Creative Streak

#5: How to Break Your Presentation with Conversation

This is one in a series from my earlier post "10 Things You Can Do To Help Your Audience Listen Better."  It covers initial points on how to ask questions of the audience, how to lead exercises, and how to facilitate discussion and debate.

This post originates from an earlier one (“Want To Show How Intelligent You Are?”) although that purpose was slightly different.  There, my point was that presentations should be clear, succinct or prioritized – not an elaborate display of brain power, or an unending litany of details, facts and charts.

Related to that post, my point here is that lecture-based presentations – that is, when you do (nearly) all the talking – are often not effective at helping the audience listen.  You might be able to carry the burden of the speech for 10 minutes or so, but if your presentation stretches longer, say to an hour … well, even your mother wouldn’t find you that interesting.

There are several ways to break from the lecture and build rapport through discussion.

• Ask questions
• Conduct exercises, or
• Lead discussion and debate

Metaphors and Creative Thinking

Three years ago today, I started this blog with the question “Which of these two ‘coat hangers’ is more creative?”  Referring to John Bradfield’s iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Albert Parkhouse’s equally iconic wire coat hanger, I also pointed out in the article the comparison was also a metaphor.

Metaphors are a creative approach which directly compares an existing problem with another, unrelated or dissimilar problem, object or situation. The discovery of common attributes or elements between items improve our understanding and help us solve problems.

Metaphors work primarily in three ways:

By identifying similarities between the two disparate problems, new insights emerge from the unrelated field, translating into new ideas to solve the original problem.

By examining something in a new context, a new or different perspective reveal a different approach or potential alternatives to solve the original problem.

By looking elsewhere for answers – particularly outside our existing body of knowledge, as well as our comfort zone, we distance ourselves from the original problem, allowing us more freedom and clarity to question the assumptions and stereotypes.  Breaking these biases often leads to new ideas.

As no less than Aristotle recognized the value of metaphor some 2,500 years ago. In Poetics, he wrote:  “The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor. This alone cannot be imparted by another; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblance.” Later on, he paraphrased himself: “The successful use of metaphor is a matter of perceiving similarities.”

The poet Robert Frost also spoke of the value of finding something in common between two very different domains. He said: “An idea is a feat of association, and the height of it is a good metaphor.”

Let me use another poet – the German writer Novalis – to explain how metaphors work.

1. Metaphors make the strange familiar.

Metaphors help make sense of the unfamiliar by comparing it to something understandable. Think about a time when you were explaining something complex to a novice. You probably used something common to both of you to make the intangible item or thought process simple to understand and apply.

Or perhaps you once faced a difficult situation. You drew a diagram or told a story to make the problem comprehensible. Visual imagery, storytelling and icons are effective ways to restate or reposition abstract thoughts into reality. Consider the technology industry: what value did it create to name its products a mouse, the desktop, Windows, or Facebook? These are all brilliant and effective metaphors.

Before I leave this section, let me also point out something which may be obvious. Metaphors are often the foundation for storytelling. Consider the words of Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, who said: "While a picture might be worth a thousand words, a metaphor is worth a thousand pictures."

2. Metaphors make the familiar strange.

In reverse, metaphors can help break from perceived assumptions about a specific situation or environment by forcing you into “multiplicity” – to look at something from many points of view (not just one other),  another), to encourage multiple options or hypotheses (not just Plan B).

Remember when you saw something you’ve taken for granted in ‘a new light’? It was probably a bit of a surprise. It may even have been confusing or improbable at first. But by changing the prism of your viewpoint, you gained a new appreciation. This opens eyes to new uses, to new solutions, to new audiences.

That’s the beauty of metaphors. By examining and experiencing today in a new way, by comparing it to something unlike itself, you find new ideas.

If you took a problem facing you, right now – a New Year’s Resolution, a client impasse, the lack of a better solution to marketing problem – how would you describe it in a metaphor? Come up with several, brainstorm as many as possible with your colleagues.Next, select one which resonates with you. Examine the secondary statement or question, look for insights, where are commonalities and similarities which might be used to solve your original problem?

http://www.andyeklund.com/creativestreak/2009/01/which-of-these-two-coat-hangers-is-more-creative.html

Right Side Up from Up Side Down

Did you hear the one about the man who called up a local church?

The minister’s secretary answered the phone.  The man said, “I’d like to speak to the head hog.” Shocked, the secretary replied, “That’s not a very kind thing to say about our beloved priest!” The man replied, “I’d like to speak to the head hog because I’d like to donate $1,000,000 to the church.” The secretary replied, “Hold on a moment, I think the big fat pig just walked in.”

Sometimes it’s all about how you reframe what’s in front of you.

We know a “frame” as a piece of wood or plastic that surrounds a photograph or a piece of art. It frames the perspective of what we see. A window frame does the same thing. So does a time frame. Even the way you look at something is framing. Try this trick.

Want To Show How Intelligent You Are?

Perhaps it's because my body doesn't know what time zone it's in, but one thing has been sticking in my craw since I got back to Chicago. I've sat in a dozen workshops and meetings over the past few weeks, and among all of the presentations, one element was consistent.

Of the time allotted to them, many presenters filled up the agenda with themselves – I call it “ME” time – leaving little room for Q&A and/or keeping audience interaction to a minimum. These meetings looked like Drawing A.  

In contrast, a few presenters chose to use the agenda to get their organised points across quickly, spending the remaining time with key people discussing and debating the recommendations. These meetings looked like Drawing B. 

I understand why the A people chose to facilitate the meeting the way they did. They wanted to get the maximum amount of information across to their audience, to show how much they knew their topic or recommendation, to show they were thorough and comprehensive.

