Telling a Story Versus Talking Through Slides

By

You’ve likely faced the challenge of delivering a presentation that needs to resonate deeply with your audience. It’s a crucial skill—leading others requires not just communicating, but connecting.

One of the first steps to delivering impactful presentations is to prioritize the story you intend to tell. It’s tempting to dive straight into PowerPoint and start building your deck. Many of us do it, but this approach often leads to slides that are overloaded with content, used more as a script than as a tool to support your delivery. This can dilute your core message and disengage your team, board, or stakeholders.

To avoid this, focus on your story before you touch PowerPoint. Ask yourself:

  • What is the outcome I want from this presentation?
  • How can I guide my audience to think, feel, or act in alignment with my goals?

Leaders often face a unique balancing act—they must both inspire confidence and deliver substance. While it’s easy to get trapped in the data, remember that storytelling is what compels people to care about the insights behind the numbers.

Personally, I like to use PowerPoint as a storyboard to map out initial ideas. However, those early versions are always drafts. The final slides only come after I’m crystal clear on the narrative, key messages, and presentation objectives. This process ensures the slides complement my delivery, rather than overshadow it.

Here’s a tip: Once your presentation is ready, step away from your slides. Practice delivering the narrative as if you’re having a conversation over coffee or a casual dinner. If you can clearly articulate the story without relying on the slides, you’re ready to step in front of an audience. If not, revisit it and revise it.

Why does this matter so much? Because powerful storytelling in presentations inspires action and fosters trust. Slides will always be secondary to the message you deliver and the story you tell.

This article originally appeared at WeAreComvia.com and is reprinted here with permission.

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

Telling a Story Versus Talking Through Slides Read More »

Leading Virtual Meetings Like a Pro

By

Virtual environments can’t fully replicate the richness of in-person interactions, but with the right approach, they can still be engaging and impactful. Effective leaders can refine their virtual presence, communication, and engagement strategies to make their meetings shine.

Here are three essential tips to excel in virtual meetings and workshops:

  1. Polish Your Virtual Presence: Leading effectively online requires you to project confidence and credibility—even more so than when you’re in person. Position your camera at eye level, ensure your face occupies the top two-thirds of the screen, and ensure your face is well-lit to avoid grainy video. Dressing appropriately and maintaining good posture—whether seated or standing—reinforce your leadership presence. Clear audio is also crucial, so invest in a quality microphone or headset to ensure your voice resonates clearly.
  2. Mind Your Facial Expressions and Eye Contact: Your face is one of your most powerful communications tools. Watch your facial expressions — and make sure they match the tone and setting of the meeting. Now, it’s true that eye contact remains an effective tool for commanding attention and building trust, even in virtual settings. And you know what? Not everyone is comfortable making direct eye contact. I personally can’t make full eye contact due to my lazy eye, and one of my friends who is on the autism spectrum struggles with it, too—and that’s okay. We both do our best while also finding other ways to make people feel we are engaged with them. If you can make eye contact, look directly into the camera when addressing your audience. Move participants’ video tiles closer to the camera in Zoom’s Gallery view to monitor their reactions while maintaining eye contact.
  3. Engage, Interact, and Energize: Virtual workshops can feel static if participants aren’t actively involved. Use tools like the Reactions tab in Zoom, chat features, icebreakers, breakout rooms, and live polls to encourage interaction. Guest speakers or co-presenters can also enhance the energy of your session, and a meeting room manager can help manage logistics while you focus on connecting with your audience.

As a leader, you set the tone for your team’s virtual experience. By mastering your presence, creating connection through eye contact and body language, and fostering participation, you can transform virtual workshops and meetings into impactful and memorable experiences.

This article originally appeared at WeAreComvia.com and is reprinted here with permission.

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

Leading Virtual Meetings Like a Pro Read More »

Are You Setting Your Team Up for Success?

By

How often do you pause to consider if the way you and your team are communicating is helping or actually hindering success?

Here’s the thing: Great communication starts with empathy and intentionality. Before hitting send on your next email or Teams message, ask yourself: “Am I crafting this to suit me or the individual I’m addressing?” Adjusting your communication style to meet the needs of your audience not only clears the path for better results—it builds trust and demonstrates respect.

Know Your Audience, Empower Their Success

You’ve probably seen it before—an overstuffed email or a barrage of messages that overwhelm rather than inform. Let’s break the cycle. Being intentional about how you communicate leads to smoother, more productive exchanges. Consider these examples:

  • Respecting Workflow Styles: If you know that one of your direct reports, Alex, thrives on quick and actionable information, avoid sending him emails with lengthy paragraphs and buried questions. Instead, send concise messages with clearly bulleted requests he can act on immediately. You’ll both benefit from faster results and less friction.
  • Simplifying for Overloaded Managers: If your supervisor, Janelle, seems swamped, think strategically about how you communicate. Rather than sending multiple emails throughout the day, consolidate your updates and questions into one streamlined message—or better yet, schedule a short one-on-one to discuss non-urgent issues.

