Why Good Presentation Matters

Last week I had the pleasure of taking part in my first presentation conference. Sharing the stage with some amazing speakers who shared their insights into what makes for a good presentation. They included amongst others the hilarious David Nihill, Presentation author and broadcaster Carmine Gallo, TED Content Director Kelly Stoetzel, MD of Brother Phil Jones, founder of LeWeb Loic Le Murand neuroscientist Dr Carmen Simon. Of course I gave a keynote too and took part in a presentation karaoke, but I’ll get to that.

Now the back story of why I was so excited about this is important.
In the US, Rick Altman runs The Presentation Summit  a full on three day immersion in good presenting. For a number of years I toyed with the idea of putting on a presentation conference like this, but I have come the realisation I prefer to be part of the presenting than the organising of conferences. Indeed I tested the idea with a couple of presentation bootcamps, but the demand wasn’t really there. To be honest I would have had to immerse myself in doing it properly if I was going to run a conference and I just didn’t have the mojo to do this.

Last year I then ran across David and Spencer from Prezi, at the VOOM aka Pitch To Rich competition in London. They told me that they were having a mini conference and asked if I would be willing to come along and take part.

There are two reasons why I said yes.
First I really like Prezi and I think it is a worthwhile presentation competitor the the likes of PowerPoint and Keynote. In some respects, I think it is better.
Secondly, they told me that Kelly would be presenting, and that sealed the deal.

My Top Three Presentations
So the conference as ran over two days, and here is a quick summary of  my three top presentations and their findings for me.

Phil Jones – that to present into businesses, especially in the executive suite takes a proper strategy.
Phil used the acronym TAT, being Time, Attention and Trust. He spoke about the journey he takes his sales staff through when presenting and engaging with clients. How he deems himself the Chief Opportunity Officer to ensure that they get engagement.

Phil is a friend I met over Twitter and I have always admired his open and transparent approach to leadership and presenting. This presentation just confirmed how true to his word he is.

Dr Carmen Simon – an expert in neuroscience she explained how important it was to understand three key things.

1. Mental schemas – that we need to find the familiar and play with it
2. Expectations – fortify the audience’s beliefs and offer tools
3. Surprise – constantly provide rewards, anticipation and uncertainty

This really got me thinking even deeper for when I plan my presentations. Visual or not.

David Nihill who in addition to running a conference on humorous content, explained why it was so important to have humour in our presentations.
His three big takeaways were

1. All the top speakers at conferences like TED, business, etc use humour
2. The same techniques used by said speakers are the same comedians use
3. There is no need to be a natural comedian in using humourThe banter we had off stage was hilarious and I am looking forward to keeping in touch with him.

MY OWN PRESENTATION
I was so pumped to deliver my own presentation on HOW TO DELIVER A GOOD PRESENTATION, EVERY DAMN TIME.

For those who know me, I am a very energetic presenter, without the Tony Robbins music. This was my first presentation using Prezi. I must admit I went for the safe option but having used it now, and watching others who went in with great presentations, I am a convert.

It’s not for everyone, and as I explained in my presentation, visuals have to be there to compliment you and not the other way around. That said I am fascinated by the zoom and motion features that allow you not to be restrained in a linear fashion. I am loving the way that PowerPoint have stepped their game up with their Morph feature but Prezi still has the upper hand here.

At the end of my presentation, I wanted to get individuals to understand that speakers are vulnerable too. (Some of them saw that the day before when I was put on the spot for a presentation karaoke. Essentially I had to give the Prezi equivalent of a petcha kutcha but without having previously seeing the visuals. ) So I made myself vulnerable in showing presenters, whether beginners or experienced, how to shape the feedback that we are given, using the GIN formula.
Tell me what was GOOD, how I can IMPROVE and what was NOTABLE.

CONFERENCE FEEDBACK
I am going to use that same model of feedback as to how the conference went for me.

Good
I felt it was very organised. The pre conference information was on point including logistics, briefing and an understanding of the presenters who were taking part. I also felt that the flow of the content was great. In other hands it could have easily gone astray but I felt it worked well. Everything was clearly signposted from beginning to end. The calibre of all speakers was good too.

Improve
I feel that if you are going to introduce speakers, even if they are on the programme, mentioning their name and putting up their picture should be the last thing you do just before they get on stage. Build up anticipation.

Notable
The conference team were amazing. Audio. Visual. Hospitality was all on point. The Prezi presentations were absolutely fabulous. I sat there and was mesmerized by the flawless nature they worked with text, images and video. I loved the networking spaces and opportunities they had as well.

All in all, it was a brilliant conference and I got some lovely feedback from my good friend Kelly. High praise indeed, given how many speeches she sees at TED. Got some really constructive feedback from my wife and others too. I am looking forward to PRESENTCONF part too.

A clear demonstration to me on why good presentation matters and why Prezi should make this become a regular part of the conference calendar.

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