Afterwards, when I asked why, the reasons were various. One said they reported to someone who was anal-retentive and controlling. Meetings were meant to agree on decisions: instead, they turned into opportunities for their boss to micro-manage information. Others realised they were justifying their employment or position in uncertain economic times. Most admitted that the idea of editing their thoughts never occurred to them.

Ironic, isn’t it? What they ultimately wanted to achieve (to show value, get promoted, keep their job) was in direct opposition of what they actually did in their PowerPoint presentations.

I applaud the B people who elected to facilitate their meeting differently. They chose to convey their recommendations in messages which were clear, succinct or prioritised. They’d learnt that distilling a sea of information down to its essential points demonstrates as much (if not more) command of the topic as filling up a slide up with charts, graphs and detail. Their response to the anal retentive boss was to show they could differentiate between strategic data and minutiae. Their response to a tenuous position was to show their efficiency and effectiveness.

29 Ways To Stay Creative

 

A good use of 1.51 minutes: 29 simple ways to keep the creativity flowing, thanks to MrNotFamous and YouTube. (Thanks for the discovery too, from Denny McCorkle (aka @TweetRightBrain), a good source of daily tweets on creativity.)

How to Retrieve Self-Confidence

There isn't a single person I've coached over the years - and I'd include myself in this group - who've lost their confidence at one point or another. It might be a momentary slip, or something that lasts longer than a few weeks. But it happens. The important thing is to call it for what it is, realize it's natural and probably inevitable, and take appropriate action.

Here's another excellent post from Dawn Lennon's blog Business Fitness, entitled "Self-Confidence Lost? Five Steps to Getting It Back." Her steps are wise and practical.

If I may add a personal point to this, I'd offer a favourite retort from my Grandma Eklund - the doyenne of common sense. Other people's opinions of you are none of your business.

 

Is It Better to Be Decisive or Flexible When Presenting Ideas?

This is a group of responses based on one of the most popular posts I've written in the three years since Creative Streak began. How To Make A Creative Director Cry outlines the ten most common responses I've heard as a creative director, with links to each subsequent post giving more thoughts and suggestions to address each statement. This is statement #9: "That's an interesting idea. What else do you have?"

Statement #9 is a distillation of many debates in my creative director career about the best way to present ideas to a client or project manager.

There are two schools of thought. Present the client with several ideas from which to choose. Or, present the client with one definitive idea.

Several ideas?

From the presenter’s point of view, a selection of ideas demonstrates the breadth of their creativity, and by extension, a range of alternatives for implementation for the client. But from the client’s point of view, a selection of ideas can look overwhelming, if not unfocused.

The problem typically lies in how the ideas are presented. In what order are the ideas presented? In what context or reasoning? Like a comedian, do you start with your funniest joke? Or like a storyteller, do you take the client on a journey with the most compelling idea coming at the end? Or, are the ideas presented without preference, neither highlighting nor elevating one idea about the others?

Cindy Ratzlaff on Leaders' Successful Daily Habits

Marketing expert and blogger Cindy Ratzlaff gathers an insightful list of daily rituals from successful leaders in a variety of fields and industries in her post "15 Daily Habits of Powerhouse Leaders." She interviews her friends and colleagues on tips ranging from philosophical to immediately practical, in areas such as social media, curiosity, time management and creativity. Some good food for thought during a time-out break this week. (Photo taken from her website.)

Er, can I - um - eliminate - uhhhs - when I speak?

The most common question in presentation skills workshops is the request to eliminate vocal fillers. The short answer is yes, it’s possible – but, it takes some work.

Inserting unnecessary words into speech is more or less a habit most people have acquired over time. Like any habit, it takes continual awareness and practice to remove them. In fact, vocal fillers aren't an issue exclusive to presentation skills workshops. A person probably uses fillers in their every-day talking style. It's simply more frequent and obvious when they present.

Without going into the details of speech pathology, vocal fillers fall into two loose groups: syllables and words. Syllables are what my first speech teacher called “sloppy words.” They are guttural noises like ‘um,’ ‘ah,’ ‘uhh,’ and ‘err.’ Words can be single fillers – such as ‘like’ and ‘totally’ and ‘right’ – or phrases, sometimes pet phrases, such as ‘you know,’ ‘you know what I’m saying?’ and ‘am I right?’ I use American examples here, but vocal fillers are an issue in every culture and language. The man who made my coffee every morning in Sydney began every sentence with the word 'mate.' A Swedish friend Ben ends every sentence with 'ja?' (yes?).Go here if you’re curious about other fillers.

As I said, the trick to overcoming fillers is awareness and practice. Here’s how to get started.

The Best Keyboard Tips for PowerPoint

When presenting - especially using PowerPoint - I’m a big believer in looking like you’re in control of the technology, instead of it controlling you. No matter the keyboard (since they’re always different, especially between countries), here are some universal keyboard short-cuts to help you appear confident with the laptop/computer from the moment you begin.

PowerPoint Show vs. PowerPoint SlideShow

First, if you won’t need to be editing the document during the presentation, consider saving your document as a PowerPoint Show.  This is slightly different:  in Show, the document always opens directly into Slide Show (as opposed to directly opening in Editing Mode).

F5 - From Editing Mode to Slide Show

If you can’t (or don’t want to) save as a PowerPoint Show, you can go from the normal Editing Mode to Slide Show by pressing the F5 key. (A whole lot easier than trying to find that little button on the bottom right-hand side of the desktop.) Pressing F5 always takes you to Slide #1.

SHIFT + F5 - Go to a specific slide from Editing Mode to SlideShow

If you’re in the middle of a presentation – say you’re working on slide #10 – you can go directly to that specific slide in PowerPoint SlideShow by pressing SHIFT + F5. For example, SlideShow will open at slide #10.