I have attended many screen writing classes for fun. Not because I want to be a screen writer, but rather to give me insights and ideas for helping my executive clients deliver better presentations. After all Hollywood knows how to emotionally connect with their audience in a way most executives do not.

The class I have repeated several times is Robert McKee’s Story. Also the name of his very good book. Here are a couple of questions from a Harvard Business Review article where they interviewed Mr. McKee.

Why should a CEO or a manager pay attention to a screenwriter?

A big part of a CEO’s job is to motivate people to reach certain goals. To do that, he or she must engage their emotions, and the key to their hearts is story. There are two ways to persuade people. The first is by using conventional rhetoric, which is what most executives are trained in. It’s an intellectual process, and in the business world it usually consists of a PowerPoint slide presentation in which you say, “Here is our company’s biggest challenge, and here is what we need to do to prosper.” And you build your case by giving statistics and facts and quotes from authorities. But there are two problems with rhetoric. First, the people you’re talking to have their own set of authorities, statistics, and experiences. While you’re trying to persuade them, they are arguing with you in their heads. Second, if you do succeed in persuading them, you’ve done so only on an intellectual basis. That’s not good enough, because people are not inspired to act by reason alone.

Essentially, a story expresses how and why life changes.

Here’s a Frippercize: Count how many characters appear in your speeches. They are what make a Hollywood production–flesh and blood personalities that the audience can relate to.