We’ve used stories since the dawn of time to help explain the world around us. Stories pull the audience in and create an emotional connection. Celtic history was maintained for 2000 years through poem and songs and incredible stories.   In Ancient Celtic society the Bard was second only to the king in terms of esteem. The bards evolved into Seanchaí’s.  In Ireland we have a very strong oral tradition, with famous story tellers such as Peig Sayers and Eamon A Burc. This emotional connection is what we want with our audience, and this starts in with our ‘Problem Slide ‘.

Even though Emotions do impact the decision of ‘Do I buy from you?’ at the early stage of your pitch it’s enough to  just pique the interest of your audience. A simple story can be told in three parts:

• What is the problem?
• How are you going to solve it?
• Why you are the right people to solve it.

The above is an example taken from Airbnb’s pitch deck. In this example there were actually three problems. You can also choose to present three problems, but one may also be enough. This slide doesn’t have to be a problem; it may also be an opportunity which you saw. It’s all about telling your story and this is very much part of your story.