A good presentation tells a story. You are conveying a message to your audience in such a way that you hook them in and keep them interested in your given topic – be it reasons to use your product or service over someone else's or the techniques Egyptians used to mummify their dead. A presenters job is to relay that information in a way that leaves the audience not only informed, but longing to know more.

One of the more interesting mediums of storytelling/marketing in our culture is the movie trailer. It is a one-to-two minute vignette intended to give you an idea of what a movie is about while providing incentive to see the entire film. Some trailers go too far and basically spoon-feed the entire storyline to the audience (Free Willy, for example) while others just fail to convey anything attractive about the movie (like The Love Guru). There are a few, though, that capture the feel and tone of their source material perfectly and create a compelling package. One such trailer is the most recent for The Dark Knight.


"I see now what I have to become to stop men like him."

Stay On Message

This third trailer for The Dark Knight centers primarily around the character of the Joker, and it makes three main statements about him. (Alternately, my propensity for three point outlines perhaps biases me toward seeing this format!)


"Here's my card," and "You look tense."

The first point is simply that the Joker is in charge. The trailer makes it clear that he is the one calling the shots, and Gotham City is at his mercy. Secondly, the Joker makes his vendetta against order personal when he approaches the District Attorney's love interest, and finally we see that Joker's ultimate aim is to take down the Batman or become a martyr to the criminal element in the process. The preview hints at other plot points, but it only deeply explores the Joker and his anarchy.

The trailer stays clearly on message, and our presentations should do likewise. People leaving our sessions should have a clear picture in their minds of what we were covering. I've walked out of too many presentations where the speaker felt the need to cover as much as possible related to his/her topic in the given time. The result is always the same – a series of shallow, often disjointed points, with deeper information glossed over or rushed through. Decide: what three or four big ideas do you want your audience to walk away with? Focus on these.

Illicit a Reaction

My wife when she saw The Dark Knight's trailer: "I don't like that. Joker's just a terrorist. He's too evil." My response was one of goosebumps and fevered anticipation for the theatrical release. A good friend: "That was awesome." Every person I know who has seen one of the trailers for this movie has had a strong reaction. The trailer demands you react to it. The portrayals of Batman, the Joker, the nature of the crimes and conflicts – all of these force the audience to respond.

A good presentation does the same. Hundreds of talks have been given on global climate change over the past couple of decades. Why does Al Gore's illicit such strong responses? Why do thousands download videos of Steve Jobs' keynote speeches who would otherwise avoid business/technical presentations? Why does Richard Dawkins polarize audiences so much more than many others presenting similar material? Quite simply, these speakers demand reaction.

My wife (who loves visual arts) often tells me that a work of art is successful when it creates a response. It doesn't matter if you subjectively like the piece. What matters is that it garners reactions. Then the artist is successful. Likewise, you know your presentation is successful when you illicit reactions from the audience.

Leave Open Ends

Your presentation shouldn't only be informative, it should encourage your audience to want to go discover more for themselves. In the trailer for The Dark Knight, several hints are dropped regarding the character of Harvey Dent that should whet the appetite of any Batman fan.


"You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

Small bits of info heavily infer that this film will not feature one prominent villain from the Batman universe, but two. How will this fall from grace unfold? Will his alter-ego be a pivotal character, or will this movie merely introduce him? What will he look like as Two-Face? None of the trailers really answer these questions about Harvey Dent, but they don't have to. Just letting the audience know that there is more to be revealed is enough.

Don't feel you have to cover every last detail about the topic you are presenting. Stay focused. Inform the audience, but give them room to discover things on their own. Make them want to know more.

A good movie trailer makes you want to see the movie, plain and simple. It leaves the audience with a desire to discover "the rest of the story." Think of your presentations as trailers for larger concepts and opportunities for discovery. Tell a story that will illicit a response from your audience and make them interested in knowing even more. If your presentation was a movie trailer, would your audience be excited for the movie?

Tags: connections, impression, story

I'm hesitant to post this video because I know it's inflammatory, but I think it does a great job of creating and maintaining a visual metaphor throughout the presentation.

The video details numerous pledges by U.S. politicians and military leaders that the "next several months" and specifically "the next six months" should see significant improvement and progress in Iraq – from Donald Rumsfeld's famous quote that he didn't expect the operation to even last six months in February 2003 to John McCain saying we will either win or lose this was in "the next several months" in November of 2006.



