Finding Your Presentation Voice

Having worked at 100+ agencies and trained or coached thousands of people in presentation skills, I have reached a conclusion that are plenty of different ways to a great presentation and just as many ways to do a poor presentation.  While this may seem counterintuitive, my point is that there is no one way to do it.

The problem is that when well-meaning people try to help others with their presentation skills, the end result is advice that basically says “do it just like me and you will be great.”  This creates many unintended consequences like having a group of people that all look the same or having many presenters that simply look out of sorts, trying to be something that they are not.

Everyone needs to find their own speaking style.  One that allows their natural personality to come through and accentuates their strengths.  For some, this style might be more measured and thoughtful.  That does not give that thoughtful presenter permission to be a sleepy presenter but it does give them permission not to be overly boisterous. 

Other presenters will naturally be more high energy.  They are the jolt of caffeine that interjects new life into the presentation. 

Just think for a moment what it would be like if everyone was the jolt of caffeine.  That would be a very difficult presentation to sit through.  Just like all clients sitting across the table from you are not alike, your pitch team should have similar diversity in their presentation styles.

While I am more than happy to give people a great deal of latitude in finding their presentation voice.  That does not mean that there are not some rules.  No ummmming and ahhhhhing your way through a presentation. No low energy presentations to the point of sleepiness.  No reading from notes.  Put the laser pointer down…you look ridiculous.  I could go on with the list but you get the idea.

Work to find your own voice.  Don’t try to mimic someone else’s voice.  It is fine to learn from watching others present but don’t abandon your own style in an effort to present like someone else.  Even if they are your boss;-)

Mark Schnurman

President -- www.filamentinc.com

The power of non-verbal communication

I am not one to place tremendous importance on non-verbal communication and body language but it is undeniable that it has an impact on a presentation. Since the difference between winning a pitch and losing a pitch is a collection of small differences between agencies, we can't ignore subtleties like body language.

The following article in forbes.com does a nice job discussing body language. 

Forbes article on body language

Ejnjoy...
Mark Schnurman
Co-founder
www.filamentinc.com

Filament Inc. has a new website

After toiling over every word of copy and scrutinizing every photograph, Filament Inc.'s new website is up and running. While the old site served us well, it was starting to look a little dated. A fresh look at the copy was also useful.

Take a look, give us some feedback!

www.filamentinc.com


Mark Schnurman
Pitch Consultant - Filament Inc.

Who Presented vs Who Sold at SXSW

The following is a blog from Luke Sullivan, CD at GSD&M and author of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. Luke does a great job of discussing the need for selling ideas as opposed to simply presenting ideas.

To read his blog directly, go to www.heywhipple.com

Here is the cut and pasted version...

The ideas that were actually selling here at SxSW were the ones that were actually sold – by a fantastic speaker.

Now I agree, some ideas are so great they don’t need to be sold. For example, they day they discover a cure for cancer? They won’t need an ad agency. They can take out a classified ad in the Tulsa Weekly-Bugle and the world will know about it within a week. But for those of us with ideas less world-shaking, we will need to sell them.

Fact is, most of the presentations I saw this week kinda blew. The content was great, no question. Pretty much every presenter had something cool to say. (With one exception; one speaker was so 1998 she was puttin’ up slides about how “Consumers can now scan bar codes with their phones!” Dude. Please.)

The big difference in the transmission of ideas comes down to this: Passion. Power. Clarity. Energy.

I don’t care if you’re just on a stinkin’ panel about banner ads, when you have the mike you’ve been given the gift of the attention of 200 people and you’re failing if you do not knock it out with passion, power, clarity and energy. Of the sessions I attended, every single speaker failed. I know, I know, they weren’t all that way. In fact, at last night’s party at GSDM, most people were talking about Gary Vaynerchuk‘s speech. People were blown away by it. Blown away. Damn, I wish I’d seen it. I didn’t, but I heard about it. And you know what? Even if it turns out his speech was content I’m not really interested in, I woulda ended up interested in it because he made me interested.

President Bill Clinton came to speak here at the agency a couple a times (he’s best friends with Roy Spence, himself a legendary speaker). I remember watching Clinton that day and just soakin’ it in, trying to learn everything I could; his intensity; his command of the material; his pacing; his eye contact; his comfort in front of people; his accessibility. It was the full package and, man, it was mesmerizing.

So, if you agree we’re in the business of spreading ideas, of selling ideas, make it your business to learn how to speak publicly. To learn how to put on a kick-ass presentation.

TWO FINAL NOTES:

My friend here at GSDM, Jenn Totten, she told me to CTFD. (Calm The Fuck Down, a hip abbreviation I predict will soon to be in the national lexicon.): “You are cranky, but you’re right. The panels were the worst. They all winged it. But I found the solo speakers to be pretty good across the board.” Another agency friend, Lauren Walker, agreed with Jenn. “The solo presenters were great. The panels were ‘eh’ and the discussions just tanked. There were certainly a lot of interesting topics to discuss but moderating a discussion is a fine art. It requires tact and a large knowledge base. Most of the discussions I attended were steered in one direction early on and stayed there. Next time, no discussions for me.”

Dang, I wished I’d been in those cool solo presentations. (BTW, folks. SXSW is very good about listening to feedback, so fill out those survey thingies.)

Final note: I really liked these “Ogilvy Notes” things I saw here and there. I wonder if my own agency oughta do something like this? Maybe have our own artists make big-ass drawings this cool, for those presentations we have to make more than once – like, say, agency themes, case histories, stuff like that. These boards are more interesting, more playful and informal than stupid Powerpoint slides.

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Thanks for a great blog Luke!

Mark Schnurman
Filament Inc.

Pitch Consultant
Twitter: @markschnurman