Nancy Duarte's Blog, page 23

A Day In the Life of a Mighty Killer

If you have an Instagram account, chances are you’ve seen a photo or two from these guys.

We recently had the pleasure of collaborating with the Mighty Killers, to create our first Duarte One-Shot. This is the first installment of a new series in which we focus our lens on artists in the creative community — diving into who they are, what they do, and why we love their story.

Marvin King, Nikk La, Sam Graves, Salt Nuon and Moe Tang.

These are the magicians behind this incredible collective of photographers. They all come from different backgrounds and experiences, but their passion for art, fashion, design, and photography have brought them together to establish one of this year’s fastest growing Instagram accounts.

Mighty Killers have worked with several brands, gathered thousands of followers, and created the hashtag #MKEXPLORE to inspire others in their search for the perfect shot.  This collective has traveled the globe — from solo explorations in the depths of Chongqing, China to group meet-ups in the Pacific Northwest — sharing the journey with the world through a series of epic photos.

During our day with the Mighty Killers — and I mean a full day, sunrise to sunset — we got an inside look into how they come together for a photography shoot. Our team of Duartians worked with Marvin, Nikk, Sam, Salt, and Moe to find that perfect shot.

Our crews started off in different parts of the Bay Area, coordinating over text and Instagram to gather photography gear, scout locations, and invite other aspiring photographers to join us — after paying our dues in San Francisco traffic, of course.

Collaborating with these guys was an inspiration. They came together to share their passion for photography and, through the use of social media, inspired a legion of followers to capture and share their own “it” moments. They’ve inspired us, both online and in person, to pursue our own passions — and invite others along for the ride.

Enjoy our first Duarte One-Shot and see what it takes to be a Mighty Killer.

Duarte.com/edy Episode 10: Make Your Audience the Hero

A long time ago in a cubicle far, far away…

Equipped with some new presentation technology, Bob is now a “Force” to be reckoned with, and he decides to find out what it means to be a hero. (Luckily, Finn comes along and keeps him from the “dark side” of the path.)

For regular updates from Bob and Finn, visit them at their home on the web www.duarte.com/edy or follow them @BobandFinn on Twitter and @duarte.comedy on Instagram. Write them. They might just write you back!

May The Farce Be With You!

Like Yoda You Must Be

Despite being famously grammar-challenged, Master Yoda has a thing or two to teach us about being a powerful presenter. No, it’s not sharing profound thoughts like: “Always in motion is the future….” (You don’t say!) Yoda’s secret is his role as a mentor.

As a mentor, he has vast knowledge – after all he has trained Jedi knights for 800 years – but he’s not constantly spouting off about his own achievements or skills. Despite being the expert, his focus is not on himself but on helping young Luke Skywalker to become a better hero. These roles of hero and mentor are ancient archetypes that occur in almost every story across millennia and speak to us on a deep level. The hero is the central figure who performs the heroic deeds that drive the story. The mentor plays an important but secondary role as trusted advisor and guide.

Become the Mentor

After evaluating hundreds of presentations, the most common mistake I see is presenters who are self-absorbed and self-promoting in their content. They (understandably) assume they’re the star of the show since they’re in the spotlight.

Let’s clear something up: you, as the presenter or speaker, are not the most important guy/girl in the room. Just because you’re on a stage or in front of a crowd does not make you the savior everyone has been waiting for. (This applies whether you are addressing a conference of ten thousand or holding a team meeting with three people.) Recognize that you are Yoda, not Luke. The most important people in the room are your audience: make them the heroes of your story. Defer to them, because if they don’t engage and believe in your message, you are the one who loses. Without their help, your idea will fail. Become the mentor in their story and whisper guidance in their ear, empowering them to be the agents of change and achieve greatness.

Change Your Perspective

Me. Me. Me. This is what most presentations tend to be about. Somewhere in the front of the slide deck is the dreaded “About Us” slide that typically lists company info, history, and accomplishments. Sure, it is important that the audience knows something about you and your company, but there are other ways to communicate this information, like in a handout.

