Mastering Storytelling in Presentations

How to captivate an audience and make your message stick.

Pitches and presentations don’t fall flat because speakers aren’t prepared. For Guy Kawasaki, it’s because speakers miss the point. “If all you're trying to do is inform, you're not going to pull it off. You have to entertain your audience.”

A renowned author, speaker, and entrepreneur, Kawasaki knows that the point of great storytelling isn’t about information, it’s about emotion. “Too many speakers think, ‘I need to inform my audience. I need to get my story across,’” he says. But throughout his career, formerly as Chief Evangelist at Apple and now co-founder of Canva, he’s shown how successful communication is about captivating audiences, not conveying facts. “If you entertain people, you have a chance of informing them.”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Kawasaki joins Matt Abrahams to explore practical strategies for building decks, structuring presentations, and tips for keeping audiences engaged. From investor pitches to keynote presentations, these strategies help create effective storytelling — in business and beyond.

Episode Reference Links:

• Guy Kawasaki
• Guy’s Book: Think Remarkable
• Ep.82 It’s Not About You: Why Effective Communicators Put Others First
• Ep.47 Quick Thinks: How to Use Storytelling to Be a Better Founder  

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• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:23) - The Key to Great Storytelling
• (03:11) - The Purpose of a Pitch
• (06:56) - How to Structure a Pitch Effectively
• (08:28) - The 10-20-30 Rule for Slide Presentations
• (11:54) - Using Images vs. Text in Presentations
• (12:35) - Lessons from Podcasting
• (14:06) - The Final Three Questions
• (18:16) - Conclusion