The Setting Sets the Tone

Some presenters obsess over slides. Others over scripts. But before your first word reaches the audience, something else already has their attention: the environment.

This is the story of one intrepid leader who un-stuck a stalled deal, not by changing her message, but by changing the medium that delivered it.

When the Medium Betrays the Message

Louisa was an architect by training, a strategist by role, and a storyteller by necessity. Her team was leading the vision for a multimillion-dollar mixed-use development in North Dallas. Retail, residential, green space, the works. The opportunity was enormous. But their presentations kept falling flat.

Each time they met with the investment group, Louisa unrolled her blueprints across the table, asking the room to look down and imagine what could be. People squinted at scale drawings and peppered her with questions that sent the conversation sideways: back to budget constraints, land-use regulations, even the basic goals of the project. Progress was incremental at best. Alignment felt out of reach.

The lead investor was particularly difficult to engage. Hard to pin down. Meetings were delayed for weeks at a time, and when they finally happened, momentum evaporated.

The Power of Changing the Frame

When Louisa arrived at her Campfire Method® training, she was understandably discouraged. But as the session explored how her environment could reinforce her message (or quietly unravel it), something clicked. She realized she’d been asking her audience to envision a future by staring at the past.

Plans on a table.

Numbers on a spreadsheet.

The media weren’t supporting the story. They were distancing people from it.

So she decided to make a change.

Instead of waiting for another formal meeting, Louisa asked the investor’s assistant a simple question: When will he next be near the site? She learned he’d be visiting a neighboring property the following week. Louisa booked a 15-minute slot.

No slides. No team.

Just her.

Drawing the Future into View

On the day of the meeting, she intercepted the investor in the lobby of a nearby office building and invited him upstairs. As they rode the elevator, she spoke not about setbacks or square footage, but about possibility: a place where families could raise children, walk dogs, play pickleball. A neighborhood as vibrant as it was functional.

When the elevator doors opened onto an empty 12th floor, the investor looked confused. There was no boardroom. No screen. Not even a chair in sight. Just sunlight and a floor-to-ceiling window.

Louisa led him to the glass and began to draw.

With a dry-erase marker in hand, she sketched her vision directly onto the window: plazas, tree lines, walking paths, shared spaces. In that moment, the future wasn’t imagined. It was visible. Right where she intended it to manifest.

The investor didn’t ask a single question. He simply nodded and said, “You’ve got what you need. Let’s do it.”

Ten minutes later, Louisa was on her way back to the office. She snapped a photo of the window and sent it to the project team with the subject line: Approved.

What changed? Not the vision. Not the presenter. Not even the message.

Only the environment.

Choose the Setting. Shape the Story.

Whether you’re speaking in person or virtually, your audience forms judgments about your message based on the environment: the room, the time of day, the lighting, the seating, the temperature… Even the background music or the sound of the A/C running.

Your job isn’t just to craft a message. It’s to design the environment that delivers it. So why do we settle for “Conference Room A” when there are so many better choices?

• If you’re pitching a new frozen snack concept, try presenting in the freezer aisle at the grocery store.

• To tell a story about ecological responsibility, bring your audience on a field trip to a littered creek bank.

• To paint a vision of high standards and luxury, host your presentation in an opulent hotel ballroom.

In The Campfire Method, we identify the forces that shape your high-stakes communication moments. This force, environment, is often the most underestimated. Because when leveraged well, time, location and atmosphere don’t just support your story. They become part of it.

Want to learn how to shape the environment so your message becomes unforgettable?

Book a Campfire Method® workshop for your team.

🔥 Hi, I’m Eric, and every week, I share insights, observations and tools so you can ditch decks and light a fire in your high-stakes presentations. If you like what you see here, follow me on LinkedIn.