When I watch a presentation, I always pay attention to three things, a good beginning, emotional content, and an inspiring message. Of the three, emotional content, for me, is key. It doesn't matter what the presentation will be about. If it doesn't contain an emotional content, I get bored. When someone presents, he or she is making an effort to convince you of something that is important to them. So, if you want the audience's attention, whether they agree or not with your message, knowing how to use emotion in a presentation will make your story stick in their minds. Sally Kohn, an analyst for Fox News, uses what she calls Emotional Correctness to describe how she uses it to connect with people, even with those who disagree with her. If you can connect with your audience emotionally and not just logically, you can have a better shot at bringing them to your side. A perfect example of a presentation that contains a good beginning, emotional content, and an inspiring message is Diana Nyad's presentation that she did for Ted, where she recounts her amazing swim from Cuba to Florida, something that she had been attempting to do for many years. Another person who uses these elements in his presentation is Chris Hadfield, an astronaut, who tells us about the time he went blind while taking his space walk. Even companies have realized that it is no longer feasible to just sell their products the way they used to do it. It is not enough to just sell the benefits of their merchandise. Right now, no company that I can think of is making commercials that tell a story and that use emotional appeal like Guinness Beer. Check out these three phenomenal commercials.
