Please Stop Giving Boring Presentations
Public speaking is hard. Especially when you do it wrong. I don’t know who taught us powerpoints, stale introductions, and bullet points but I’m starting to think they were sabotaging us. So it’s time to rethink the way we present.
A presentation is all about communicating information effectively and the best presentations do that in an entertaining manner. So who is doing that the best? There is one industry that is the best in the world in terms of holding our attention, conveying information, and making it all entertaining: movies and television. So what are elements found in Hollywood that we can bring to our next presentation?
Stories matter.
A story is memorable, a story sticks with you. Stories can better illustrate a point than numbers can. For proof, listen to any politician and they will tell you a carefully selected anecdote about someone getting a job/losing their job (depending on the election). Narratives are more powerful than showing slides of numbers and graphs. Stories have incredible power, research shows we use stories to understand the world around us. So please, tell some stories.
Make it personal.
A movie with a weak plot can still be entertaining when you relate to the characters or the character is likeable (ex: most Will Ferrell movies). Too many speakers go up and start spewing information how important it is to build your own character as a speaker. Why should we listen to you? And why is this important to you? And why should it be important to us? If you make us care about you and your talk, we will listen better. That’s why we listen to our friends. Make us feel like you are our friend, and we will never yawn during your speech again.
Conflict is necessary.
There needs to be a compelling reason for someone to speak. Which talk would you rather see: “New Media and the death of newspapers” or “Newspapers and blogs explained”. Both could offer the same content, but we are drawn in by one. As humans, we love conflict. We love people who are disrupting, challenging, and fighting. Don’t shy away from conflict, but embrace it. It’s what makes what you’re talking about most interesting.
“In summary: position your speech as a story with strong characters (you and the audience) and a well defined conflict.”
I truly believe that incorporating those elements will make your next presentation a bit more compelling. Hollywood knows how to entertain, so let’s steal their tricks. Hit me up on Twitter at @TakeaResteban. Do you have any tips? Share some below, to help others.
Good luck out there.
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