Mitch Joel at Twist Image shared some thoughts this week on presenting, in particular how to be authentic.
I loved this line, "Remember, you're presenting, not performing, but the best presentations are also authentic performances."
It's apparent sometimes that presenters cross this line to become performers, and forget what they're there for.
So how can you be authentic?
Mitch suggests "you have to know when you're no longer presenting with passion, but regurgitating memorized lines and trying to perform each line out instead of delivering the content with what I'll call a "quiet confidence."
In other words, be yourself, but with some renewed energy and passion.
What about being memorable?
For me, this is about being "sticky". For those who are starting to wonder what on earth I'm suggesting, get your wallet out today and buy what in my opinion is one of the best business books you'll read, Made to Stick.
The Heath brothers cover in detail how to make good ideas "stick" and not die. It's a cut through read, truly memorable. I still use it to this day.
One sticky tip I learned from this book was how to get a message across in a presentation that will stand out in peoples minds. Let's say you ask delegates a question. Typically you'd hope one brave soul would shove their hand up, whilst everyone else sheepishly avoids eye contact with you. Been there before?
Remove that. Have everyone in the room get out a pen and paper. Get them to write down what they think the answer is, and then simultaneously hold up their bit of paper with their response, as you trawl through the room scanning and commenting on the answers. Really easy, more memorable.
Thanks to Mitch Joel at Twist Image for sparking some thoughts here.
Jonathon
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