Sales people know that customers only care about product features when they are directly linked to clear and compelling benefits. The same is true for presentations, so focus the conversation on the audience. Acknowledge the struggles they are facing and make the solution about them. Become audience-centric and focus on your listeners to resonate at their frequency instead of yours. Remember that your audience is all you’ve got. They are the ones who have to go out and put your ideas into practice. Embody the servant leader model and empower your champions to go higher by standing on your shoulders.

Give a Magical Gift

Mentors often give heroes a magical or valuable gift, usually a tool, talisman, or weapon to help them on their quest. Think of ways to deliberately enrich your audience in some meaningful way. The best mentors’ gifts have a special significance to the hero, so make it something useful, preferably out-of the-ordinary and memorable. Perhaps you can offer genuinely helpful charts, checklists, sample budgets, industry stats and benchmarks, plans, white papers, diagrams, a PDF of a chapter in your book or a good app. Is there a physical gift you can give, that’s not the obvious logo-on-a-mug? What about offering a unique experience, a special tour of a restricted facility, meeting an industry celebrity, or a test drive of a cool new product no one else has seen? Be intentional about giving your audience something of tangible value to them. Make sure they don’t go away empty-handed but have a gift from you, their mentor, when they leave.

Teach a Special Skill

Mentors, by definition, have specialized expertise which they unselfishly share. They were once heroes themselves and have learned hard-won lessons while on their own quests. As a presenter, don’t just stay in the realm of theory or generalities but share your personal trials and victories in a way your audience can learn from. Try to impart a new skill to your heroes and show them how to put it to use. Give practical examples of how your solutions can be applied or share innovative techniques being used in the field. This new ability enables them to reach their (and your) objective. As the mentor, you have much to offer in the name of helping your hero achieve great feats.

Help the Hero Get Unstuck

Heroes can sometimes get discouraged, lose their way, or run into obstacles. As a Mentor, your wisdom can help them see past the “slimy mud hole” they’re in. Perhaps your audience is trapped by an inefficient process and you can reveal the escape hatch through your presentation. Or the management team is losing momentum, and you can kick-start them again with a creative idea. Sometimes all it takes is a kind word of encouragement to get your heroes back on the right path.

Expand Their View of the World and Themselves

Like all good mentors, Yoda expands Luke’s horizons by helping him to make sense of the world and discover his destiny. As a presenter, you can remind your audience of the bigger picture that often gets lost in the day-to-day grind of operational details. Inspire them to look deeper, find their calling, and make a meaningful contribution to the world as heroes.

When you step up to give your presentation, you might be the most knowledgeable person in the room, but will you wield that knowledge with wisdom and humility? Presentations are not to be viewed as an opportunity to prove how brilliant you are. Instead, the audience should leave saying, “Wow, it was a real gift to spend time in that presentation with (insert your name here). I’m now armed with insights and tools to help me succeed.” People will receive your message and be transformed by it — and you won’t even need the Force.Master Yoda would be proud.

Tough Crowd? 5 Ways to Stay Calm, Cool, and Collected

I love it when a new season of Downton Abbey makes its way across the Atlantic every January. But during the torturous months of waiting to see what happens next, I distract myself with a different British program: British Prime Minister’s Question Time. During the weekly session, the British Prime Minister stands in front of the entire House of Commons and answers questions from any Member of Parliament who wants to raise an issue.

What makes this great television is watching the Prime Minister wrangle a hostile audience. Many of the questions oppose the Prime Minister’s positions and aim to undermine his credibility. He has to find ways to outmaneuver opponents and take advantage of this public forum to strengthen the case for his policies.

What goes on during Question Time is an extreme example of a common problem. Every day, presenters deal with hostile audiences in an infinite number of places: a manager announcing a new Human Resources policy, a CEO addressing customer complaints, or a politician explaining how she voted. All these scenarios pose the same challenge: How do you win the hearts and minds of a hostile crowd?

A few tips can make a big difference:

Set clear, realistic goals. Presentations can change the world, but they can’t do magic. When talking to a crowd with a different set of values or beliefs, no presenter is likely to convert them to their worldview in one meeting. But they can begin the process of changing their minds on specific issues or, at least, creating a common understanding about what drives your differences. Setting clear goals for your presentation will help you decide if they’re achievable and figure out what you need to do to get there.


