By Doug Baarman

It was the high school cheer banquet and my daughter had completed her fourth and final year on the squad earning the honor of team captain. All of the seniors are able to speak and it was her turn to take the podium. She took us back to the beginning and told her story of trying out for the team as a freshman, making the team and the intimidating first day of practice only knowing a few of her teammates. The captains asked everyone to get into a circle and introduce themselves – by doing a cheer. As one of only four freshman on the team, my daughter took the hand of one of her fellow anxious underclassman and they jumped into the circle to do their cheer together. I could picture this scene vividly as she told her story.

It reminded me how valuable the use of storytelling could be when making our hospitality industry presentations. We need to paint the picture in a way that our potential customers ‘see’ themselves experiencing the product or service that we provide. Visualization is a powerful tool versus just talking about the features of your product or service. Share your story and show the end result that the customer will feel and experience when they use your product or service.

Four years later and holding hands with that very same teammate, my daughter closed her speech. They went into that circle together as timid freshman and came out as leaders. It was a powerful closing that again provided a visual to highlight the point of her story.

Even seasoned industry professionals can learn a few lessons about presentations from a high school senior.