Nancy Duarte

The 'what is vs. what could be' framework is effective for any form of persuasive communication, not just formal stage presentations.

"The ability to just have that contrast as a framework in your brain during a meeting, on a phone call, any moment of influence, like literally it works. It works in any format."

Effective presentations require an empathy-centric approach where the audience's needs are prioritized over the presenter's ego.

"Your audience is the hero. That was in my TED talk from 2011. I would say it's infuse your talk with story. And I would say it is asking yourself, can they see what I'm saying?"

The presenter's role is to act as a mentor (like Obi-Wan Kenobi) providing tools for the audience's journey.

"In myths and movies, the mentor comes alongside the hero. In other words, the presenter should come alongside the audience and help them get unstuck or bring a magical tool."

A 'sparkline' structure that alternates between the current problem and the potential solution creates the emotional tension necessary for persuasion.

"This motion of traversing between what is, what could be, what's is, what could be, what is, what could be, that sense of longing for the future, it makes people leave their current state or the statu..."

Presentations should be organized around a single 'Big Idea' with each slide supporting exactly one point of that narrative.

"The concept that each slide should make one point... your whole presentation should be grounded in what we call the audience journey, which is the big idea where you're trying to move them from where..."

Managing presentation nerves is a chemical and physical process that can be controlled through specific breathing techniques.

"I take a deep, deep breath and then I take that one while my lungs are full, I take another gulp of breath and I have to let it out real slow."

Slide docs are a hybrid format designed to be read asynchronously, providing the depth of a memo with the visual clarity of a deck.

"Can I make a presentation I can just circulate on email and everyone gets it? Well, that's called a slide doc. You put more words, you put stronger picture... everything they need to see your thinking..."

Visualizing abstract concepts through diagrams or live sketching is the most effective way to ensure a group has a shared mental model.

"When people can see that and it accompanies your verbal narrative, they can actually understand what you're conveying and move on... those moments of alignment are so, so important."

A powerful brand narrative is often built through a long-term 'groundswell' strategy rather than a single event.

"People had never seen someone tell a data story and stand in front of data and the scale in 90 foot screen... he would go city to city to city, because he was traveling for five years seeding, like pl..."

Leading a product vision is like being a 'torchbearer'—you provide enough light to dissipate fear and guide the team through the 'messy middle' of execution.

"Movements have a five act structure... dream, leap, fight, climb, arrive. So, the torch bearer, the reason we called that is the leaders know where they're headed, but they might not ever see it super..."

Storyboarding the customer journey frame-by-frame can reveal fundamental strategic flaws and help define the real problems to solve.

"They hired a Pixar illustrator to illustrate each scene as the team's like, okay, okay, they said this is her name. And they were like, okay, what happens? Her alarm goes off... They realized from thi..."