Anticipate resistance. The best presenters realize that their success depends on the audience they’re addressing and adjust their content accordingly. This strategy is even more important when you’re dealing with a hostile group of people, so you need to understand what motivates their resistance and anticipate their objections. Spend some time thinking about what your audience cares about and why they feel the way they do. You can use this insight to craft an appeal for your idea that speaks to their concerns. Consider asking some friends or co-workers to play the role of the audience during a test run of the presentation so you can practice handling the hot button issues before you’re in the hot seat.


Find some common ground. I’ve never met anyone with whom I had absolutely nothing in common. Sure, sometimes the overlap is small and a little vague – there’s a reason most pageant contestants settle on “world peace” as an answer that appeals to everyone – but it’s usually enough to start a conversation. By speaking to shared experiences or appealing to a common value set, you can create a linkage with your audience that makes you more relatable and may even make your ideas seem more familiar. That’s an important first step to overcoming any difference.


Be honest. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not. One of the quickest ways to lose an audience is to be fake. Audiences seek authenticity; they want to hear what you really think and understand why you think that way. Many times, what they really crave is to hear you address their concerns directly. In these situations, it’s often best to speak openly about your differences and tackle their complaints head-on. Even if you can’t change their minds in the short-term, your honesty is likely to establish a better rapport that could help you convince them in the long-term.


Stay calm. Have you ever seen a stand-up comedian confronted by a heckler? Most comedians struggle to deal with hostile audiences, and their reactions often become legendary. Don’t let a hostile audience turn you into a hostile speaker. Even if you’re asked provoking questions, stay cool and answer the questions to the best of your ability. If you manage to keep calm even under tough circumstances, the audience will walk away respecting you more than those who couldn’t do the same.

No matter how well you present your ideas, it’s tough to convert people who are strongly committed to their own beliefs and values. That’s why it’s so important to set a realistic goal so you can take the first step toward achieving it. The British Prime Minister likely won’t convert any MPs to the other side of the aisle, but he may pick up a few votes for his initiative or boost his public approval – and sometimes that’s exactly the kind of success you need.

Graphic Credit: Andrew Galu, Duarte, Inc. 2014

The 4 Hallmarks of a Good Editor

Getting feedback is one of the most important steps in my creative process. As I’ve described in my books, one of my favorite ways to get feedback is to post my presentations and slidedocs on a wall and let a group of people I trust spend time critiquing them. Seeing the entire thing at once makes it easier for people to see the structure of the piece and offer advice on how I can sharpen my points and strengthen my metaphors.

But as important as it is to get multiple perspectives and ideas early in the process, when it comes to refining and polishing, it’s hard to replace a good editor. While everybody is capable of giving good feedback, a good editor does so much more. Good editors give you the freedom to fail fast by picking up on your train of thought and doing their best to clarify it and build a logical argument.

For example, when I create drafts—of presentations or blog posts or chapters of a book—I try to get them done as quickly as humanly possible. Then, I ship off what I’ve created to a trusted editor for feedback. Having an editor gives me the freedom to explore new ideas without consequences because I know they will bring out the essence of my idea and make it stronger. A good editor knows when to coddle an idea, when to convince you to murder your darlings, and how to explain what the piece needs and what it will take to get it there. In short, a good editor knows what you need even before you realize it yourself.

Don’t get me wrong—the process can be painful. Whether it’s a full-length book or an itty-bitty blog post, it’s difficult to create. And once you’ve exerted a certain amount of energy into something, you want to be done. Accepting feedback is hard­­. Especially when it’s good feedback that forces you to look at the heart of the issue and possibly make fundamental changes that require a lot of work. At the time, it can feel like more of a burden than it’s worth. But trust the process. I’ve seen it pay off, both in my own work and the work of others.

Finding a good editor can be tough. Not only do they need to be a strategic thinker, but you also have to be able to trust them with your work. Some of the best editors are writers themselves, but that’s not always the case.

Here are some tips for finding the type of editor that makes your work better.

1. A good editor asks questions that get you closer to your idea, not theirs. It’s tempting for an editor to take a creator’s idea and make it his or her own, but that’s not the editor’s job. The editor’s job is to lead his or her subjects to better versions of their own ideas. That means asking the right questions and helping to clarify ideas. It may not be the most glamorous of roles, but it’s the most helpful.

