story
Lessons From a Movie Trailer
June 23, 2008 Filed in: Delivery
| Rhyme &
Reason
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."
"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.
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.
"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?
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?