Lessons in Persuasive Language from The Game of Thrones

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A face not even
a mother could love
Lessons in Persuasive Language
From The Game of Thrones

Imagine
a world without
PowerPoint

Imagine
a world without
PowerPoint
Tyrion did

Tyrion’s plea to Daenerys
(season 5, episode 8)

Sheer Genius
Tyrion’s plea to Daenerys
(season 5, episode 8)

Right up There with
Winston Churchill’s First Speech
as Britain’s Prime Minister
“You ask, what is
our aim? I can
answer i...

And the Soliloquy from
Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire
“Help me,
Help you”

What does the Persuasive Language
from Tyrion, Winston Churchill
and Jerry Maguire have in common?

Instead, the total focus
lies with the speaker
and what he says

Before going further, let’s talk
about that thing in the room

Those in business often use
PowerPoint as a

They feel naked without their slides

Yet, nothing
wins over an audience
like an individual
alone on stage,
expressing a viewpoint
with utter conviction

Back to our friend Tyrion
trying to sell Daenerys

In a corporate setting,
Tyrion would fire up the PowerPoint
deck and start talking

In Game of Thrones, it’s just him
(Jorah has taken on the characteristics of wallpaper)

Our Boy
Forthose not familiar with Game ofThrones,
a quick bit of background onTyrion

He’s a dwarf
with an uncanny
knack for
figuring things
out and living to
see another day

Shooting an through
his dad’s chest put a damper on his career
in the House of Lannister
Not his finest moment in problem ...

He’s now trying to reinvent
himself as a counselor
to the one ruler on a roll,
Daenerys

In this scene, Tyrion has hit the
proverbial fork in the road

Tyrion’s stature doesn’t portend a happy
ending if he ends up in the fighting pits
6”
4”
2”

But Tyrion’s persuasive
communications wins the day

The scene serves as
a reminder
of the Power of Language
without “Decorations”

You can watch Tyrion in action in
the initial 140 seconds of the video
(Click on image plays the video, source: HBO)

This same
communications would
have looked something
like the following in
PowerPoint form

T I T L E S L I D E M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E I I M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E I I I M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E I V M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E V M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E V I M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E V I I M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E V I I I M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E I X M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E X M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E X I M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E X I I M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E X I I I M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E X I V M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

PLUS I DO A MEAN
HANDCUFF SHUFFLE
S L I D E X V M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

S L I D E X V I M A R C H X I V , M C D L X I I I

Nice touch with the visual
storytelling, particularly explaining
the bad guy problem

Levity even appears in the slides

Would the slide
presentation have also
earned Tyrion a place
at Daenerys’ side as
advisor?

No question that the more persuasive
of the two techniques comes
from Tyrion standing alone …

Solely dependent
on choice of words
and delivery
of those words

This isn’t to say
business professionals
should immediately
stop using PowerPoint

The withdrawal symptoms
from no PowerPoint would lower the
country’s GDP
(Gross Domestic Product)

But there are times
you might consider
going it alone

Thank you
The Hoffman Agency
a Communications Consultancy

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