Emily Schneider’s journey redefines leadership through resilience and innovation. Fired at eight and a half months pregnant, Emily transformed adversity into a thriving career as a visual storyteller specializing in PowerPoint design. On the "Leaders and Legacies" podcast, she delves into the neuroscience of effective communication, underscoring the power of visual simplicity in storytelling. Emily believes presentations should be more than data dumps—they must connect emotionally, empower decisions, and leave lasting impressions.

Host Craig Andrews reflects on the pivotal role of authenticity in leadership today. Together, they explore how well-crafted visual narratives can shift paradigms and inspire action. Emily’s unique design philosophy stems from her ability to simplify the complex, translating ideas into visuals that resonate. Whether designing for persuasion or clarity, Emily’s approach is grounded in intentionality and connection.

Emily also highlights the importance of embracing quirks and leaning into authenticity—a powerful strategy for both leadership and branding. Her story inspires listeners to raise their hands, ask for help, and transform challenges into opportunities.

Want to learn more about Emily Schneider's work? Check out her website at https://www.iamemilyschneider.com/.

Connect with Emily on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyschneider719/.

Key Points with Timestamps

• 00:40 - 01:15: Introducing Emily Schneider and her unique role as a visual storyteller.
• 01:40 - 03:05: Emily’s layoff story during pregnancy and how it catalyzed her entrepreneurial journey.
• 03:50 - 05:20: Insights on authenticity and asking for help in the entrepreneurial space.
• 08:25 - 09:15: The intentional lowercase branding and its role in personal storytelling.
• 15:00 - 17:12: The neuroscience of storytelling: how visuals enhance retention and connection.
• 19:10 - 20:30: The importance of breaking down complexity into digestible concepts.
• 25:00 - 27:40: Common pitfalls in PowerPoint presentations and how to avoid them.
• 28:00 - 30:00: Designing presentations for impact, persuasion, and clarity.
• 31:17 - 32:04: How to connect with Emily Schneider and amplify your storytelling.

Transcript

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:30:16
Craig Andrews
I was in a coma for six weeks while the doctors told my wife I was going to die. When I woke up, she told me the most fantastic story. My team kept running the business without me. Freelancers reached out to my team and said, we will do whatever it takes. As long as Craig's in the hospital. I consider that the greatest accomplishment of my career.

00:00:30:18 - 00:00:51:07
Craig Andrews
My name is Craig Andrews and this is the Leaders and Legacies podcast where we talk to leaders creating an impact beyond themselves. At the end of today's interview, I'll tell you how you can be the next leader featured on the show.

00:00:51:09 - 00:01:02:08
Craig Andrews
All right. Today I will welcome emily schneider. She is a designer, a PowerPoint designer. But I don't think that gives us justice to what she does.

00:01:02:08 - 00:01:15:05
Craig Andrews
Let me put it this way. If you ever have to do a presentation, you need somebody like Emily in your life. At least you need her ideas. So please tune in and listen to this.

00:01:15:07 - 00:01:35:21
Craig Andrews
She's got nearly 20 years in marketing and branding, and she hates complex ideas that confuse her brain. So she just keeps working on Adam until there's simple and understandable and visual. And so I've been talking to her. I wish I hit record 20 minutes ago. Emily, welcome.

00:01:35:23 - 00:01:40:14
emily schneider
Oh, thanks for having me, Greg. It's so great to be here. I'm excited for the rest of our conversation. Let's go.

00:01:40:16 - 00:01:54:11
Craig Andrews
Yeah. So you started telling me a story, and I just gasped when when I heard the intro and you were eight and a half months pregnant and somebody laid you off?

00:01:54:13 - 00:02:05:03
emily schneider
Yes, unfortunately. I mean, it's the way the cookie crumbled, but, like, I'm a very optimistic person, and so it's brought me here. Without that, I would never be here. But yes, I worked for a tech startup.

00:02:05:03 - 00:02:11:14
emily schneider
And but these guys didn't do it to, like, be mean. And it was the pivot that got me out of the old of, like, what I did.

00:02:11:14 - 00:02:13:11
emily schneider
But yes, eight and a half months pregnant.

00:02:13:11 - 00:02:19:17
emily schneider
Just a tech startup. And like, sometimes you have to make hard decisions. And my, my role was obviously not critical,

00:02:19:17 - 00:02:24:10
emily schneider
in terms of the longevity of where they were and they needed to get back in the black. And so,

00:02:24:10 - 00:02:28:10
emily schneider
I got a call on a Monday afternoon. I knew something was really weird.

00:02:28:12 - 00:02:41:17
emily schneider
I kind of I mean, they were kind about it. They obviously didn't want to, didn't want it to go down that way. But I did ask. I was like, can you give me a few more days before we, like, make this official? Because I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow and I got to figure out, like what? What's going to happen in the next few weeks,

00:02:41:17 - 00:02:43:12
emily schneider
when I have this baby?

00:02:43:14 - 00:02:47:03
emily schneider
And it kind of launched me. It was it was obviously a a whirlwind.

