The Naked Speaker

How To Present Naked?

By naked, I mean without the whole set of classy and sleeky powerpoint slides, latest projector, remote control, laser pointer, giant screen with latest videos and dolby stereo....This post was triggered by reading the brilliant article written by Martin Shovel, "What Power Point can't show you" in Creativity Works Blog. 

What happens when technology fails?

Commenting on Twitter last week about Peter Senge 's performance, without Power Point, here are the reactions I got from Angie Chaplin, Leadership Speaker and Trainer

Recently, I had to facilitate a TeamBuilding seminar for International MBAs. I had designed a very “Zen like” short and sleek, design & Chic ppt with pictures purchased in iStock photos, few words, big fonts, very “Steve Job” styled…(without the black turtleneck, though)

I was very proud and eager to “make my show", I had rehearsed and prepared carefully.

I had not anticipated I would spill my coffee on my laptop, the day before, ruining my unsaved ppt.(The laptop, a brand new MacBook, is still alive with a mouse and keyboard transplant). Oh, lala! Désastre! Malédiction! (28 days later, it resurrected. I'm a Re born Mac Believer, now)
When I showed up the next morning, after a night trying to bring back my bonniemac to life,apart from my high stage of internal panic and lack of sleep,I had in fact all the presentation ready in my mind and was completely available for the participants.

I felt myself "naked".

Like in naked truth. Simply, naturally,..naked.

I told them many stories, I listened to them and asked them plenty of questions, I was more flexible and available than if I had sticked to my initial plan, which was ,more secretly, to make a Marion show.
Of course, I had integrated the components of the presentation and was in fact making it “Live”.
It was the best presentation ever. I felt free, natural, spontaneous, close to my audience and gave them more space too.

Why do I think Peter Senge is a naked Speaker?

Watch this very short (2.40 min) video "Closing Circle" 

He's speaking with simplicity , he's open and aware of others.  Very natural. He's standing in the middle of a circle and telling us a story.

This is called "presence".
Conclusions?

If you really have to use Power Point
Preparing with visual aids, ppt slides and even better mixing with mindmaps , can be a fantastic way to get sharp and ready . Ready to do without, too...

1.  It enables you to anticipate and structure your presentation, to think about the illustrations you might want to use.Then you use homeopatic dose.
2. You hand pick the best quality slides, the “wow” effect illustrations. That’s all.
3. You rehearse and rehearse, and eliminate. You “prune”
4.  It’s a great discipline and framework, from which one has to free oneself and move out of the ppt box.
5. It’s a means and should be used with only one question in mind: What added value is it bringing to my audience?

A wonderful way to do this is to embrace the Magical Story Frog Prince.

You tell stories, you ask for stories from your participants, you make an imaginary fire and warm yourself around!

As Terrence Gargiulo says “If a picture is worth a thousand words, a Story is worth a thousand pictures.”

Visit his site Making Stories, and his blog.

Comments

[Martin Shovel]

Marion,

Great post! It's got me so excited that I intend to write a post of my own inspired by it. Our anecdotal experience with clients suggests that there's a definite move away from the suit of armour approach to presenting – as exemplified by PowerPoint – towards what you so perfectly describe as the naked approach to presenting.

I believe that the future of presenting in organisations is beginning to look more positive – especially thanks to the influence of blog posts like yours. Coincidentally, CreativityWorks – http://www.creativityworks.net – the communications consultancy I run with my wife Martha has just been commissioned to run a two-day course in Athens, in January, for a leading Greek coaching company that wants to move its presentation and marketing materials beyond PowerPoint.

In fact, they told us that their multinational corporation clients increasingly frown upon its use – and don't use it much themselves. Instead they want us to teach them how to develop their ability to use visual/concrete language. And they also want us to teach them how to use live drawing as a tool for communicating ideas.

We'll be offering them a bespoke mix of our 'Words that Move Mountains' advanced presentation skills and our 'How to use cartoon drawing as a tool for thinking and communication.'

As is so often the case, change is happening first at the top of organisations, but it will slowly trickle down to the tiers below. Our speech coaching clients – chief execs and senior managers – are also increasingly attracted to working with us because we give them the courage and technical skills to be able to abandon artificial props when speaking.

One of our clients – a senior adviser at the Cabinet Office – recently gave a keynote speech at a very important event. It went extremely well and when he told us about it afterwards he was delighted by the fact that he was the only one of ten speakers not to use PowerPoint. As result, members of the audience came up to him afterwards to congratulate him and to reflect back some of the things (words!) he'd spoken that had stuck in their minds.

[marion]

Thank you Peg!
We all have PowerPoints with more info on them than we would like, what is great and is changing, is that we're now ready to admit it.
Awareness is the first step towards change!
There' s room for improvement and innovation.
I'd love to hear your story on that...see you in a while...

[marion]

Very true, Tanveer,

There is definitely an "irony" in that PowerPoint story.
The tool which becomes the master, instead of the instrument...

Speaking of stories.
You also must know, Tanveer, that one of the reasons I decided to write more assertively in this blog, is because of you.
You once told me, when i was still "looking for my voice". We all have many voices inside of us. Don't be afraid to let them speak with different accents... (well, maybe you didn't say that exactly, but that's how I interpreted it!)
My gratitude to you :-)

[marion]

Oh, Dorothy!

Your sense of humor and derision strikes again, and I love it.
Now, I can picture you with a ski suit on the beach of your next Conference!
Very well said, impactful and illustrated, like usual.
You remind us to use EXAMPLES and make it real!
Thanks
Marion

[marion]

Ha, Bip Bip!
I had no idea you all had answered and commented (I'm not used to it, I've been writing almost confidentially here for a year!)
Coming from such an experienced motivational speaker like you, your comment is inspirational, and will be for many.
The future of presentation will definitely have to include simplicity and excellence, just like you do when you speak.
Accepting to be humble and show your truth.
Gratitude, my friend!
marion