Turning the IMPOSSIBLE to Achievable

I had a meeting over coffee this morning with a potential client. He and I had a good conversation about how presentations play a large role in his company. He said, "Right now everyone within the company is following the basic format for presentations...you know, boring. And I'm more interested in what we can do to inspire people and bring out their best. I need them to walk into a meeting thinking that we're going to talk about the impossible, and walk out of the meeting thinking it's achievable. Our presentations just aren't getting them to visualize the possible. If they can't visualize it, they're not going to accomplish it. "

How right he is. So, how do we get our audience to visualize the task at hand? We have to engage their imaginations. We do this through storytelling. If you are trying to get an audience to see the impossible as achievable, you need to help them see 2 things in their mind's eye: a previous example of accomplishment and a vision of future accomplishment.

Often people have a hard time deciding what types of stories to use. Now you know. Begin your presentation with a story about when your or someone you know accomplished a task that seemed impossible. Tell the story. Share the setting, the characters, and the moral. Then after explaining you plans for accomplishing a task, share the story of your vision. What will daily life look like? How will it benefit your audience? How will life be easier? And tie your vision to the accomplishment from your previous story.

Now you are able to inspire, motivate, and give a vision to your audience.