How podcast plot lines can rev up your presentations

A good storyline is the spine of many an audio program. Here are guidelines on how to apply that approach to your informative talks and persuasive addresses.

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In an article for Transom, HowSound podcast host Rob Rosenthal had a colleague assemble the outline of some popular podcasts on napkins. The goal was to visualize the content structure of a typical story from these podcasts.

Although these structures were developed for sound, they can also drastically improve the narrative of any presentation. You just need the willingness to try and the tenacity to stick through the structure from beginning to end.

Here are a few podcast story structures outlined and exemplified in a presentation format:

1. This American Life

Ira Glass’ brainchild, This American Life, follows a fairly simple structure. Something occurs, then another thing occurs, and then another. After all of these happenings (dashes), a moment of reflection takes place, followed by a discussion on what all of the events mean (exclamation points).

Source: My Kingdom for Some Structure

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