2. A good editor knows when to let you struggle and when to take the reins. Some people learn by being told what to do. Others need to struggle through a problem before the lesson sinks in. A good editor can sense how their mentees need to learn and responds accordingly. It can be hard to figure out whether your editor is sensing the right path for you because the right path isn’t necessarily the easy path. Learning can be a tough process. But if you feel like your editor is stretching you as a creator rather than just helping you knock out your work, you probably have someone worth holding onto.

3. A good editor teaches you along the way. There’s nothing worse than getting one of your drafts back only to find out that it’s been completely rewritten. Not only is this demoralizing, it doesn’t teach you anything. A good editor will put in the extra effort to explain why he or she made the changes they made. That way, not only do you end up with a better draft, you learn something that will help you make your next draft better, too.

4. A good editor won’t inflate your ego, tell you everything is fine, or defer to your expertise. Executives need to be edited, too. Sometimes it’s hard to find an editor that’s willing to tell their boss the honest truth—or find a boss that’s willing to accept it. But being open to constructive feedback from a good editor is necessary if you want to continue to grow. Again, it’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

A good editor is worth their weight in gold, but they shouldn’t be used a replacement for group feedback, they should act as a funnel for it. For example, we recently hosted a presentation event at the shop. We had several review rounds where the entire team of 25 people were involved in giving live feedback, but when it came to implementing and sifting through that advice, the speakers stuck with one editor. Both advice channels served a purpose, and the result was a fantastic event made even better by the brainpower of the entire team—through the lens of a fantastic editor.

Next time you reach out for feedback, try to remember these guidelines. But ultimately there’s just one rule: Find a person who not only makes your work better, but also makes you better.

Just Breathe: Wellness Fest 2015

The Wellness Committee at Duarte is comprised of a variety of different roles from Designers and Project Managers to a Recruiter and HR. We were formed out of common love for health, wellness, work/life balance, and all things good for you. We are passionate about our company, our coworkers, and creating opportunities for them to be the best versions of themselves they can be.

This year, our goal for the Second Annual Wellness Festival was to provide an event where our employees, the companies, and the community around us could meet with local businesses, ask questions, find new places, services, and healthy foods to try, and find ways to strive toward a better work/life balance. Of course, we wanted them to have a boatload of fun doing it, too!

So the Wellness Committee crammed into a meeting space together with our laptops and bottles of water (hydration is important) and noodled around as many ideas for wellness related fun as we could. What we ended up with was a bigger and better version of our first festival. We added more AMAZING vendors and activities, including:

a giant semi-truck with a mobile spin class set up in front of our building,
a demo class and exercises from the local UFC Gym (they don’t just have fight classes, y’know!)
Brother’s Gow Chow food truck handing out high fives and whipping up delicious Mediterranean food,
trash cans turned into red Solo Cups for a giant sized “beer” pong game,
BINGO game that encouraged employees to complete a variety of physical and social activities as well as visit various vendors,
raffle that auctioned off forty (that’s right, forty) prizes donated from all our vendors to benefit some local charities
huge inflatable bungee run for attendees to race

Phew! Who knew there could be so many healthy funtivities in one place? I think this video captures the spirit of the event perfectly!

The Festival was a blast and seeing our coworkers, vendors, and some neighbors come together to try new things, get a chance to network, and really just enjoy the day made all the hard work worth it. The committee took a lot of pride in generating ways to engage Duarte’s employees in a healthy lifestyle and we can’t wait to keep rolling out more initiatives and hosting more events to make that happen.

Be well, my friends!

SF Design Week at Duarte!

In our front lobby, there’s a glass wall with titles etched into it. Words like designers, writers, creators, inventors, poets, makers, etc.

This is just a sample of the talent that lives in our shop.

As an Art Director here at Duarte, I’m lucky enough to work with all these incredible people on a daily basis. And on Tuesday, we opened up our shop to others in the creative community as part of SF Design Week (check out #sfdw2015 on Twitter for a behind-the-scenes look at the whole week!).

It was an incredible turnout. For this event, our guests were greeted with beverages and guided through the shop on an informative tour. During the tour, they explored our creative process in a walk-through exhibit, and visited a gallery of our own created and curated artwork.

The group ended in our Town Hall for a quick peek at what we do best—presentations.