The metaphor is that of a desk calendar flipping through months as promised by the individuals quoted but being roadblocked by quotes asking for more months. The whole time, a pair of folder tabs are keeping track of cost in money and U.S. lives at each milestone.

Whether you agree with the point of the video or not, the visual consistency throughout makes the presentation all the more powerful. Quotes are short and the videos help reinforce those quotes. Nothing distracts from the composition of this production. Nothing looks out of place. Every element – from the background to transitions – works together as a whole.

I don't theme my presentations around a visual metaphor often. They often become visually repetitive, and it's too easy to insert elements that will seem out-of-place. However, I'll definitely use this video as a template of how such a presentation can be done right.

Tags: impression, graphics, eye candy, design

David Pogue spoke on three separate occasions during this year's ICE conference, and the effectiveness of his delivery never ceases to amaze me. He connects with and holds his audiences with seeming ease. One way he accomplishes this through the way he plays his strengths when he is onstage.

Other than being an incredibly friendly individual (which is a great asset in itself), Mr. Pogue stands out thanks to his humor and musicianship. In a former life, David Pogue was a Broadway accompanist and conductor. He is a musician, and he is not afraid to show his talent off when he's speaking before a group of left-brained geeks. In fact, he seems to enjoy it. His tech-centered song parodies always bring a smile, and I find myself wanting to request favorite Pogue hits when I see him sit behind a piano during one of his presentations.

Mr. Pogue is also a funny individual. In a seemingly dry profession, he finds humor all around. Whether he's taking jabs at the RIAA or poking fun at teachers' collective ignorance of technology or parodying Steve Jobs, his content is riddled with humor. Through this, he presents meaningful and relevant content, but he makes the speaker-audience connection deeper because he knows how to play to his strengths.

What are you good at? How can your own talents enhance your presentations? Discover those qualities about yourself that enable you to connect with people on a personal level and carry them to the professional level. It comes back to viewing a presentation as a form of conversation, and your personality should shine as much as the content – allowing your audience to connect with your content through connecting to you.

Tags: impression, david pogue

Time to dust off some old notes and finish this post! Way back in January, I talked about Stan Sigman's yawn-inducing contribution to the unveiling of the iPhone. At the time I wrote:

Mr. Sigman's talk was stiff and formal. It was basically read right off his cards, and it was full of corporate jargon and buzzwords. Mr. Jobs, in contrast, spoke passionately about his company's products. Any notes he might have had were fairly transparent, and he spoke in clear, easily understood language. Also, Steve Jobs kept things moving and kept the audience anticipating the next revelation about these products.

I think one of the most tedious elements of Mr. Sigman's talk was his use of (large) note cards. He actually started out okay, but then he whipped those cards out, and everything went downhill from there. You could almost hear the life being sucked off the stage. (It happens around 1:35:40 in the video for those of you playing at home.)

image from stock.xchng


I have to admit some bias. I have never used note cards (with one or two exceptions). Even in speech classes through middle school, high school, and college that required the use of note cards, I would just walk up to the front of the class with a handful of blank index cards – until I got busted and lost some points! Basically, even with my social challenges, I realized early on that reading a speech created a disconnect between the speaker and the audience.

Reading notes makes for stiff presentations that quickly lose the audience's attention, and the speaker ends up paying more attention to those cards than to those who have come to listen. Even "crutch slides" are preferable to holding notes in one's hands or staring down at a podium for the entire talk. Practice and preparation are essential to being able to speak without relying on notes. Yes, having notes accessible during your talk is a good idea, but they should only serve as a reference tool as-needed.

Breaking away from reading a speech may take some practice. You might catch yourself forgetting to include some information. You might make some mistakes, but the connection you gain with your audience is worth those hurdles.

Tags: impression, prep, connections

At the recent C4 conference, blogger DrunkenBatman, made a bold statement during his panel discussion: "Black people don't use Macs."


I have a feeling this is not going to go well.
original photo by rtmfd

Reactions by bloggers were mixed. Some criticized his approach (scroll through the C4 Twitter page for more) while others defended his character. I think Daring Fireball's John Gruber has a very good take on the controversy:

There’s a fine line between a moderator challenging his panelists (good) and ambushing them (bad). This came across as the latter; an unanswerable “Do you still beat your wife?” question...