Thoughtful adjustments like these can reduce their stress and improve your own clarity.

Your Leadership Challenge

Over the next few days, reflect on at least three communications you send. Ask yourself: Am I setting the recipient up for success? Whether it’s an email, a text, or an in-person conversation, focus on how you can:

  • Adjust your tone and format to suit their needs.
  • Eliminate unnecessary complexity or distractions.
  • Foster a sense of mutual respect and productivity.

The Power of Thoughtful Communication

Setting someone up for success doesn’t mean complicating your approach—it means simplifying it. When you make it easier for others to thrive, you also save yourself time, minimize misunderstandings, and reduce unnecessary frustration on both sides.

This article originally appeared at WeAreComvia.com and is reprinted here with permission.

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

Are You Setting Your Team Up for Success? Read More »

From Chaos to Clarity: Winning Slide Strategies

By

Listen up. Your presentation should do one thing: support your story. Your slides are not meant to replace you, nor should they compete with your voice. Yet, it’s easy to fall into the trap of overloading slides with text or data, trying to anticipate every possible need.

Here’s the challenge: when you present overloaded slides, your audience tunes out. They shift their focus to reading rather than listening. To keep your audience in the moment and connected with your message, you need to take a more strategic approach to slide design.

Here are some tips to ensure your slides are truly supportive:

  • Keep It Visual: Replace text-heavy bullets with charts, graphs, or images that communicate your points visually and clearly.
  • Use Builds to Reveal Content: Instead of overwhelming your audience with six bullet points at once, reveal each point as you address it. This keeps the focus where it belongs—on your narrative.
  • Simplify Relentlessly: During rehearsals, look for opportunities to trim your slides further. The less cluttered they are, the more easily your audience will process them.
  • Guide Their Focus: When presenting complex slides—like those with data tables or detailed graphics—use tools like highlight boxes or builds to direct attention to specific areas. Your audience should never have to guess where to look.
  • Ask Critical Questions: As you prepare your slides, challenge yourself with questions like “Do I really need a slide for this?” and “What’s the purpose of this slide?” Let these questions guide you toward concise, purposeful visuals.

Well-designed, concise slides that enhance your story will make your presentations shine. Remember, your slides are there to elevate your message—not steal the spotlight. 

This article originally appeared at WeAreComvia.com and is reprinted here with permission.

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

From Chaos to Clarity: Winning Slide Strategies Read More »

Reading the Room

By

Some people just know how to read a room. They have this seemingly uncanny ability to perceive and understand the emotions, attitudes, and dynamics of a group of people in a given setting — and tailor their communications and behaviors in real time to make the most of the moment. 

Guess what? Those who do it well aren’t unicorns. They’ve honed the skill over time. 

Still, some leaders struggle with reading the room effectively. Why? Well, sometimes the issue is that it involves keen observation, empathy, and intuition. It means paying attention to, and honoring, emotions, and moods. In other words, it involves many things that old-style leadership used to tell you to check at the door. 

The truth is that being able to sense the unspoken cues and underlying sentiments in a room give you great power in influencing interactions and outcomes. 

Want to boost your room-reading ability? Here are a few things to focus on. 

  • Active Listening: Pay close attention to what is being said and how it is being said. Notice the tone, pace, and body language of your team members. 
  • Observe Non-Verbal Cues: Non-verbal communication, like facial expressions, gestures, and posture, provide significant insights into how people are feeling. 
  • Ask Open-Ended Questions: Encourage open dialogue by asking questions that invite detailed responses. This helps you understand perspectives and emotions more deeply. 
  • Practice Empathy: Put yourself in others’ shoes to better understand their feelings and viewpoints. Empathy is key to connecting with others on a human level. 
  • Stay Present: Be fully engaged in the moment. Avoid distractions and focus on the interactions happening around you. 

Reading the room requires practice, and mindfulness. Mastering this skill can lead to more effective communication, stronger relationships, and a more cohesive team. 

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

Reading the Room Read More »

TMI During Q&A

By

You’ve seen it. Maybe you’ve even done it. Providing too much information (TMI) when answering questions.

It’s painful for the audience, and it erodes your credibility.

“But they need all of the details in order to understand!”

Wrong. What they need is the answer to their question. As brief and concise as possible without it sounding curt. It should be tailored so that they hear only what they need to hear to be satisfied — and not a data dump of everything you know on the topic.

The curse of knowledge affects us all. We often know much more than a questioner needs to hear. That’s why when I coach clients on handling Q&A after a presentation or during a high stakes meeting, I teach a visual aid that helps every time.

The Answer Sandwich. Here’s how it works.

Visualize a sandwich in your head. It might look something like this:

Yum. Now, remind yourself before Q&A that for each question, you’re going to make the questioner a sandwich with your answer.

