Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive Presentations

The Enemies of Change: Complacency and Distraction

Your audience may accept that change will have to happen down the road but may not feel a sense of urgency to change. Why change now? Why not wait and avoid immediate pain? So, your question is what will motivate a leader to take a break from his or her daily routine long enough to listen to your story?

The first level of complacency to overcome is a belief among the members of your audience that they don't need to change. At least not right now. To break through this complacency and inspire your audience to take action right now, you need to create a sense of urgency that relates to the reasons identified when you developed the “Whys” in Chapter 4.

The second level of complacency begins the minute the decision is made and the first actions are taken. The process has started, and everyone becomes satisfied that simply having a plan in place will guarantee success. The fact that a decision has been made makes it seem like the problem has been addressed, which dilutes the sense of urgency and reduces the chance that the next steps are successfully taken. The compelling sense of urgency is important to break through the initial complacency and to maintain the effort once started.

Your audience is distracted. With the best of intentions, they will be distracted, while the story is delivered, deciding how to handle what they are hearing, ...