Substance over style? Not necessarily. In communication, if “Samantha” doesn’t get your message because it’s addressed to “Sam.”, the message content becomes secondary, doesn’t it? Reaching the right recipient is what communication is all about – its etymology coming from the Latin verb “to share” – and one of the oldest and most reliable messaging services available is the story. Whether we know it, or not, we are constantly telling each other stories to entertain and connect (i.e. gossiping), to warn of danger, or to applaud heroic deeds. Yet, there is nothing amateur about storytelling in today’s hyperactive professional environment. Before you step in front of the board, you better have your story straight. So, what might excellent professional storytelling look like? Homer is considered an impressive pro storyteller. We tend to imagine him seated at a campfire, the night sky inviting the audiences’ imaginations to create their own visual accompaniments to his story. But in professional life, rather than a campfire, we are expected to use presentation software like PowerPoint to elucidate and reinforce every aspect of our story. So, on top of telling an epic story through excellent public speaking, we have to create a powerful presentation to take the audience on an unforgettable multimedia journey. “But I’m an orchestral conductor, not a graphic designer, filmmaker or computer scientist!” you might be saying to yourself. Today, as specialists, we are also professional storytellers, believes Garr Reynolds, one of the world’s most sought-after presentation gurus, and multimedia presentation software gives us the keys to take our audience on a trip to new worlds. Garr joins our show to tell us an inspiring story about humans reaching each other.
Vienna Live with Simeon Morrow - Weekly interactive Show 