00:02:47:03 - 00:03:04:10
emily schneider
I learned so much. I don't know if I could technically call it, like, PTSD, but there's definitely there's definitely things from that season of life that still trigger me because of that feeling of like, you lost control, right? Like you, you depended on somebody to do something or that job security.

00:03:04:10 - 00:03:05:11
emily schneider
And it was gone.

00:03:05:11 - 00:03:17:16
emily schneider
And but again, here I am. I knew once that happened, once I had that baby in my and this was my second kid. So it was a whole different experience that like, I was never going back to an agency. I actually didn't want to work for anybody else anymore.

00:03:17:16 - 00:03:19:06
emily schneider
And it pivoted me to here.

00:03:19:06 - 00:03:21:21
emily schneider
And so it's been five years. My daughter's five and a half.

00:03:21:21 - 00:03:45:13
emily schneider
And here I am now, being able to talk and proudly share that, like, yes, I'm a visual storyteller. I specialize in PowerPoint design. I didn't even know that was a thing that existed or not. That I should say. I knew that PowerPoint design or existed. I didn't know I could niche myself and bring my skill set and my expertise and just my love of helping build people's confidence to the world in this way and make an impact and an income like it's amazing.

00:03:45:13 - 00:03:46:05
emily schneider
So,

00:03:46:05 - 00:03:51:08
emily schneider
without that, I would never have discovered my zone a genius and been here to chat with you, so I'll take it.

00:03:51:10 - 00:03:57:02
Craig Andrews
You know, I mean, I get that businesses have to make tough decisions.

00:03:57:02 - 00:04:15:03
Craig Andrews
I, I would have really struggled with that. I think I would have said, hey, you know what? We're going to keep you employed until you have the baby, you know, because you're eight and a half months pregnant. I would say, hey, when you have the baby, let's just make that the breaking point.

00:04:15:05 - 00:04:28:16
Craig Andrews
And, you know, let's talk about how to, you know, minimize. I just that would be hard. I would really I don't know, I don't think I'd go and come home to my wife and tell her I just laid off a woman that's eight and a half months pregnant. I mean.

00:04:28:16 - 00:04:35:04
emily schneider
I don't think that they did even say like, no. And let's be true to that. Like, again, these guys are amazing. They're a great company.

00:04:35:04 - 00:04:39:00
emily schneider
I will say also that like, yes, we like they gave me a minute to breathe, obviously.

00:04:39:00 - 00:04:48:05
emily schneider
We chatted and we actually negotiated. So I did work for a couple, like part time for the rest of the, you know, those those rest of those few weeks until the until Kobe was born.

00:04:48:05 - 00:05:04:14
emily schneider
But we negotiated. And so I got to keep my computer. So like it just like meet. So they helped me make my transition out of there so much easier. I was remote at the time too. So like so yes, they made it. They did their best that they could. They just couldn't do much like and I didn't have, you know, I didn't have any,

00:05:04:14 - 00:05:06:23
emily schneider
insight into what was happening financially.

00:05:07:02 - 00:05:10:00
emily schneider
I just wasn't part in charge of the brand in the marketing.

00:05:10:00 - 00:05:17:20
emily schneider
I knew things were great, but like, that just, you know, it is a shocker. You're kind of, like, in your own world. Yeah. Ready to kind of like, okay, I'm going to take three break three months off and,

00:05:17:20 - 00:05:19:13
emily schneider
change. It definitely changed my,

00:05:19:13 - 00:05:20:12
emily schneider
my maternity leave.

00:05:20:12 - 00:05:44:03
emily schneider
But again, I, I look back now and I, I know I survived it and so like, it's, it was the best thing like I would not have been I would not have been as curious to to share with people what I did. I would not have been as willing to raise my hand and say, I need help and like again, over the five years, that's like one of the most and the biggest, one of the biggest lessons I've learned as an entrepreneur is to raise your hand to be like, I don't know, can you help me to somebody else?

00:05:44:03 - 00:06:04:16
emily schneider
No. Is there somebody who's like me or who's done this before that I can learn from, or their communities or the groups? And so again, it's just it's just set me on this journey to, to keep discovering. So yes, it's kind of a shocker when you say it like that. I actually also got a rejection letter I interviewed for a job I happen to like, like get something that was local.

00:06:04:18 - 00:06:10:13
emily schneider
A couple hours after she was born. But again, best nugget like bad email ever. So. Yeah.

00:06:10:15 - 00:06:28:14
Craig Andrews
Yeah. Well, I mean, that's that's really awesome. I think that's, you know, so many people that listen to this show, their business owners that at some point, yeah, maybe early in life or later in life just said, hey, I'm done with corporate America. I'm going to do the, you know, rather work twice as hard for half pay, but have the, you know, have the freedom.

00:06:28:16 - 00:06:32:19
Craig Andrews
And so but it does take some things and I'll be honest, you know, that's

00:06:32:19 - 00:06:46:09
Craig Andrews
I got, I got fired, which was what put me on my, you know, own journey. You know, the CEO and I were kind of clashing and he was the CEO and I wasn't. It felt a little weird because I had recruited him.

00:06:46:09 - 00:06:50:11
Craig Andrews
But, you know, the reality was he was doing the right thing for the company.

