR A PRODUCT LAUNCH
“Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he
is the only animal that is struck with the difference
between what things are and what they ought to be.”
William Hazlitt
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