Storytelling for Meetings & Presentations

If you've ever walked out of a meeting or presentation thinking "that could have gone better", this workshop is for you.

Maybe someone derailed the conversation early on. Maybe you didn't get the decision you needed. Or maybe you just know you could have explained your thinking more clearly.

The issue isn’t usually the work itself. It’s how you lead the conversation around it. How you open, frame what's coming, explain your thinking, handle interruptions, and guide the room toward a decision.

This half-day workshop teaches you how to lead meetings and presentations with more clarity, confidence, and purpose. You'll learn practical frameworks for structuring your story, adapting to your audience, and handling the moments when things don't go to plan.

The approach: Tried and tested storytelling principles from great presenters and communicators, applied to the everyday meetings and presentations where you need people to understand the work and move decisions forward.

The outcome: More ease and more control in the rooms you're already in. Confidence in how you show up, clarity in how you explain your thinking, and the ability to guide conversations toward the outcomes you need.

By the end of this workshop, you'll have practical tools to:

Structure and lead any meeting or presentation with confidence

• Open with clarity so people immediately understand what matters and where you're headed
• Shape your story so it builds to the outcome you're after
• Frame your thinking so people understand the 'why', not just the 'what'

Handle the room when things don't go to plan

• Manage interruptions and objections without losing your thread
• Bring derailed conversations back on track
• Read the room and adapt in the moment to what's actually happening

Guide conversations toward the outcomes that matter

• Tailor your message for different people in the same room
• Simplify complex thinking without losing substance
• Build the trust and clarity that helps decisions move forward

This workshop is for people who regularly lead meetings, present work, need to secure buy-in, or guide conversations toward decisions:

Product owners and managers who present roadmaps, proposals, or recommendations and need to guide decisions with confidence.

UX, service, and product designers who need to secure buy-in for research and testing, present findings and recommendations, or facilitate workshops and design sessions with clients, leadership, or cross-functional teams.

Strategists, planners, and consultants who present recommendations, facilitate workshops, or pitch proposals to clients and leadership.

Team leads and managers who run standups, lead retrospectives, deliver updates, or facilitate discussions where alignment matters.

Anyone leading meetings where the outcome matters - whether that's getting approval, aligning teams, facilitating discussions, or moving a decision forward.

Anna Dahlström is a strategic UX, CX and storytelling consultant and author of Storytelling in Design (O'Reilly). With nearly 25 years of experience across startups, B2B, B2C, public sector, global brands, and agencies, she helps organisations break down silos, solve the right problems, and create cohesive, human-centred products and services.

Anna is a seasoned speaker who has given talks and workshops at SXSW, UX London, Web Summit, and events internationally. Her workshops and sessions consistently overbook at conferences. At SXSW, demand was so high they added an extra session and still had to turn people away. She's also the founder of UX Fika, host of The UX Fika Podcast, and a mum of two.

This is a hands-on half-day workshop (9:30am–1pm) that focuses entirely on the practical skills you need in the room.

What's included:

• Half-day in-person workshop in central London
• Live online follow-up session two weeks after the workshop
• Practical exercises based on your real meetings and presentations
• Simple preparation checklist and in-the-moment toolkit
• All workshop materials and templates
• Fika (of course)

Early bird pricing: Limited to the first 12 attendees. Once early bird tickets sell out, prices increase by £50. Book early to secure your spot.

Spaces are limited. Book early to secure your place.

This workshop is Day 2 of a two-part series:

Connecting the dots - between users (including non-human ones), touchpoints, teams and organisational structures.

Day 2: Storytelling for Effective Meetings and Presentations (26 March) Communicating that work - leading meetings, framing recommendations, handling questions, and guiding decisions.

You can book this workshop on its own, or purchase both days together for the full journey from shaping the work to leading the conversation around it. Both options are available at checkout.

Save 25% when you book as a group of 3 or more. This workshop works especially well when attended together - teams leave with shared language and approaches they can use immediately.

It's particularly valuable for teams who want to:

• Improve how work is framed before it reaches decision-makers
• Create consistency in how the team presents and handles objections
• Build confidence across the team in leading stakeholder conversations

To book as a team, select the group ticket option at checkout or email [email protected]

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Host or Publisher UX Fika | Anna Dahlström