...It was a mistake the discussion never recovered from. Audience reaction ranged from offended to embarrassed (and, by the end, bored). Much like a train, once a discussion like this falls off the rails, it doesn’t come back.

The fact is controversial statements may make your talk memorable. (After all, who can forget this slide once you see it?) Unfortunately, your talk may not be remembered for good reasons. Controversial statements can be polarizing, and they must be used judiciously.

I begin my talk about giving presentations by saying, "Most PowerPoint slides suck." While a little harsh, many audience members will nod in agreement and are now open to suggestions. However, if I said, "Chances are your PowerPoint slides suck," then I put the audience on the defensive. Often, we want to challenge the thinking of our audience, but we have to be careful not to cross a line that will alienate them from us.

DB might have been caught off guard by how many people took his statement as offensive and racist, but we are often not the best judges of our own material. I may not find something offensive, but a whole lot of others might, and Gruber is absolutely right. If a discussion or a presentation is derailed too hard by something someone says, recovery becomes very unlikely. The takeaway lesson? Simply think before you say something potentially offensive.

Tags: atmosphere, impression, connections

To reach the broadest possible audience with your message, you have to care what others think of you. You are being judged by the audience every bit as much as your content, and, if the audience does not buy into you, they will generally not buy into your material. Think of political debates you or your family may get into as well as when the media tackles issues. Inevitably, the person behind the issues will be as much a subject as the issue itself.

Whenever you present, it's important to wear as small a target as possible. To do so, you must be very conscious of self – your appearance, the way you dress, your mannerisms and idiosyncrasies that may distract your audience from your presentation. I've seen perfectly competent presentations fail in delivery (and some great deliveries of poor material) because the presenters seemed oblivious or unconcerned with the impressions they left with the audience.

A good presentation is essentially a small-scale production, and productions need good performers.

Take these presenters as positive examples:


left to right: Steve Jobs, Guy Kawasaki, Garr Reynolds, Al Gore

These individuals are great illustrations of good performers in presentation. They are very conscious of how they carry themselves, how they speak, how they dress. I believe "refined" would be a good word for it. They realize that they are every bit as much a part of the overall presentation as any notes, handouts, slides, or other visuals. They have roles to play in the delivery of their messages, and their presence is just as orchestrated as the technology involved. As a result, the presentations are very engaging and a cut above much of what we are used to seeing.

Being an individualistic society, we value the mantra of not caring what others think of ourselves, but, if we want people to accept what we have to say, we need to make sure we are not getting in the way of our own message. Do some presentations succeed despite the speakers' imperfections? Absolutely. However, giving ourselves as much attention as our notes or visuals will go a long way in removing obstacles between our presentation and our audience's attention.

Additional Viewing and Reading

• Garr Rynolds: Top Ten Delivery Tips
• Guy Kawasaki: How to Get a Standing Ovation
• Al Gore at TED
• Zentation: Guy Kawasaki – The Art of Innovation
• QuickTime Guide – Apple Events

Tags: prep, impression, steve jobs, al gore, guy kawasaki, garr reynolds, examples

This picture has to be one of my all-time favorites of Mr. Jobs:



While I understand and appreciate the character flaws in Steve Jobs, anyone who reads this blog regularly knows how much I admire his presenting skills. This picture really captures his stage presence in its simplicity and character. It is intriguing in that simplicity, and I think that quality is one of the main reasons Steve Jobs is such an effective presenter and marketer. His speech and his slides align in a clear and consistent message throughout his presentations that challenge the more conventional approaches most businesses take in public venues.



When Mr. Jobs introduces a new product, he does go through the obligatory slides that outline the features. (It is notable, though, that these slides are far less cluttered than one might expect.) However, it does not stop with the slides. More often then not, Mr. Jobs will physically show the product to the audience and demonstrate its functionality on the massive screen he always uses. The audience doesn't just see the specs. They also see the physical product, and they get to experience it in action. Regardless of the presentation topic, demonstration speaks louder than descriptions.