00:06:50:13 - 00:06:52:05
Craig Andrews
We're we're, you know, we're friends.

00:06:52:05 - 00:06:53:14
Craig Andrews
You know, I don't. Yeah.

00:06:53:14 - 00:06:59:02
Craig Andrews
Similarly, I'm thankful because that put in motion what I'm doing now.

00:06:59:04 - 00:07:02:09
emily schneider
Yeah. And I think sometimes you need that little push. Right.

00:07:02:09 - 00:07:14:19
emily schneider
It's hard to be the one to make that decision, to say I'm going to kind of give it. I'm going to risk all of this when I've got this. And so sometimes you need somebody that unfortunately pushed you out so that you can figure out what's next.

00:07:14:20 - 00:07:17:19
emily schneider
So it's always easier to figure it out than it is, I think.

00:07:17:19 - 00:07:33:08
emily schneider
And those kind of forms, I've, I've watched others entrepreneurs, part of people in my presentation community who are trying to, like, leave their corporate job to do this full time. And it's harder because that it's scarier. But when you don't have a choice and you just say, like, it's going to be scary no matter what you do it.

00:07:33:10 - 00:07:36:06
emily schneider
So I try to empower. I try to help people with that too.

00:07:36:08 - 00:07:51:23
Craig Andrews
That's awesome. Well, and, you know, as you were saying, that reminded me, you know, you know, a little bit of my story. You know, three years ago, I was coming out of the hospital, and I had to learn how to walk again. And there was a lot to be scary scared by. But when you don't have any other choice.

00:07:52:01 - 00:08:05:17
Craig Andrews
Yeah. Figure it out. Yeah, yeah. That's awesome. Well, you know, one of the things that I noticed early in your communications was, yes, when you filled out the application to be on the podcast, I was like,

00:08:05:17 - 00:08:17:08
Craig Andrews
doggone, it must have been auto complete. The the name is lower lowercase, which happens a lot. So I go in the CRM and I uppercase it, and then every single email I get from you, you have your your name lowercase.

00:08:17:08 - 00:08:25:11
Craig Andrews
And I look at your LinkedIn page and it's lowercase. I'm like, I think this is deliberate. I think this might be intentional.

00:08:25:13 - 00:08:29:06
emily schneider
It is. It's totally intentional. I actually don't design things with without intention.

00:08:29:06 - 00:08:31:04
emily schneider
Even when I try, I have a really hard time.

00:08:31:04 - 00:08:41:18
emily schneider
So short story I was designing. I've been designing a personal photo album calendar, like holiday gifts and a sticker thing, and I like, I was like, oh, I should only take it, should only take me 20 minutes and it takes me so much longer because I have a really hard time.

00:08:41:18 - 00:08:43:10
emily schneider
Yes. But going back to your question,

00:08:43:10 - 00:09:04:03
emily schneider
yes. Intentionality is is just it's embedded in who I am. So I have always said my name with a lowercase e. There's something just esthetically that I do not like about an uppercase. I find that the lowercase c is a little bit more, it's softer, it gives my character. It actually like it like naturally rolls better when I'm citing my name.

00:09:04:05 - 00:09:08:09
emily schneider
And then personally, I just find that it gives a little bit of character and charm.

00:09:08:09 - 00:09:15:23
emily schneider
I have this kind of unique, quirky personality, and I think it it to your point, it kind of creates this like, wait, what's going on part.

00:09:15:23 - 00:09:22:07
emily schneider
And so I think it helps bring me forward, especially in the digital space where, you know, it's hard to show your personality all the time.

00:09:22:07 - 00:09:23:04
emily schneider
It helps to,

00:09:23:04 - 00:09:29:11
emily schneider
to stand out. And again, I want to be authentic to who I am. And so if I personally have a problem with with the letter, I don't want to use it.

00:09:29:11 - 00:09:34:20
emily schneider
But I have to find five. That letter is like the hardest and the most and the worst one for me. One of them,

00:09:34:20 - 00:09:40:04
emily schneider
to find a really pretty, especially a script is like always it looks like a three, you know, three backwards.

00:09:40:04 - 00:09:42:10
emily schneider
It looks like other letter forms.

00:09:42:10 - 00:09:50:09
emily schneider
Yeah. Somebody who could get really into the granular things of design that those letters can be really important. So lowercase is always safe for me.

00:09:50:14 - 00:10:09:02
Craig Andrews
Yeah. Well I think it's the marketing term is it's a pattern interrupt. You know so I look yeah. You know I started looking at it and it made me look closer at your profile. It made me look, you know, dig in a little bit more and, you know, so from a marketing standpoint, we don't want to blend in.

00:10:09:02 - 00:10:20:09
Craig Andrews
We want to stand out. We want to do something. You know, I find so many people have like, weird quirks that they try to hide. I'm like, don't hide those. Amplify them.

00:10:20:11 - 00:10:35:11
emily schneider
Yeah, yeah. Show up like I, I'm just such a believer in like, being authentically true to who I am and every space. Right. So when I'm, when I'm working, when I'm a mom, when I'm with my friends, like, whatever it is like just to be me and so wanted that that is part of who I am. It's bringing that personality.

