Duarte Sparkline
Nancy Duarte's presentation shape, drawn from analysing great speeches such as King's and Jobs'. A talk keeps alternating between the present and a better possible future, which builds tension and desire for change, and casts the audience as the hero with the speaker as their guide.
When your sessions feel disjointed or participants lose focus
Your meetings or sessions need better pacing, clearer transitions, or more engaging sequences to keep participants engaged.
Keynotes, vision and change talks, town halls and launches where the audience must want a different future.
What Is
Open by describing the audience's current reality in terms they recognise.
What Could Be
Contrast it with a better future your idea makes possible.
Contrast Middle
Move back and forth between what is and what could be, each swing adding a point, story or piece of evidence.
Call to Action
Ask the audience clearly what they need to do to reach the better future.
The Better Future
End with a vivid picture of how much better things will be when they act.
Creates natural rhythm and momentum that keeps energy high throughout.
Use the phases as the blocks of a keynote, vision talk or town hall: one opening block on the present, several alternating contrast blocks, then the call to action and the closing picture.
- 1Vary the pace between high and low energy activities
- 2Use clear transitions between sections
- 3Build complexity gradually throughout
- 4End with actionable takeaways
- Keynotes
- Vision and change talks
- Town halls
- Product or strategy launches
- Audience as hero, speaker as mentor
- Alternate between present and future
- Build tension with contrast
- A clear call to action
- End on the better world, not a summary
- Needs real stories and evidence; contrast alone feels like hype
- Overkill for short informative updates
- Phase labels follow the book's what is / what could be pattern; Duarte's own turning-point terms vary by source