It’s helpful to think of presentations like movies. The narrative in both formats should be dynamic, the characters interesting, and the plot full of twists and turns. That way, we have a chance to truly engage the audience in the story we’re telling. Today, let’s talk about how to introduce plot twists into a business presentation.
Before you read on, I encourage you to watch the TEDx talk below. Marc Cormier discusses the three layers behind the success of athletes and outstanding creators.
What’s interesting is not just what he says, but how he says it. He speaks fluidly and dynamically, using simple language. He’s relaxed, yet eloquent. At the same time, he’s structured. The structure of his talk is as follows:
-
Verbalizing universal beliefs
-
Challenging those beliefs and offering his own model
-
Details of the model (the longest part)
-
Summary and conclusions
The moment I want to draw your attention to happens just after the first minute of the talk (precisely at 1:11). That’s when the speaker says: “But what if I told you that…” It’s a classic plot twist. And I encourage you to add it to your communication repertoire.
Such phrases bring energy to your speech. They signal a significant narrative shift. The story was heading in one direction — and now it takes a 90-degree turn and goes somewhere completely different. At the same time, this formula introduces suspense — that pleasant feeling of anticipation for what’s going to happen next.
The phrase “But what if I told you that…” is great, but I’m noticing it more and more in advertising. And that means there’s a risk it might soon become overused and lose its impact. So below, I’m offering you some alternatives that can help you create a narrative twist in your presentation:
-
Most people think this way. But they’re missing one crucial thing.
-
That may be the right approach — but not for us.
-
This belief is widespread. But it hides a dangerous trap.
-
But it turns out that’s completely untrue.
-
But it turns out that doesn’t work anymore.
-
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. What really matters is…
-
It seemed like we were doing everything right… until we looked deeper.
-
It may seem like a lot — but it’s nothing compared to what lies ahead.
-
Everything seemed to be working… until the moment when…
-
At first glance, it looks promising. But there’s a catch.
-
And that’s when a question came up that no one had asked before.
-
But let’s look at it from a different perspective.
-
And then something emerged that hadn’t appeared in any previous scenario.
-
But something about that perspective didn’t sit right with us. So we dug deeper.
-
And that’s when the rules of the game changed.
-
And that’s when everything changed.
I hope you’ll use one of these cues in your next presentation. And if you want to take your communication skills to a master level, ask me about business communication training or presentation training.