00:10:35:11 - 00:10:44:02
emily schneider
It's bringing that little bit of silliness and wackiness. It's bringing my attention forward. It's been very strategic. It's been very intentional with the choices I make.

00:10:44:02 - 00:10:55:02
emily schneider
Especially with design and the way I people, people see me. And my biggest thing is like, if it doesn't work for you, like, that's okay, but doesn't mean I have to change, because if I'm not true to me, like, then who am I?

00:10:55:04 - 00:10:58:23
emily schneider
You know, what am I doing and how do I do my work if I can't be authentic?

00:10:58:23 - 00:11:01:22
emily schneider
And I try to preach that, especially as a mom, I really try to teach that,

00:11:01:22 - 00:11:14:03
emily schneider
and everybody I work with, I, you know, part of helping business leaders tell their stories with more confidence is being that and doing what feels right and what is natural.

00:11:14:05 - 00:11:36:04
emily schneider
I mean, just like your podcast, it's a conversation. It's not scripted. It's it's about being true. And I mean, don't you think now in life like that is all we want is to connect with people in the most authentic way? That's like, I mean, as the world is shifting and turning like all we can be is like true to ourselves and to each other and hopefully, right do the right things as we make our choices.

00:11:36:06 - 00:11:45:23
Craig Andrews
Yeah. And it's, you know, it. We go through cycles as, as a Western civilization. We go through an eight year cycle. And

00:11:45:23 - 00:11:48:00
Craig Andrews
when my mentors describes is,

00:11:48:00 - 00:12:00:05
Craig Andrews
40 years of a me cycle, followed by 40 years of a we cycle. And so what's really interesting is during the Me cycle, it becomes a celebration of the individual.

00:12:00:07 - 00:12:14:15
Craig Andrews
And at the absolute peak of that, it becomes almost like a costume party. So if you think back to 1983, think about the music videos, the big hair, the spandex, it was like a costume party. And if.

00:12:14:17 - 00:12:15:14
emily schneider
You.

00:12:15:16 - 00:12:16:16
Craig Andrews
If you read like,

00:12:16:16 - 00:12:38:08
Craig Andrews
books like, like Hocus Autobiography was published in 84. I read that last year and I was like, wow, I'm glad I knew this about culture because he seemed, you know, overly obsessed about himself. But it was properly written for that time. Well, 2023 was the peak of the we cycle. And the one of the biggest things that's,

00:12:38:08 - 00:12:40:17
Craig Andrews
prized is the authenticity.

00:12:40:19 - 00:12:44:03
Craig Andrews
And so we got another, at least another 20 years of that.

00:12:44:05 - 00:12:48:08
emily schneider
So yeah, I was going to ask where we are this.

00:12:48:10 - 00:13:15:01
Craig Andrews
Yeah. Yeah. And so that's what's selling. And you know, it's interesting I ran across like especially salespeople, anybody who earned their sales chops in the 80s or 90s and is now a sales manager, is leading their team to do all these tactics that worked in the 80s or 90s, but they don't work right now. They'll work again. Another you know, 30, 40 years, but they don't work right now.

00:13:15:01 - 00:13:19:16
Craig Andrews
And it's and right now what works is authenticity.

00:13:19:18 - 00:13:23:22
emily schneider
Oh for sure. I mean I think it's like is it trend in like is it fair to say that.

00:13:23:22 - 00:13:26:21
emily schneider
But I love that. What a, what a interesting history lesson.

00:13:26:21 - 00:13:27:01
emily schneider
Yeah.

00:13:27:01 - 00:13:34:04
emily schneider
That there were trends I know about hair. I know your hair changes every seven years, but I didn't know that our culture that's that's, like, way cooler.

00:13:34:06 - 00:13:42:10
emily schneider
Okay, so we're in the we we're at the peak of the we and we're like. And now we're transitioning. But it will be able to slow transition to the I okay into the me.

00:13:42:12 - 00:13:58:03
Craig Andrews
Yeah it will be. And the other thing the saturated the when you peak and we cycles you end up at a time of hyper polarization. And, and so the good news is the polarization everybody's experiencing that's going to start getting gradually better.

00:13:58:04 - 00:14:01:03
emily schneider
I love this. You're helping to ground us all.

00:14:01:05 - 00:14:04:16
Craig Andrews
Yeah, yeah. But anyway, let's bring this back to design.

00:14:04:16 - 00:14:15:14
Craig Andrews
One of the things that you said that really stood out to me is he said, I'm going to this phrase, so help me find the words.

00:14:15:14 - 00:14:25:12
Craig Andrews
But you said that when you look at things, they you find them confusing, and so your brain starts breaking them down until you can explain them simply and visually.

00:14:25:13 - 00:14:26:22
Craig Andrews
Is. Is that. Yeah.