  1. You’ll start with the top bun, which is your short answer. The direct answer to their question. “Yes, we looked at that and I’m happy to share what we found.”
  2. Next, you’ll serve up the “meat” and condiments, and other central elements of the sandwich. These are your supporting points. The trick here is to make them the right sized sandwich. What’s their appetite? Do they need a lot of details? Maybe just a few highlights so they understand? In other words, be audience-centric and consider what this specific person needs from you to be satisfied. Give them that, no more.
  3. Finally, and this is especially important if you’re making them a large sandwich, is to finish off with your bottom bun. This can be a summary of your answer (helpful if you went long) or a restatement of your key message. People are most likely to remember the first and last things you say, so finish strong.

Make sense? Good. Try it. Ask yourself, “What size sandwich does this person need?”

And remember, some people only need a piece of toast.

Clear, concise, and audience-centric answers are your secret weapon when you’re in the Q&A hot seat.

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

TMI During Q&A Read More »

Quick Tip: Executive Presence

By

Leadership and executive presence have evolved far beyond traditional stereotypes. I coach a lot of leaders on presence, and I’ll tell you right now that there is no “template” or “one way” to have presence.

You need to do the work to find your authentic way to show up for yourself, and for the people you lead. And guess what? Your way might not look like what you traditionally think about presence.

Body language, eye contact, “charisma” — sure, they can help. But that’s not the whole story. In fact, I firmly believe you can be someone who struggles with certain traditional behaviors that are associated with presence and still have a strong presence that inspires people.

One thing that’s critical is authenticity. It’s the cornerstone of executive presence. And it isn’t about conforming to expectations; it’s about staying true to ourselves while adapting to our roles — and adapting our communications for those we lead.

Want to read more about my thoughts on presence? Check out this article on this post.

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

Quick Tip: Executive Presence Read More »

Leadership Through Their Eyes

By

Have you ever considered what it’s like to be on the other end of your communications? Leadership is more than just guiding a team towards achieving goals; it’s also about how you make people feel.

Here are some key aspects to reflect on:

  • Connection: Leaders who build emotional connections with their team foster trust and loyalty. People are more likely to follow and support leaders who make them feel valued and understood.
  • Inspiration and Motivation: Effective leaders inspire and motivate their teams by creating a positive and inclusive environment. This involves recognizing achievements, providing constructive feedback, and showing genuine appreciation.
  • Psychological Safety: When leaders make their team members feel safe to express ideas and take risks without fear of negative consequences, it encourages innovation and collaboration.
  • Empathy and Support: Demonstrating empathy and providing support, especially during challenging times, can significantly boost morale and resilience within the team.

When you pay attention to the human side of things, you can build a team that’s more engaged, motivated, and resilient.

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

Leadership Through Their Eyes Read More »

Quick Tip: The Power of the Pause

By

In the fast-paced world of leadership, it’s easy to rush through conversations. However, pausing before responding can be a powerful tool.

It allows you to gather your thoughts, consider your words carefully, and demonstrate thoughtful leadership.

And trust me, the pause feels longer to you than it will to others. Need proof? Record yourself and test out some pause lengths.

So, next time you’re in a conversation (especially if it’s a challenging one), try pausing before responding. You’ll be surprised at the impact it can have.

P.S. Pausing is also your friend when you’re speaking in meetings or to a crowd. It helps you catch your breath, keep a good pace, and when used strategically can let that brilliant point you just made resonate with the audience before you move on.

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

Quick Tip: The Power of the Pause Read More »

Set Them Up For Success

By

When you craft your next email or text message, ask yourself, “Am I writing this to be read by me, or by the person who I am addressing it to?” 

Chances are you’re writing it in a style that works for you, and not necessarily them. 

If you’ve ever been to one of my workshops or training programs, you know that the first rule of any communication is to know your audience. This is true for every piece of communication you send throughout your work day — and your personal communications, too.

When we are intentional about the way we communicate with each other and respectful of our differences, there is a much higher chance that the results will be more positive.

For example, if you know that Alex never responds to all your questions in your emails, then don’t send him emails with 15 questions embedded throughout several paragraphs of text. Send an email with a brief introduction, and 1 or 2 questions (bulleted out) that he can scan and reply to quickly.

Voila, you’ve just set him up for success. He can move fast, like his job requires, and still give you what you need because you considered his needs as well.

Here’s another example. Let’s say that your colleague Janelle has been losing track of your emails and Teams chats because there is too much on her plate this week. Instead of firing off 8 different emails during the day on a variety of topics that don’t need immediate responses, collect your questions or issues and batch them into 1 email that she can respond to later. Or, if responses are not needed by the next day, schedule time to sit down with her and talk through your items. You’ll likely get all the answers you need with no additional emails in her, or your, inbox.

These are just a few examples. You get the idea. 

During your day today, pay special attention to 3 pieces of communication you create to send to someone else. With each, whether over text, email, Zoom, Teams, or in person, consider this question: 

How can I set this person up for success?

It will make your communications more productive, I promise. The bonus is that you’ll save time and reduce frustration on both sides. 

—

Michael Piperno is a communication coach and executive presence expert. His insights empower leaders to communicate effectively and authentically.

Share…

Set Them Up For Success Read More »

Scroll to Top