1 simple way to better presentations: don't outline, PUMA!

Meet the Puma.
Why you never
have to write an
outline again.
c

As presenters, we are
storytellers.
We move
ourselves and
our audience
from here…

As presenters, we are
storytellers.
…to here.

Storylines are the way we tame
confusion along the way.
Storylines make
complexity tolerable
long enough to be
understood.

To do that, our storyline needs
two things:
1) It needs a spine
2) It needs anecdotes
----------
|||||

In Management-consultingese, this is called:
“Horizontal-Vertical
storytelling.”
The ‘horizontal’
story moves our
idea along…

In Management-consultingese, this is called:
“Horizontal-Vertical
storytelling.”
While the
‘verticals’ provide
the details that
make it
interesting.

The standard approach is to
create an OUTLINE.
Top-to-bottom:
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –
hmm…

The standard approach is to
create an OUTLINE.
FORGET
OUTLINES!

Why? I. Meet the Puma
II. Our job as presenters is to tell a story
A. Storylines make for better stories
B. They tame complexity
III. Storylines move along & up-and-down
A. This is called “horizontal-vertical” plotting
B. It requires an outline
C. Forget outlines!!
IV. Why forget outlines?
A. Because they are “vertical-vertical” plotting
B. We don’t think this way very well…
V. So what do we use instead of outlines?
VI. We use the PUMA
I. Our Presentation’s Underlying Message
Architecture
II. A better way to think about mapping out our
presentation
VII. The PUMA is faster and more intuitive
I. It is true horizontal-vertical storytelling
Because
outlines
are
vertical-
vertical-
vertical…
Where is my
horizontal
storyline??

I. Meet the Puma
II. Our job as presenters is to tell a story
A. Storylines make for better stories
B. They tame complexity
III. Storylines move along & up-and-down
A. This is called “horizontal-vertical” plotting
B. It requires an outline
C. Forget outlines!!
IV. Why forget outlines?
A. Because they are “vertical-vertical” plotting
B. We don’t think this way very well…
V. So what do we use instead of outlines?
VI. We use the PUMA
I. Our Presentation’s Underlying Message
Architecture
II. A better way to think about mapping out our
presentation
VII. The PUMA is faster and more intuitive
I. It is true horizontal-vertical storytelling
WE DON’T
THINK LIKE
THIS!

I prefer a livelier, more intuitive
approach:
Our Presentation’s Underlying
Message Architecture.

Our Presentation’s Underlying
Message Architecture.
a.k.a:
“PUMA”

Our Puma looks like this:
Much better than
an outline!

The Puma gives us a great way
to build our storyline.
We begin with a
summary of our
main idea.
Then we block out
the spine with our
storyline.
We add in our
supporting materials
as the legs.
We conclude
with a swish of
the tail.

For example,
here’s the Puma
of a classic story:

This is the
tale of a
typical
Hollywood
romance…
There is a
boy. He
meets a girl.
The boy is
carefree.
The girl is
lovely.
The boy is
smitten.
The boy
loses the
girl.
The boy
gets the girl
back.
The girl
runs off
with the
assistant.
Mr. Evil
arrives.
Mr. Evil steals
the girl away!
The boy is
devastated.
The boy hires
an assistant.
The assistant
traps Mr. Evil.
The boy saves
the girl!
“Boy Meets Girl.”

For example,
here’s the Puma
I prepared for this
presentation:

In Show & Tell we meet 4 Pumas:
The Report The Explanation
The Pitch The Drama

Truth.
Story.
Pictures.
And a Puma.

Pre-order SHOW & TELL before
April 10, 2014 and join me for a
Free Super Secret Webinar.
 Pre-order at any retailer,
online or bricks.
 Send a digital copy of
your receipt here:
preorder.showandtell@
gmail.com
 You’ll automatically receive an
invitation to the webinar: April
10, 2014 at 10:00am Pacific /
1:00pm Eastern

1 simple way to better presentations: don't outline, PUMA!

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

More from Dan Roam

Recently uploaded

In this document

1 simple way to better presentations: don't outline, PUMA!