00:14:27:00 - 00:14:28:08
emily schneider
It's totally true. I would say,

00:14:28:08 - 00:14:41:15
emily schneider
I, I when I see the world, I break it down. So I but I think you're right, I think I am confused. I just never have explained it like that. But when I don't, when I don't understand something, I have to break it down. So I,

00:14:41:15 - 00:14:55:18
emily schneider
my story or like one of, like, my favorite examples is like when I go on, I like to walk a lot outside of like, you know, listen to music and I'll find myself lost in thought of shapes and trees and houses or even as like, it's the holiday season and you see all these lights, and I look at patterns and I

00:14:55:18 - 00:15:03:20
emily schneider
look at how things work together in order to understand the bigger picture. So I, I get very granular and then I pull back,

00:15:03:20 - 00:15:19:04
emily schneider
and like, it's kind of like this dance, right? You like, see the bigger thing, then you hyper focus and you pull back. But what I'm doing is I'm taking these bigger, complex thoughts or pictures or concepts, and I know and I love breaking them down so I can understand them and to digest them.

00:15:19:10 - 00:15:23:21
emily schneider
And then I can share them or I can explain them or I can process them.

00:15:23:21 - 00:15:33:08
emily schneider
I mean, you it could be as early as I used to be, the person who broke everything my mom said I would everywhere I went, I broke something like she always had a baby. All these random things that I would touch them and break them.

00:15:33:11 - 00:15:41:21
emily schneider
But really, it was my curiosity of how things work together. So I would lift it up. I would want to see what the parts are. I'd want to see these smaller pieces coming together.

00:15:41:21 - 00:15:56:05
emily schneider
So I think it's just innate in my nature. And I've realized that it's just an amazing strategy. That's part of my character that I, that I use now as a, you know, to, to launch and to fuel my creativity in my business.

00:15:56:07 - 00:16:13:07
emily schneider
But it happens all the time. I mean, it's it's true. I think. So if you think about it, though, we are 65% more likely to retain information when it's designed, when it's visual. Okay, so think about a picture book again. I'll go back to my five year old. I do have an amazing nine year old. So I don't want to I don't want to cut him short.

00:16:13:07 - 00:16:37:10
emily schneider
But my five year old currently is in kindergarten. She does not know how to read, but she loves reading books because the power of a simple visual story to connect concepts, feelings, emotions, right? Really, a picture is worth a thousand words. And so when you can, when you can break it down to that simple concept of a picture book has so much power.

00:16:37:15 - 00:16:53:22
emily schneider
And it's how we tell stories. It's how we've generationally shared history. It's through pictures, is through art, is through, is through the creative field. It makes a lot of sense. And so that's how we retain it and that's how we share it. And I think it helps us see and connect to,

00:16:53:22 - 00:16:55:12
emily schneider
you have a picture of a tree in your head.

00:16:55:12 - 00:17:12:10
emily schneider
I have a picture of a tree in my head. But if I tell you my tree is triangular with a brown stem, we might sort of start to have the same thing in mind. Right? So you got, so breaking these, these bigger complexities down to simple forms allows us to align. Yeah, I can go on and on, but I don't, I don't.

00:17:12:10 - 00:17:31:05
Craig Andrews
No, no, I didn't I was, you know, as you were talking, I was thinking about I have a presentation I've been using since 2018 and it's gone through some minor changes. But there's one slide in the presentation. It has no words and has a picture of a scene. And usually when I get to that point in the presentation, I flip to the slide.

00:17:31:07 - 00:17:58:17
Craig Andrews
People start laughing. They just start laughing. I don't even have to tell them what's in my script because things have been set up right. You know? And this is a PowerPoint presentation. Things have been set up right. When I put that slide up there, I'll tell you where it is. It's you know, I'm talking about the problem of closing high ticket deals, how people do, you know, do all these different things and how they,

00:17:58:17 - 00:18:02:07
Craig Andrews
you know, they try cold calling and they try all these other things.

00:18:02:07 - 00:18:27:22
Craig Andrews
And then I pull up the slide and the picture of this creepy guy walking up to a girl in the bar, and the girl looks just completely repulsed by them. And people start laughing. They know the point they're making without even saying the words, and it's like. This would be inappropriate in real life, but for some reason we do this in high ticket B2B and so.

00:18:27:22 - 00:18:28:23
emily schneider
Interesting, right?

00:18:29:01 - 00:18:40:17
Craig Andrews
Yeah. Oh yeah. It's yeah. We are like, oh hi. I know you don't know me, but would you like to buy my 10,000 or 100,000 or $1 million program? You're going to love it. I promise. It's like,

00:18:40:17 - 00:18:50:13
Craig Andrews
but back to your point. Finding the right picture to tell that story makes it memorable. And the reason that slides.

00:18:50:15 - 00:18:53:21
Craig Andrews
I've been using that for over six years now.

00:18:53:22 - 00:19:11:14
emily schneider
So part of part of what I love about my job too, is I'm kind of like this data science geek. I love to not only visualize it, but I also love to understand the neuroscience of how we listen and hear and pay attention and again, connect with people in these presentations. And so when you think about that, is your story right?

00:19:11:14 - 00:19:38:14
emily schneider
Or like Steve Jobs is always like the creme de la creme, right, of like presentations that had no words and like everyone's like, I want that. Right? Okay, great. Let's all do it. But what is what what it really is asking and what and what we're able to do is we allow our audience when you set it up properly, when you take the time to craft your story and your narrative and you get to that slide, you have already given your your audience the right tools to put the puzzle pieces together.

