Q: Why do capable people feel stuck when preparing a presentation?
A: Because they start at the slide deck. Slides are a container, not the content. When you begin with formatting, you skip the richest source you have: your own experiences at work and in life.
Mini-summary: Don’t start with slides; start with experiences.
Q: What should you look for in your “experience vault”?
A: Look for highs and lows. The best deal, the strongest project, the train wreck that went off the rails, the colleague who lifted the whole team, and the person who kept digging a deeper hole. These moments reveal what works and what doesn’t.
Mini-summary: Successes and failures both produce usable material.
Q: How do you make it easier to recall stories later?
A: Keep notes from now on. Jot down key points when something happens, while it’s fresh. A few lines are enough to trigger the memory when you need an example in a future talk.
Mini-summary: Capture moments early so you can reuse them later.
Q: Do you need to be a “storyteller” to use stories in talks?
A: No. Storytelling here just means telling real events you experienced or observed, in your own words. You can also draw on authors’ experiences, as long as you explain them naturally rather than quoting like a script.
Mini-summary: Storytelling is simply real life, spoken clearly.
Q: Where do stories fit inside a well-planned presentation?
A: Plan the talk from the conclusion first. Then choose the main points that prove it. Design an opening that grabs attention. In the main body, use evidence to back your claims: data, expert authority, and stories that bring the point to life.
Mini-summary: Stories are evidence that make your points stick.
Q: What mindset makes this process easier over time?
A: Become a careful observer of business life. When you ask yourself why you believe something, there’s usually an incident behind it. Collect those incidents, and you’ll always have material that’s more memorable than spreadsheets and graphs.
Mini-summary: Observe, collect, and match stories to your points.
Dr Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is a veteran Japan CEO and trainer, author of multiple best-sellers and host of the Japan Business Mastery series. He leads leadership and presentation programmes at Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo.