Here is one final picture of Steve in action. Again, he is visibly demonstrating a product (in this case, Microsoft Entourage for Mac). He seldom relies on screen captures, and he never uses his slides to explain how software works. He uses the software, and everyone is able to see the functionality on a screen that absolutely dwarfs the speaker – leaving nothing indistinct or unclear. (Don't you wish every venue had a screen like that?)

Whatever you think of him as an individual, Steve Jobs is a good presenter, and simplicity is at the core of his style. There are some exceptions to this, but it's hard to deny the way this simpler approach helps draw the audience in and enhance, rather than distract from, the overall presentation.

Good videos of his talks can be tricky to track down. Here are some places to look:

• Apple – QuickTime – Macworld 2007 Keynote
• All About Steve: Steve Jobs Live
• Apple QuickTime Guide – Apple Events

Note: These images and more come from All About Steve Jobs.

Tags: examples, steve jobs, impression, stephen colbert

We've discussed the length of our presentations in a couple of different posts now, but watching Stan Sigman deliver his talk during the Macworld keynote got me thinking again about length and audience attention span.


Every sentence read adds an hour to each minute...

The saying goes that time is relative. We save time, waste time, borrow time, and spend time. The minutes spent waiting in a doctor's office can seem much longer than the minutes spent playing video games at home. Mr. Sigman was on stage for all of seven minutes – seven very long minutes. When I checked the time in the podcast, I was surprised. I had expected to see him onstage for fifteen or twenty minutes. His talk really did seem that long.

Contrast this to Steve Jobs' portion of the presentation. The entire keynote was 1:45 long, and Mr. Jobs was speaking for all but about twenty minutes of that. Yet his portion did not feel as drawn out as Mr. Sigman's.


"I could talk for days, and you'd hardly notice."

What's the difference? I think a lot of it comes from my previous post. Mr. Sigman's talk was stiff and formal. It was basically read right off his cards, and it was full of corporate jargon and buzzwords. Mr. Jobs, in contrast, spoke passionately about his company's products. Any notes he might have had were fairly transparent, and he spoke in clear, easily understood language. Also, Steve Jobs kept things moving and kept the audience anticipating the next revelation about these products.

Timing is a very important part of your presentation. Sometimes shorter is better, but other times you may have to spend some serious time giving your talk. In either scenario, don't just be aware of the literal time, but ask yourself how long your presentation feels to your audience. Do you look and sound like you actually care about your topic? Are you keeping the flow moving? Is the audience anticipating your next points? If you can positively answer these questions, then relative time will work in your favor.

Tags: examples, time use, atmosphere, impression, connections

This is one of a few posts I have had gestating in my brain since watching Steve Job's Macworld 2007 keynote. By now, you probably know the products announced during the keynote, and you've possibly seen and/or read reaction to those products from various sources. However, reading and viewing commentary just doesn't have the same impact as watching Steve Jobs speak.



Throughout his talks, Mr. Jobs will demo his own products, but he does so with an enthusiasm that's contagious. He doesn't just share facts, figures, and specifications about the product – he shares excitement. He connects with the audience at an emotional level. He doesn't just say, "This product is great." He says, "This is why I think this product is amazing, and let me show you! Don't you think this is great?" He exudes passion for the products he is presenting, and that passion is contagious.


"Unbelievable."

Who else can make scrolling through a playlist feel revolutionary? Who else makes Google Maps and HTML email feel fresh and exciting? People notice Apple products (and are polarized by them) partly because of the man who evangelizes them the most – CEO Steve Jobs. You can't ignore how much he cares about his pitch. His enthusiasm and passion demand reaction, whether its positive or negative. The one thing you can't do is remain passive when he speaks.

What about your own presentations? How does your audience see you? Are you viewed as someone just presenting material that is expected to be presented in a totally mundane, dispassionate, and predictable manner? Are you excited about your topics? Do you communicate that excitement in your presentation? Passion connects. Passion engages. Be passionate during your talks, and your audience will respond with greater enthusiasm for whatever topic you are presenting about.

Tags: steve jobs, examples, atmosphere, impression, connections, speaking

One of the things that caught me off guard in the video of David Pogue speaking at TED was the fact that his talk began with him sitting behind a piano, singing about tech support woes in a parody of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence."