00:19:38:19 - 00:19:56:07
emily schneider
And our brains really, really do that. So I think we, we've we were talking before the show, but like the idea of like death by PowerPoint where you like flip on a slide, it has like all these words, tons of bullets. You're either reading it or you've tuned it out. Well, of course, like your brain is going to shut that down.

00:19:56:12 - 00:20:22:09
emily schneider
It doesn't want to understand it. It's too much. But when you give it something simple and you allow the pieces that you've already shared to come to life again, that's where the where I break down that complexity and I, you know, simply using the same color when you're talking about a quarter or a product, one simple product, if you have three products and use the same color for product, a different color for product B in different color for product C throughout your whole slide.

00:20:22:13 - 00:20:45:02
emily schneider
By the end, if you show a graph, you might not need to label product a product B a product C because our brains will put those puzzle pieces together. Our brains form the stories and audiences we know are where we live in this like attention seeking economy. So they're always trying to figure something out. Their brains are used to always moving, and so you can help them put the right puzzle piece together to your point.

00:20:45:04 - 00:21:00:08
emily schneider
You create that experience for that audience. That as a presenter is like, amazing, right? It's the best. It's probably the best feeling when you get to that slide. Like you're so confident, you feel so good and you know your point has been made. And that's the beauty of a really well visual

00:21:00:08 - 00:21:03:00
emily schneider
crafted visual story. I love it.

00:21:03:02 - 00:21:16:00
Craig Andrews
Now I have a theory about designers, and I'm interested in your take on this. I believe really great designers are disproportionately dyslexic.

00:21:16:02 - 00:21:25:09
emily schneider
Oh, interesting. Okay. Yes I agree language story. Can I tell a story like, yeah. Okay. So I,

00:21:25:09 - 00:21:36:21
emily schneider
growing up I like, you know, had after school activities. One of them was dance. And Thursday nights I danced was my late night. And I vividly remember multiple Thursday nights. Again, I'm such a visual person. I remember the my kitchen table.

00:21:36:21 - 00:21:46:11
emily schneider
I remember where my mom sat, where I sat, and just looking ahead or being like, can't I fail spelling? Because every Friday we had a spelling test and I and I'm still a horrendous,

00:21:46:11 - 00:21:47:14
emily schneider
speller.

00:21:47:14 - 00:21:56:07
emily schneider
And I make up words. My husband and my son, they actually have a list going on the frigerator of words where I like, combine words because I think.

00:21:56:11 - 00:21:57:19
emily schneider
Right, like they're like similar

00:21:57:19 - 00:22:04:10
emily schneider
or like and my husband is not have any challenges with language. So he'll look at me and be like, what are you trying to say?

00:22:04:10 - 00:22:13:03
emily schneider
So yes, that that I've never heard that. But hands down I agree there is. Yes. Because my brain just doesn't see it like I run through it.

00:22:13:03 - 00:22:14:12
emily schneider
I but I do love reading.

00:22:14:12 - 00:22:18:05
emily schneider
I do love language, I just have I personally have a really hard time with spelling,

00:22:18:05 - 00:22:18:20
emily schneider
and

00:22:18:20 - 00:22:32:23
emily schneider
and I have I joked when I used to work an agency that people would say, I have to learn how to speak Emily, because my text messages are the way I communicate. I my thought process moves faster that I can actually get it out.

00:22:33:01 - 00:22:49:23
emily schneider
Part of the reason I do love I these days is like, ChatGPT really helps me make sure my, my, my emails are just poised and, you know, shorter and to the point. And I don't because sometimes I oh, I'm a verbal processor if you can't tell. So I overcommunicate right. Which is, which is what I help my clients not do.

00:22:49:23 - 00:22:52:22
emily schneider
But it's always easier to preach than it is to do so. Anyway, I

00:22:52:22 - 00:22:56:00
emily schneider
that's amazing Craig I love that that yes for sure.

00:22:56:02 - 00:22:59:12
Craig Andrews
Well I, I started suspecting it when I was working with,

00:22:59:12 - 00:23:16:08
Craig Andrews
with my designer years ago and I type out, hey, here's what I'm looking for, and I get something else back. And I, you know, for a while I got frustrated. I was like, hey, I listed out everything I want them to have. And then I started realizing it hit me.

00:23:16:08 - 00:23:43:22
Craig Andrews
I was like, you know, I think people that gravitate towards visual design probably do so because that's their language of communication. So I'm trying to get them stuck in my language, in the language of of written words. And he's struggling. And I realized for me to be able to tap into a designer's true strengths, I need to be able to meet them in their language, in that visual language, and allow them to thrive in that visual language.

00:23:44:00 - 00:23:53:07
emily schneider
So. And one of the one of the, one of my big like the way I built my business, like especially this past year, is I tell clients and and I think it's a time saving thing too is

00:23:53:07 - 00:24:00:15
emily schneider
I don't need your feedback. The email. Let's get on a 15 minute zoom call. Let me show you my screen. I don't hold things back either.

