Brain-Friendly Storytelling -- MCBW 2021

When you present, you leave money on the table. And you are completely unaware of this.

Why?

The purpose of every presentation is to sell an idea. No leader can be successful without the skill of influencing others. No sales person can survive without the skill of winning deals. Not even a technical presentation can reach its full potential without nudging the client towards accepting the solution being explained. In other words, the purpose of presentations is to drive decisions.

How do most speakers TRY to do this?

By crafting a logically sound argument. And therein lies the problem. Neuroscience has shown that decisions are made first on the instinctive, then on the emotional and only finally on the logical level. However, when designing a presentation, we typically focus only on talking to the logical mind because we are unaware of what is happening on the other two, deeper levels.

But, how a presentation speaks to your audience on the instinctive and emotional levels will determine their logical reactions and decisions. As Joseph LeDoux, an NYU neuroscientist puts it, “…consciousness is a small part of what the brain does, and it’s a slave to everything that works beneath it."

This is why aiming your presentation solely at the logical mind will render it much less successful. This is why you are leaving money on the table. This is why you are missing out on leadership opportunities.

What is the solution?

It is to design your presentations by intentionally and strategically speaking to the instinctive, emotional and logical minds of your audience.

Is this difficult to do?

Not at all. There are specific research-based ways to do it. We can all structure and formulate our communication and presentations in a way to which the instinctive, emotional and logical minds react positively.

So why don’t we all present like this?

Because most presentation skills trainers in the world don’t know how to present in a brain-friendly way and therefore they teach the much less effective “old school” approaches. Very few trainers can teach you how to present based on how the brain functions.

The other reason is that “old school presentations” are still widespread, despite being much less effective, and thus they feel to be the norm and thus they also appear to be “intuitive" because what we see around us is what feels “normal”.

Why does Ákos Gerold know about brain-friendly presenting?

Seven years ago, by accident, he started understanding that the way he and most people presented at the time, and the way most people present to this very day, violates how the brain functions. This prompted Ákos to start studying how we make decisions, how the brain works and how to present in a brain-friendly way. Since then, every individual and company that has done his training has started seeing presentations with different eyes.

What will you learn in the Brain-Friendly Storytelling workshop?

The Brain-Friendly Storytelling workshop will give you the essential understanding you need to structure your presentations so that your audience is more likely to take the action you wish them to. You will be able to do this by learning how to

• speak to your audience’s instinctive, emotional and logical minds
• structure your presentations based on how the human mind works
• link the building blocks of your presentations based on how the mind functions
• grab your audience’s attention at the very beginning of your presentations
• increase the chances of your audience taking the action you wish them to as a result of your presentation

This workshop is aimed at leaders, managers and everyone who needs to drive decisions with presentations. It is not meant for people who do not have decision making power over the narrative and the contents of a presentation.

The Brain-Friendly Storytelling workshop

Length: 6 contact hours plus 1 hour for lunch; short breaks during the training are included.

Delivered: Online via Zoom.

Tailoring: To adjust the content to your needs as much as the time frame allows it, Ákos will have a 30-minute individual online call with you if you choose to. You can indicate your interest in the short chat during the registration process.

Certificate: You will receive an electronic certificate upon completion of the training.

Bonus: If you register for both this and the Brain-Friendly Slides workshop, you will receive a one-hour free consultancy session with Ákos Gerold (€195 in value)(scheduling is subject to availability).