My clients tell me they want to be better at scientific storytelling.

But what does that mean?

I'm guessing you'll never start a presentation with, "Once upon a time there was an assay. And this wasn't any normal assay . . ."?

You can try that. I bet people will smile (the first time).

Scientific storytelling is about you applying principals of strong narrative structure to become more engaging, understandable, and memorable.

To increase your impact, start with these 4 storytelling tips:

1. One main idea makes you memorable.

After your presentation, everyone leaves the conference room. One of your listeners runs into a co-worker who missed the meeting in the elevator. The co-worker says, "what did I miss?"

What is the one thing you want to be said about your presentation?

Center your presentation around this idea.

Make it the sun around which your key points and data rotate.

A recent coaching client centered his presentation on, "The product inventory management tool connects the lab to the customer."

He'd tried to explain the tool before. The feedback was his presentations were too complex.

With this main idea his co-workers understood the value of the tool and were able to communicate it across the organization.

2. A clear beginning, middle, and end invites engagement.

-> Beginning - Give them a reason to listen by sharing the topic, and why it's important.

-> Middle - Progress through 3-5 key ideas that logically build upon one another.

-> End - Set them up for a sequel by saying what will or should happen next.

Narrative structure creates a sense of action. Listeners can't help but engage.

3. Context increases significance.

In my workshops I ask researchers to select a random card with a picture.

I ask, "what is it?"

They say, "a tricycle."

I say, "give me the background (make it up if you have to)."

They say, "It's the tricycle my grandmother gave me for my 5th birthday. I used to ride it every day down the street to visit her."

All of a sudden, the tricycle feels significant. The same happens with your data points. If you provide context, your data will feel more significant.

4. Emotional language creates connection.

Who are the characters in your story? You, your team, even your molecules, compounds, and study design.

Tell us how the characters feel through the process:

-> "This compound is a powerhouse."

-> "We were excited to see this result."

-> "This molecule is a little lazy and we're trying to wake it up."

Listeners immediately connect to emotion.

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You want your work to speak for itself.

It doesn't work that way.

To have an impact you have to learn how to speak for your work.

Apply storytelling techniques and your impact will soar.