You're not a UPS Driver - Don't deliver a standard package

I have a confession to make. I have created hundreds of "Standard Sales Decks" in my career. I have spent hours building 100-slide Library Decks, streamlined PowerPoints for vertical industry pitches, and more than I care to remember.

I can't imagine how many people I've hurt with good intentions.

When I supplied a standard deck with scripting and notes it set the wrong expectation. I was saying that if a sales person or executive just presented the messages I gave them they would be successful. This put all the focus on the speaker, their company and their product and not on the listener.

Having some standard concepts, talk tracks and slides is fine, but start with what's important to the listeners. What are they looking to hear and learn about and re-imagine your talk. Think about how you can be intriguing and interesting to them and carry them on a journey with your storytelling. You are the guide to their journey and not a UPS driving delivering a standard package.

A storyteller is an artist, and a great painter would never show up with a finished painting.  They show up with the tools and materials to create one.

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