In and of itself, Mr. Pogue's talk was pretty good. It was humorous and insightful, and it was delivered very competently. What made it stand out, though, was Pogue's use of songs throughout his presentation. Quite suddenly, he would just bolt to the piano, and regale his audience with a modified rendition of Simon & Garfunkel, Barry Manilow, and even Andrew Lloyd Webber.

See, David Pogue used his unique background as a musician to bring an element of surprise and humor to his talk. What unique abilities or insights do you have that can make your presentations unique and unforgettable? What is something that makes you uniquely you? Remember, your presentations don't have to merely consist of slides and droning. Allow your individuality to shine through, and you might find your talks more enjoyable for you and your listeners.

Tags: TED, examples, atmosphere, impression, connections, david pogue

I've seen way too many keynotes, seminars, and presentations now, and I've seen a ton of introductions. If you are at a keynote of some kind, the keynote speaker is usually somehow formally introduced. ("Our speaker today is known for..." or "Ladies and gentlemen, Insert Name!") If it is something smaller scale, you may get a one-sheet introducing your speaker, or you may have the speaker introducing him- or herself. ("...I want to wish you the best of mornings and tell you how truly fortunate I feel...") Once in a while, you get a presenter who wants to play some kind of get-to-know you game, but those shall not be spoken of here.

The video mentioned in my prior post has Steve Jobs being introduced by another speaker, and it distracted me because this is so unusual for Mr. Jobs. The usual Steve Jobs intro goes something like this: Lights dim; Steve Jobs walks out, says, "Good morning. Thanks for coming. We have a lot of great announcements today, so let's get started," and the presentation begins. That's it.

Your introduction will make an early impression on your audience. In my experience, respectful but concise is a good idea. You've acknowledged your audience and have expressed appreciation for their presence, but you're not going to waste their time either. There's not much more an audience appreciates than a presenter who avoids wasting time.

Tags: steve jobs, examples, conventions, time use, impression, connections

Seeing the growing number of posts in the Presentation Tips section leads to an excellent question: What's the point? What does it matter whether your slides are aesthetically pleasing or not? The status quo works fine, why try changing?

I think the answer is simple: anything that fails to enhance your overall presentation will only detract from it. For example, I was just recently in the audience for an excellent presentation geared toward helping teachers improve the methods they use to teach. Outside of a few unnecessary buzzwords, the material was fantastic. However, the presenter's slides did nothing to reinforce the message, and I found myself silently wishing she would just give up on PowerPoint entirely. Her overall package was fantastic, but the stoic and bullet-laden slides did nothing but detract from the times she was presenting engaging material.

If you are taking the time to put together a "PowerPoint" for a talk you are going to give, then it is worth the time to do a good job at those slides – not because you are going to use your slides in place of notes, (we'll talk about that in another post) but because you want your slides to impact your audience and strengthen the message you have.

Below, I have two slides geared toward environmental activism – dealing with rainforest conversation. I've prepared them following very conservative guidelines, and no one would be surprised by what they see.

x

These slides are perfectly nice, and they do a fine job printing out exactly what I'm saying. The problem is that they do nothing to add to my message. All they do is restate the information.
x
To maximize the impact of our presentations (excuse me for bordering on buzz-wordiness), we want slides that somehow add depth and substance to our talks. Our slides should not be mere subtitles to our speaking. What if I talked about the exact same material presented on the above images, but slides like the ones below were playing while I was talking?

x

Which slides catch your attention better? Which will have a stronger emotional impression on the audience? (After all, a presentation like this would be trying to stir people to some kind of action. Therefore the emotional factor is very important.) Instead of simply reiterating my points, the slides are now reinforcing those points. They are making the information tangible and real.

Very quickly, consider one more approach. What if my slides consisted only of high-resolution images that scrolled by while I was talking – no titles, bullets, or any text at all. How would that affect my speech? What if the running images lined up with the topic I was on (animals, plants, water, medicine...)? The possibilities are staggering.

Slides are often viewed as mundane, and audiences either pay attention to the speaker and tune the redundant slides out, or they focus on the slides and tune the narration out. The challenge is compose your slides in such a way that they help you captivate your audience and make them enthusiastic toward and involved with the message you are attempting to deliver. That is why good slide design is important for presentations that work.

(For those interested, my quick research on rainforests was done on these two sites: Rainforests: Wikipedia & Nature.org.)

Tags: philosophy, impression