Rob Biesenbach's Blog, page 4

How to Use Stories in a Presentation: 6 Tips

The worst presenter I ever saw did everything wrong, from not understanding his audience to lecturing instead of engaging us to turning the session into one long sales pitch.

Worst of all, his talk was nothing but data — endless columns of it, packed onto dense, ugly slides. There was no narrative holding his points together and, in fact, no stories of any kind.

Stories are the centerpiece of any successful presentation. You should begin with story, end with story, and have stories in the mid...

What to Wear for a Presentation: 10 Tips

There are endless sources of information on what to wear for a presentation, but it’s a question I’m often asked. And it’s getting more complicated all the time as the workplace becomes more and more casual.

Like it or not, audiences are making all kinds of conscious and unconscious judgments about you before you even utter your first word. They’re looking for clues about whether you’re worth their attention, and most of those clues come from your appearance — your posture, your gait, your ha...

Are the Communications Rules Different for Women?

It’s one of the most common questions I’m asked during my talks: are the rules different for women when it comes to communication?

My answer is no. AND yes. It’s complicated, so I’ll explain.

But first, a story.

A Lesson from a Favorite Teacher

Among the many classes I took at Second City’s training center was a course in screenwriting. It was taught by an amazing woman named Mary Scruggs who, sadly, left the world way too early.

Mary was an award-winning playwright and worked for a time in L...

Yes, Male Presenters, You Need That Microphone

It happened again yesterday. At an industry luncheon I was attending, a male presenter — and it’s almost always a man — declined to use the provided microphone.

I see this a LOT, and it’s ridiculous. If you ever wonder whether you need to use a microphone, the answer is YES.

That is why the microphone is there. So you can be heard.

It’s a Guy Thing, and I Don’t Understand

Yet time and again I see men refusing to use the microphone. I’m sure some believe their voices are plenty loud enough, bu...

5 More Fatal Mistakes Storytellers Make

Last year I outlined 10 fatal storytelling mistakes — common ways we undermine the power of our stories — and now I’m back with five more. They all center around one big theme: simplicity, simplicity, simplicity. Storytelling does not have to be that difficult.

But we tend to make it hard on ourselves. Here are some common obstacles we put in our own way, and how to overcome them.

1. We Make it Too Complicated

Look online and you’ll find no shortage of storytelling methodologies — a 10-part p...

Emma Gonzalez and the Profound Power of Silence in a Speech

Wherever you stand on the issue of guns, it’s hard to deny the power of Emma Gonzalez’s short speech at the “March for Our Lives” rally last weekend.

As many have remarked, it wasn’t just the things she said, but the long, dark empty space she left between the words.

And with nothing but the greatest respect for the solemnity of the occasion, her discipline in maintaining that silence points to an important issue that many everyday presenters (most of them many years her senior) struggle with...

Why Stories are the Key to Persuasion

What can an elephant teach us about the art of persuasion? Plenty.

Emotion is the six-ton beast stomping all over our desire for logical, rational thought. And that’s why stories are such an effective tool for influencing and persuading others.

What’s Emotion Got to Do With It?

We are not creatures of reason. Deep down, we make decisions based on emotion. Abundant research points to the role emotion plays in driving decision-making — sometimes to our detriment.

Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio ...

50+ Storytelling Tips to Fuel Your Success

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Want to learn how to use stories to win hearts, change minds and get the results you want from your business, your career and your life? Here are more than 50 of the most important storytelling tips from my new book, Unleash the Power of Storytelling.

These are compiled from a long series of tweets over five weeks surrounding the book launch. You can check them out in their original form here and here (I learned that Twitter threads have a 50-tweet limit!), or keep reading. I’ve put th...

Got 3 Hours? Become a Better Storyteller

The audiobook version of Unleash the Power of Storytelling is now on sale!

Learn how to use stories to advance your career, build your business and improve your life — all while driving or working out or shopping.

Look for it at your favorite audiobook retailer:

Amazon Audible iTunes Narrated by the Author (That’s Me)

If you’ve heard me speak and like the sound of my voice, this is the audiobook for you. If you haven’t, perhaps you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

The recording process was fu...

Now on Sale: Unleash the Power of Storytelling

Today’s the day! Your guide to using stories to advance your career, build your business and get more of what you want out of life is here!

Unleash the Power of Storytelling is now available in ebook and paperback (and soon, on audiobook, narrated by me).

I loved writing this book, and I hope you’ll love reading it, too. It dives deep into the career- and life-changing lessons I teach in my most in-demand keynote sessions and workshops.

Why This Book?

The market is flooded with a dizzying arr...