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First he cites a statement by Annette Simmons, author of Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact.

“People don’t want more information. They’re up to their eyeballs information. They want faith – faith in you, your goals, your success, in the story you tell.”

Kawasaki notes, “I’ve watched product launches ranging from fully scripted, multimedia productions by famous CEOs to “two guys in a garage” using an old laptop.”  The best presentations are based on a story that offers drama and entrainment as well as (yes) essential information.

Here are four story lines (i.e. plots) that Lois Kelly suggests in her latest book, Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing:  Great aspirations, David versus Goliath, Profiles in courage, and Personal stories.

Here are Kawasaki’s 11 suggestions:

1. Tell a Story (plot, cast of characters, conflict, tension, climax, etc.)

2. Immerse People (appeal to emotions)

3. Promote Trial (offer whatever is easy, immediate, convenient, inexpensive, and reversible)

4. Prime the Pump (create a context, a frame-of-reference)

5. Plant Many Seeds (make everyone feel important and included)

6. Ask People What They Are Going to Do (“fish or cut bait”)

7. Reduce the Number of Choices (sharpen focus)

8. Increase the Number of Choices (create flexibility)

9. Illustrate the Salient Point (facts that verify what is most important)

10. Present the Big, Then the Small Choice (“If not X, how about Y?”)

11.  Get Your First Follower (so that others then follow)

All of this is thoroughly discussed in Chapter 5 of Enchantment, a “must read” for those in need of guidance in a multitude of strategic areas. In my opinion, no one offers more and better business advice than Guy Kawasaki does. I also highly recommend his immensely valuable Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition, now available in a paperbound edition and sold for only  $11.75 by Amazon.