Notes from the field...

...or is it Doctor? Or may I call you Martin? (And don't worry I wouldn't stoop to calling you 'Junior'.)

Either way, you have my respect, and if I may say so, this is a heck of presentation.

Certainly, as per Nancy's edict regarding presentations - 'change the world' - (http://www.duarte.com/) you actually did. In a good way. And what else counts?

The 'human element' and the narrative around it, provides context, and taps into emotions. And that's what counts...

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:)

Thanks in part to the almost instant and easy access to information, introduce a new feature to a product or service, and a competitor can match it -- almost overnight. As a result most products and services meet the needs of most people.

Consequently, the most important strategic and tactical differentiator for any modern business is messaging, the narrative around it, and how it is presented. This isn't so easy to match.

Steve Jobs and his team pretty much rocked at this...

Images help build a brand. There’s no doubt about it. Presenting them with carefully chosen words adds more depth and meaning. Add emotive values to it, which your staff can enthusiastically encourage, and your brand begins to take on a life of it’s own.

Take Suna, a global organization who states on their website: ‘If your company’s growth relies on finding the right talent that is job-ready, you deserve a partner that understands your strategic priorities. You don’t want your current talent distracted by sifting through thousands of resumes. You want the position filled with individuals that deliver.'

Okay, this is a claim that could be made by any number of recruitment, placement, headhunting firms, yada, yada, yada.

But, in my humble opinion, Suna is going to evolve to new and fresh place based on claims the market will give them, rather than something they’ll have to construct.

Why do I think this? Well, it’s not that Michael Larkins (Suna’s President) and Karen Vinton (Suna’s Director of Marketing) explained to me that ‘refreshing’ their brand is an organizational objective. Nope, it’s something deeper. Something which struck me during a meeting with them. Something perhaps they’re not even aware of.

It’s an underlying value seldom encountered in corporate environments.

‘Talent. Ingenuity. Delivered’ is all very well, but what these guys have going for them is that they are ‘Charming’ – which a dictionary defines as; The power or quality of pleasing or delighting;’

You can’t buy this stuff. And when the bosses naturally have it, it tends to flow into the organization, and ultimately, into the brand. Very cool.

So the two questions I have today, are: "How charming is your brand?" and if so, "How do you present it?"

Find out more about Suna here: www.suna.com

(BTW: Total disclosure: it’s not that I’m just being charming about Suna, it’s just that one day I may need a real job, and or more employees, and this is the kind of outfit, I’d want working with me. Hey, at least I’m honest.)

There’s been much (negative) chatter about Mark Zuckerberg’s presentation style. I reckon cut him some slack. Sure, his stage presence leaves a little, let’s just say, room for growth, but he is who he is.

Rather, the folks who help him produce his presentations should be nudged a little. Watch the video below and ask yourself what ‘story is he telling?’ And do the visuals help him to create an emotive connection with the audience?’ (Try to ignore the sparse and seemingly forced applause from what sounds like an audience of no more than forty employees.)

Even the presentation, which has the opportunity for great context and storyline feels a bit patched together – and all about a 'geeky multi-billionaire’.

I'm not sure about you, but I don’t have too many friends on Facebook who are 'geeky multi-billionaires’. 

Then again, perhaps Mark will accept my friend invitation? 

More on Mr. Mileski (and SlideSell) to come...

Source: www.ishmaelscorner.com/2011/09/22/infographic-storytelling-vs-corporate-speak/

It intrigues me that with so many great resources available, why so many presentations are so bad. Particularly when the fundamental rules remain constant. They’re a bit like the rules to riding a bike – once you’ve mastered the basics you’ve got it. Of course, completing the Tour de France or executing a 360-degree aerial rotation to the right or left on your BMX bike without breaking your neck is something else. Likewise, actual presentation design, message development and delivery are something else.

But with a little help, effort and imagination (we’ve all got one) the basics can be mastered quite quickly. Take my eleven year old daughter who asked for some help with her five minute PowerPoint/Speaking assignment: having prepared the below slide, and as proud as she was, she found it difficult to ‘talk’ to – “Booooring”, is how she described herself.

So we sat down and had fun with some of the basics I share with my clients.

• Start with your end goal in mind.
• But remember, clarity is the no. 1 commandment.
• Scribble single ideas on blank sheets of paper, Post-It notes, napkins, etc.
• Shift them around to have a beginning, middle and end.
• It’s important to use stories (narrative) to create a ‘presentation experience’.
• Bear in mind that your first impression and last impression are most remembered.
• Have big ideas, but be realistically.
• Leave details for later.
• Provide handouts after your presentation.
• Follow the rules of good presentation design.
• Be cautious with light text on dark backgrounds.
• Minimize the use of bullet points. The fewer the better.
• Use images. But skip cheesy clip-art and bad metaphors.
• The fewer typefaces used, the better. The same with color.
• Align objects and ‘balance’ your layouts.
• Practice. Practice. Practice. Then have fun.

It didn’t take long for her to create a new presentation and speech – with simple facts and brief stories for each slide. (See five of her slides below :)

If she can do it, anyone can. Enjoy!

Here's a little fun.

Imagine if your first part of your presentation went like this (see below vid), you paused, and briefly summarized in a completely different style? You'be remembered for sure. And if you summarized using well accepted sales skills, it's likely your product or service would be as easily remembered. In other words; "Contrast equals Recall"

(By the way, I've been to presentations like this. Heck, I've even been briefed by clients with presentation guidelines that required such an approach. In once case I bent their rules, and followed better ones. The outcome? Of fifteen presentation 'pitches', mine helped clinch the deal. An $18M deal.)