00:24:00:15 - 00:24:19:03
emily schneider
Like I'm one that like, let's be super transparent again. I think it goes to this, that back to that conversation of like, we're in the age of we and like this authenticity and this transparency, and let's talk about it. Tell me what you tell me where I missed it. Don't write it out in words. Because also as we talk, we create again this natural dialog.

00:24:19:03 - 00:24:37:08
emily schneider
And I can start saying, oh, actually, did you think of like, I see it this way. I start to draw things, I can start to move parts around, and it's so much easier. And so I when people when people send me emails, I say, actually, let's jump on a call and let's walk through it because my interpretation of what's in your head, again, it goes back to that breaking complex thoughts down.

00:24:37:12 - 00:24:44:18
emily schneider
It looks different for each of us. And so until I can speak your language really fluently, it's kind of there's a learning curve.

00:24:44:18 - 00:24:47:06
emily schneider
I think and I believe it saves both of us time.

00:24:47:06 - 00:24:54:21
emily schneider
It's how I kick off projects. I make my clients walk me through their deck again. They don't have to, like, give me the whole presentation, but tell me what those key points are for that side.

00:24:54:21 - 00:24:59:12
emily schneider
Because if I read it, I might see something different. So yes, it's so true.

00:24:59:12 - 00:25:05:10
emily schneider
So interesting because I never thought of it in that manner. But yes, my language is through art, through visuals,

00:25:05:10 - 00:25:15:20
emily schneider
and through speaking, because I think it's that connection and the brainstorming ability when you can talk to somebody like this, right? To have real conversations really helps.

00:25:15:22 - 00:25:16:18
Craig Andrews
Yeah.

00:25:16:18 - 00:25:21:08
Craig Andrews
That's awesome. Well, let's talk about PowerPoint. So what?

00:25:21:08 - 00:25:30:14
Craig Andrews
Well, just Bezos of Amazon hates him so much that if you show up to a meeting with a PowerPoint, you're gonna get fired.

00:25:30:14 - 00:25:41:22
Craig Andrews
You know, they're just purely banned. But I don't think PowerPoints are necessarily bad. It's probably how they're used. And so, yes, what's what's wrong with the way people use PowerPoint?

00:25:42:00 - 00:25:54:23
emily schneider
I think it goes back to this like concept of death by PowerPoint. PowerPoint is an amazing tool. It is a presentation tool. It is not the thing that should be used to do the work for you.

00:25:54:23 - 00:25:57:15
emily schneider
And so I think that unfortunately,

00:25:57:15 - 00:26:03:08
emily schneider
what I have discovered is that people just don't know how to use it properly. They don't know how to use it to tell their story.

00:26:03:13 - 00:26:16:20
emily schneider
They know what they want to say. Again, they're good at these longer emails. They're good at highlighting and bolding all these words. But when you're having a presentation, when you're communicating big concepts with somebody, and especially,

00:26:16:20 - 00:26:27:05
emily schneider
in different industries, right, you only have a few seconds to grab somebody's attention and these decision makers to decide if they're funding that or not or not, if they're going to invest in your company, if they're going to move forward with you.

00:26:27:07 - 00:26:53:15
emily schneider
And so when you can visually tell that story and elevate it and use PowerPoint as a tool to support that, it becomes an emotional connection. You create that credibility and that confidence. Your brand and your persona come to life, your confidence as that leader, as that presenter, as that sales lead is shown. And it's so much easier. And so and I think it's like this is there's these beautiful templates we could purchase.

00:26:53:17 - 00:27:14:21
emily schneider
Even PowerPoint has their own existing templates, but they're built from an esthetic standpoint. They're not built from a strategic standpoint. And when you get into certain, you know, certain conversations, you need to be more strategic and intentional. Going back to this intentional word, you need to be intentional with what you're saying and how you're saying it and how it comes to life.

00:27:14:23 - 00:27:34:05
emily schneider
We default to over communication, we think is what is the confident thing saying all these bullets on a slide, getting all the data around one fact. I only need that one fact to actually prove my point. I don't need to show you everything else, all these little minutia points, right? I can design it to lead my audience.

00:27:34:05 - 00:27:52:22
emily schneider
Exactly where I need them to be. Just like you said, that presentation you've been using for this creepy guy at the bar, you led your audience exactly where you needed them to be. So that made sense. And it was a no brainer. And it's it doesn't take a lot of work. It takes a different mindset to build your story.

00:27:53:00 - 00:27:55:07
emily schneider
I don't know if we have enough time to go into it, but I will,

00:27:55:07 - 00:27:57:18
emily schneider
share that I have a one pager on my website.

00:27:57:18 - 00:28:00:01
emily schneider
And I break it down to four tips.

00:28:00:01 - 00:28:07:16
emily schneider
I've always liked, again, I'm a visual person, so print it out or have it up on your screen and it breaks it down to how you should think about your presentation before you do anything.

00:28:07:16 - 00:28:24:19
emily schneider
Before you open PowerPoint, know your audience who they are, what you want them to think and feel and do right. Craft your narrative. What is the what is the end? Start with the end in mind. What do you want them to do? Decide where do you want to drive them?

