Nancy Duarte: A Pattern Approach to Business Communication

Nancy Duarte is a pro when it comes to presentations. Not just giving presentations, but starting them, finishing them, and every step in between. Author and co-founder of Duarte Designs, Nancy Duarte is a seasoned veteran when it comes to incorporating storytelling into speaking and creating connections with an audience.

The below video is the fifth part in a series of 10 in which Nancy shares the key components to making a successful pitch using creativity and critical thinking. Find out what she has to say:

As an entrepreneur and founder of a startup, you already know you can do a lot of things well. You’re the head under many hats; the go-to guy or gal for a plethora of issues.

Nancy agrees with you. Entrepreneurial-minded people see needs, jump right in, and fill them. However, when it comes to communicating, that skill doesn’t always come naturally to everyone.

This is why Nancy built a training program. A program that takes you (the entrepreneur) and changes the way you talk about what you do and why you do it.

“There’s ways to be a craftsman of the spoken word, and investing in that is really, really important.”

As there are patterns in nature, there are patterns in the way people communicate. By identifying those patterns and passing them on, Nancy has created a few success stories out of her clients: one called to tell her that he had moved up to the rank of VP in a mere six months, while another was in the New York Times saying he made $700 million more the past year just by changing his message.

Training is transformative, according to Nancy, but only if you really apply it, try it, and actively practice what you have learned.

“It’s proven that the ones who communicate well are the ones who win,” she says.

Say your startup is up against another startup for some funding. Your companies and products are similar, both in value and purpose, so how do you come out on top? Nancy’s advice: wrap your message in story and compassion, and it will be the one picked.

Don’t underestimate the power in how you communicate about the things you do – there’s a lot of it.