Tricks for Getting to the Core of Your Story (Part 3)

September 5, 2008 By Doug Neff

The thrilling conclusion to our 3-part series on Story-Coring tricks. Don’t skip part 1 and part 2!
3. Baptism by Fire
Sometimes you need to jump into the water before you know how to swim.
Stand-up comics do this all the time, trying out new material on an unsuspecting audience. Though not necessarily the most fun or comfortable, this [...]

Topic: Delivery, Message
Posted September 5th, 2008 at 1:50 pm by Doug Neff
Tags: messaging, story, Writing

Tricks for Getting to the Core of Your Story (Part 2)

September 2, 2008 By Doug Neff

Part Deux in our 3-part series on finding the essence of your story. Read part one here.
2. Little Cards, Fat Markers
Get yourself a stack of index cards and a few Sharpie markers. Chances are, you already have an idea of some of the slides you want to have in your presentation, so use the [...]

Topic: Message
Posted September 2nd, 2008 at 10:35 am by Doug Neff
Tags: messaging, story, Writing

Tricks for Getting to the Core of Your Story (Part 1)

August 29, 2008 By Doug Neff

So you have a topic for a presentation and you’re ready to start building slides in PowerPoint, right?
Not so fast.
Before you reach for that mouse, you might want to spend some time getting your story straight. After all, presentations are basically just stories. And great presentations always come from great stories.
At Duarte, our clients come [...]

Topic: Message
Posted August 29th, 2008 at 9:31 am by Doug Neff
Tags: brainstorm, messaging, PowerPoint, story, Writing

Use a Brainstorm Before You Open PowerPoint!

August 25, 2008 By Diandra Macias

We’ve all heard it before…
“the presentation is due tomorrow, and you have to pull together the content, QUICK!”
Deadlines can make you feel like you have to cut corners and eliminate some very important steps in your creative process, but try to start all projects with at least a quick brainstorm.
Pulling four of your smartest co-workers [...]

Topic: Message
Posted August 25th, 2008 at 9:33 am by Diandra Macias
Tags: brainstorm, creative, ideas, messaging, rules

Look Better Naked

August 14, 2008 By Dan Post

How Simple Sells
Presentations are ubiquitous; they exist in many mediums, across every size of business. You can often find inspiration from what works and lessons from what doesn’t in unexpected places. For example, there’s a tiny fitness facility in a strip mall near my house. For some time, I’ve been amused by its dense hand [...]

Topic: Design, Message
Posted August 14th, 2008 at 11:54 am by Dan Post
Tags: audience, inspiration, messaging, presentation, simple