Nancy Duarte, our CEO and co-founder, started off the talk with our origin story. She and her husband Mark Duarte started out as a husband/wife freelance team. Over the last 25-plus years, that team evolved into one of the leading agencies in the world, focusing on visual storytelling. Ryan Orcutt, our Associate Creative Director, then took the stage for the final part of the keynote and told the audience about his journey as a designer and how the presentation landscape defined him.

Ryan said that through his experiences at Duarte, doors opened for him that he never imagined were possible. By being at Duarte, he had a seat at the table with CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, created visuals for a live stage event for an audience of thousands, and helped raise awareness for climate change with a former United States Vice President .

He said these experiences shaped him as a person as well as showed the influence presentation design has. Not just at Duarte, but also as a larger creative community. It also showed him what it took to be a successful member of this community.

“Knowledge of PowerPoint isn’t important. What’s important is that you’re a problem solver. A learner. A thinker. A tinkerer. That’s what makes you a great presentation designer. That’s what makes you a great storyteller.” – Ryan Orcutt, Associate Creative Director

It was invigorating to walk these guests through our halls for SF Design Week, talk to others about why presentations matter and how they have the power to shape the world through visual storytelling.

Everyone from professors in design, creative directors at other agencies, writers, aspiring designers, app developers to photographers like Sam Graves (@thesamgraves) and Salt Nuon (@shotbysalt) of the Mighty Killers came by to visit. Not only did they stay after the talk, but there also might’ve been a fierce ping-pong competition to cap it off.

And if these remarks from one UC Davis Design Graduate are any indication of the overall sentiment felt during the event, then we definitely conveyed how much our clients, our work, and this medium means to us.

“The amount of work and precision that goes into each project is something that I cannot properly describe. The best way I can characterize it is simply that Duarte cares. It is an aspect that resonates with me on a personal level. I want to spark that fire in someone to do something great, to inspire someone to achieve new heights, and to give back to the community.” – Christopher Kaufman, Design Graduate at UC Davis

So, in the end, we are everything that’s etched into our glass wall—designers, writers, creators, inventors, poets, and makers, among other things. But we’re also excited to grow that list and expand our family of creatives even further. Even if that means we have to get another glass wall.

Photo Credits: Sam Graves of the Mighty Killers

Are You Brave Enough to be Vulnerable?

Sharing a story about yourself makes you vulnerable. Since stories are about transformation, telling a personal story requires you reveal a flaw, error, or a roadblock that was a difficult to overcome. Professionals are nervous to reveal their struggles at their place of work for fear it will open them up to judgment or criticism.

Many of the clients who come into my shop shy away from using personal stories to illustrate their points, even though it’s one of the most powerful tools a presenter can use. They’ll say things like, “I don’t want the presentation to be all about me,” “I don’t have any good stories,” or, “I can’t reveal too much about myself.” The truth is they just don’t want to be vulnerable. But it’s worth the risk. People are drawn to the transformative power of vulnerability because it’s rare to see influential people share something from their personal lives, especially something that they struggled with, but also because these stories draw people closer to you — and to your message.

It feels natural to tell stories around the dinner table with friends but somehow our ability to be vulnerable declines in professional settings. So, how do you successfully tell a transformational story about yourself? Use a simple three-act structure. First, you have to establish yourself as likeable so your listeners will root for you. Then, explain how you encountered a problem (at first you resisted, but eventually you accepted the challenge). Then, you conclude by making it self-evident how you changed or transformed in the process. (See the full Hero’s Journey.)

This may seem like a pretty easy formula to follow, but a lot of people have trouble with it. Not only is telling a good story a skill that some have spent a lifetime trying to perfect, but, again, telling a good story means that the main character (in this case, that’s you) must change somehow, which means there must be something worth changing. Translation: You have to be wrong, knocked down, or otherwise at a disadvantage. This isn’t a flattering light to start from, and many people end up cutting this part for fear of damaging their reputation. But it’s the low points of a story that make the high points seem so high, not only by themselves, but by comparison. And like seeing a movie that you know is based on a true story, there’s something even more powerful about hearing highs and the lows straight from the people themselves.

For example, take this TED Talk from ER physician Brian Goldman.

