It’s weird out there.

Within a matter of weeks, our daily interactions with people have gone virtual, or vanished completely. For many, work has disappeared, for others, it has become dangerous, and for most, work/life balance has imploded.

Our new normal requires a conscious effort to spend time wisely, with little patience for noise or filler content.

It’s a good time to revisit how we communicate.

We’ve picked up some bad habits.

Recycling the same content for different audiences…

Giving content a facelift instead of a rethink…

Overwhelming our audience with too much information.

We can still connect if we tell a story and keep it simple. Storytelling fosters emotional connection, even without the presenter being physically present. Emotions paired with facts are more powerful than facts alone.

How can we tell a good story?

Have a beginning, middle, and end.

Play up the drama—find the highs and lows.

Find the hero of your story (hint: if you’re writing the story, it’s not you).

Simplification keeps us in the story.

The focused mind can only handle so much information. The distracted mind, even less.

How can we simplify?

One slide, one concept.

If there’s an element that doesn’t relate to your concept, take it out.

Use color and variation to make your point stand out.

Change is difficult.

But we can still connect on an emotional level. Our time spent with others can be more productive and valued. And we might even get the opportunity to make things better than before.