00:28:24:19 - 00:28:27:14
emily schneider
What are those key points then? It's about the visualization.

00:28:27:19 - 00:28:37:15
emily schneider
That's when we like once your narrative is set, once you know your audience, then you're talking about visualization. We've talked about some of those, the emphasizing the key details, keeping it simple, adding the right visual story.

00:28:37:15 - 00:28:40:05
emily schneider
And I'm going quickly over this. So please, please, you know,

00:28:40:05 - 00:28:42:21
emily schneider
maybe we can add a show note. And then the last one is the, the delivery.

00:28:42:21 - 00:29:08:09
emily schneider
But when you've set up knowing your audience, crafting your narrative, and having a really strong visual story, your delivery is easy. You're creating that trusting confidence you have. You've already given yourself the time to rehearse it, to digest it, to work with this content. And so it's so much easier to talk about it and to be to not be scripted and to like, be reading verbatim, to have the slides as that background harmonious music.

00:29:08:09 - 00:29:13:23
emily schneider
I say to your to your voiceover and to create this engaging experience for everybody.

00:29:13:23 - 00:29:21:15
emily schneider
And it becomes a win win. That's how we move businesses forward. Concise, impactful presentations that leave an impact.

00:29:21:17 - 00:29:34:22
Craig Andrews
So if you ask me, hey, what's the outcome you want from this presentation? And I said, well, I want the audience to be a walking encyclopedia of all these things that we can do for them. How would you respond?

00:29:35:00 - 00:29:42:17
emily schneider
Great. Let's list out what those things are, and then let's talk about how we visually can create synergy so that people can remember it.

00:29:42:19 - 00:29:52:19
Craig Andrews
Yeah, yeah. And that's really the key. And I think that's if they don't remember it you wasted your time and theirs.

00:29:52:21 - 00:30:15:10
emily schneider
Yeah. You remember like all the ones that were yucky right. Like I remember the presentations or I was like, I am so bored. Well you know, right. Like you kind of remember those you don't remember anything about it, but you remember, like the feeling or like I'm wasting my time. I should be somewhere else. But the ones that are impactful, the ones that have the imagery, the ones that make that you remember, those you take that away.

00:30:15:11 - 00:30:35:02
emily schneider
You you want to, you want to. You want to figure out how to recreate it. And so I hope I can help my clients and anybody listening help recreate these experiences. It should be again, we're we're seeking authentic connections. That's what sales is. It's a 1 to 1 conversation, whether you're in a big room or a small meeting.

00:30:35:02 - 00:30:42:14
emily schneider
And so when you can create and craft that story and you lead the narrative, it's a no brainer.

00:30:42:16 - 00:30:49:18
Craig Andrews
This is just been absolutely amazing. Emily, I could we could easily talk for another hour. And,

00:30:49:18 - 00:30:52:05
Craig Andrews
it's been so delightful. But we got to wrap,

00:30:52:05 - 00:31:03:18
Craig Andrews
without doubt, anybody who's doing PowerPoints in business, what's the purpose of persuading now, if they're a CFO that's trying to bore everybody so they can hide some disclosures?

00:31:03:19 - 00:31:13:02
emily schneider
I can help with that, though, too. Hey, I could help. I can help get that stuff written behind. Yeah, but you're right. Really, really. The the big work is persuasion for sure.

00:31:13:04 - 00:31:17:14
Craig Andrews
So everybody needs what you do. How do they reach you?

00:31:17:16 - 00:31:23:07
emily schneider
The best way to find me is via my website. I am Emily Schneider, dot com, all lowercase,

00:31:23:07 - 00:31:29:16
emily schneider
and also on LinkedIn. I'm super active. I love networking and connecting with people on there. You can find me.

00:31:29:18 - 00:31:31:14
Craig Andrews
Well that's excellent. Well, thanks for sharing that.

00:31:31:14 - 00:31:32:23
Craig Andrews
Layers and legacies.

00:31:33:01 - 00:31:38:02
emily schneider
Yeah it was so great to be here. Thanks so much for having me Craig.

00:31:38:02 - 00:32:04:21
Craig Andrews
This is Craig Andrews. I want to thank you for listening to the Leaders and Legacies podcast. We're looking for leaders to share how they're making the impact beyond themselves. If that's you, please go to Alize for me.com/guest and sign up there. If you got something out of this interview, we would love you to share this

00:32:04:21 - 00:32:06:16
Craig Andrews
episode on social media.

00:32:06:18 - 00:32:30:02
Craig Andrews
Just do a quick screenshot with your phone and text it to a friend, or posted on the socials. If you know someone who would be a great guest, tag them on social media and let them know about the show, including the hashtag leaders and legacies. I love seeing your posts and suggestions. We are regularly putting out new episodes and content to make sure you don't miss anything.

00:32:30:04 - 00:32:38:08
Craig Andrews
Please go ahead and subscribe your thumbs up! Ratings and reviews go a long way to help promote the show. It means a lot to me.

00:32:38:08 - 00:34:40:09
Craig Andrews
It means a lot to my team. If you want to know more, please go to Alize for me.com. or follow me on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.