In this talk, Goldman makes the argument that doctors are human and that it’s only by admitting their mistakes that the medical profession will be able to build safeguards that will protect patients. To illustrate his point, Goldman does the unthinkable: He admits to two errors, one that ended up costing a woman her life and one that almost cost a young man his. It would have been very easy for Goldman make his point using stories that he’s overheard or studied. But would his story have been as powerful? Not even close. By telling the story the way he did, Goldman draws attention to his point, but also causes the audience to take a closer look at their own mistakes and the mistakes of others.

So, in your next presentation, when you’re tempted to skip over something that makes you uncomfortable or something that may not show you in the best light, think about why you’re avoiding it. Then, ask yourself, “Is there a message in what I learned that will make my presentation better? And am I brave enough to use it to my advantage?”

Duarte Workshops Are Coming to London

Duarte is excited to announce that we’ll be hosting our first international workshops in London!

We’ll be conducting two consecutive sessions of our 1Day VisualStory workshop:

Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 16 – at the beautiful Hoxton Shoreditch Hotel in East London.

If you live in or near London, and have been unable to take the time or budget to travel to the U.S., this is your chance. Or perhaps you just want an excuse to take a trip to London…

No matter where you live, we’d love to see you there. Join us, and spend the day learning to design presentations that will change your world.

Workshop: 1Day VisualStory

This one-day workshop delivers insights into the basics of story content from Resonate and visual design principles from Slide:ology. Learn to create content that connects with an audience, and how to display information beautifully and meaningfully.

Dates: Wednesday, May 15 or Thursday, May 16

Time: 9:00 – 17:00

Location: Hoxton Shoreditch Hotel

81 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU

If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Vogan at avogan@duarte.com

Hope you can join us!

Best Tool for Building a New Space: Google SketchUp

As a designer, some of the most challenging clients are the ones with a design background—they catch everything. So it was with great empathy that I jumped in to help the wonderful architects who had been asked to visualize our new office for two of perhaps the most challenging clients of all—our CEO, Nancy Duarte, and our Creative Director, Diandra Macias.

To give some perspective, designers like Nancy and Diandra are very visual people. You can describe what something will look like, and show all the fancy engineering drawings you want, but until they see the finished piece with their own eyes, it’s meaningless.

So how do you truly show them what the finished project will look like even before it’s built?

My tool of choice for projects like this is Google SketchUp. It’s easy to use and helps communicate the feel of a proposed space better than anything, short of walking through the real thing.

Fortunately, our architect had been working in SketchUp, and in an exquisite act of trust toward a complete stranger, she sent me her file. (And I’m sure she regretted the decision more than once during the process.)

The entire floor plan in SketchUp.

As soon as I had the file, Nancy came over to my desk to check it out. I manned the model while she did a bit of back-seat driving. Within about five minutes, we noticed that not only was the space designed to account for nearly zero headcount growth, but that there were also a whole lot of opportunities around the new facility for us to execute some beautiful installation art. It was like dodging a bullet and finding a pot of gold at the same time – all thanks to our virtual walkthrough.

Over the next couple of weeks, the 3D model became instrumental in getting people throughout the company engaged and invested in the hundreds of decisions needed to design our new place. We had department heads provide feedback and signoff on how their teams’ spaces were laid out, we had the chance to see how different color choices flowed through the space, we had an epic late-night brainstorm to solve all the opportunities for installation art, and we conducted a company-wide virtual tour of the new space to open-source anything we might have missed.

The evidence of a five-hour brainstorm. We voted for our favorite stuff with orange stickers.

So how’d it turn out? We’re finally in the new facility and it looks amazing! It feels like a spaceship.

Of course there were some frustrations on both sides and few things needed to be redone along the way, as would be expected in a project of this scale – but we were able to avoid most of the design-related disasters. And because we had so much buy-in during the process from employees throughout the organization, there has been minimal grumbling about the decisions that were made.

So we at Duarte would like to extend an extra special thanks to Google for putting a powerful 3D modeling tool into a package even a layman can use. Hats off.

Check out some photos of our new space along with their SketchUp siblings here:

The main hallway, looking left from the entrance.

The kitchen that's so big you can ride your bike in it. (And Jack, riding his bike in it.)

The entry hallway, and the edge of the bathroom core.

The hallway from the kitchen.