How to Tell a Story in a Presentation

Have you ever listened to a speaker tell a story and wondered, “Where is this going?”

Woman telling a story to an attentive group of professionals in a training workshop

You hear about the trip, the hotel, the people in the room, and a conversation from the night before. Several minutes later, you’re still waiting to find out why any of it matters.

A story can make an idea easier to understand. But you have to choose the right story, include the details people need, and explain the lesson.

Choose the point before the story

Start by asking, “What do I want people to understand?”

Suppose you want a team to check a customer’s delivery address before sending a replacement order. A story about an order going to the wrong address could help people see why that check matters.

A funny story about a difficult customer might get a laugh and still leave the team unsure what to do differently.

Choose the story because it helps you teach the point. If you can’t explain the connection in one sentence, consider a different example.

Give the story five parts

In When You Have the Floor, I use Scene, Tension, Choice, Result, and Meaning to help shape a story.

The names describe five questions you need to answer:

Scene: Where are we, and who is involved?

Tension: What problem or risk matters?

Choice: What did someone decide or do?

Result: What happened afterward?

Meaning: Why does this matter to the people listening?

You don’t need a long story to answer those questions. You need enough detail for people to follow what happened.

Let people see the choice and what followed

Here’s an imagined example about a replacement order:

“A customer called because a package hadn’t arrived. The service representative arranged a replacement using the address already in the system. But the customer had moved. The replacement went to the old address too, and the customer had to call again. Checking the delivery address during the first call could have prevented the second problem.”

You know who was involved, what went wrong, what the representative did, and what happened next. You can also see why the address check matters.

In a training session, you could follow that example with the question, “What would you ask before sending the replacement?” Then let people answer and practice saying it.

Cut details that don’t help people understand

Does the audience need to know the customer’s age, the day of the week, or the brand of the package? Probably not for this lesson.

Does it need to know that the address came from the existing record? Yes. That explains the mistake.

When you practice, listen for details that delay the point. Keep what explains the problem, choice, or result. Remove what simply makes the story longer.

You can still sound natural. You’re helping people follow what happened without making them remember things they don’t need.

Tell the story accurately

If you’re describing something that happened, keep it true. Don’t add a bigger loss, a faster recovery, or a conversation you can’t remember just to make the story more dramatic.

If you create an example, introduce it as an example. If you combine situations, tell people you’ve done that. Don’t present it as one event that happened exactly as described.

Protect the people involved too. Leave out identifying details that aren’t needed, and get permission when someone could be recognized. A teaching point doesn’t require exposing a customer’s or colleague’s private information.

Explain what people should take from it

Don’t assume everyone will draw the same lesson.

After the replacement-order example, someone might conclude that employees should never trust customer records. That isn’t the point. The point is to confirm the address before sending another package.

Say the lesson clearly, then connect it to what people should do.

Try your story with someone before using it in a presentation. Ask, “What was the main point?” Listen before explaining anything else. If the person remembers the incident but misses the lesson, make the connection clearer.

For your next presentation, choose one idea that needs an example. Tell the story aloud, cut unnecessary details, and finish by explaining how people can use the lesson.

If you want help choosing and practicing stories for your presentations, private public speaking and presentation coaching can help you explain your ideas clearly while keeping your own voice.