presentation tips

So the teleprompter doesn't work - So what!

Transformer's Director Michael Bays made a brief appearance earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (#2014CES) on behalf of Samsung to launch the company's new 105 inch curved ultra high-definition television.

The scripted segment was quickly interrupted after the teleprompter failed and Bays lost his focus,  leaving the stage and leaving Samsung's Executive Vice President Joe Stinziano by himself to recover and re-shift the focus back to the product launch. Despite his efforts to help Bays by asking him a questions and trying to lead the answer, Stinziano was left to recover Samsung's reputation as to what would be reported from CES following that session.

Film directors generally have the vision to create a solid film and should be able to piece everything together to visually tell an artistic story. This includes ensuring the actors know their lines.   The key to a solid presentation is to know what you want to say, get to the point quickly, try to inject humor, emotion or find other ways to connect with your audience and tell your audience again what you want to say -- ending with a good story or call to action.

If there is a teleprompter, the key is to use it as a guide and only reference it if you get lost in your discussion. A speaker should never rely on a script, particularly if you are representing a company to launch a new product at a major industry event. 

If you are prepared and can visualize your presentation, like a good movie, everything should come together. The audience will know you are genuine and speaking from your heart or your gut.  Bays was not prepared. He can blame his publicists, Samsung's PR team or himself, he left Samsung with a memorable launch but one where people won't remember the product, just the person trying to promote it. 

Bays later recounted what happened on his blog saying he was so excited to talk about the new product that he skipped over Stinzano's lines and threw everything off on the teleprompter. His excitement never showed, but his nerves did. He should have been more prepared to talk about himself, the movies he has directed and how they will look on the new television.  

In the end, perhaps Bays should have relied on an old fashioned teleprompter and should've jotted some notes down on his hand with a pen to reference. Bays says that he is not good with live performances and that is true for many of us, including many well known performers.  We all get nervous but with good practice and lots of prep, those nerves quickly go away. To recover, Bays should appear on Letterman, The Tonight Show, SNL and other programs, to poke fun at himself and to continue to provide Samsung with additional free PR for their new 105 inch curved ultra high-definition television

Don't Dress Like a Mortician

That was the advice a memo from someone at Clifford Chance told the woman lawyers at the multi-national law firm in an effort to help them give better presentations. The advice was directed at the Clifford Chance women attorneys who make up a fraction of the 3,700 of their legal advisors.  The memo urges female lawyers to “practice hard words,” stop saying “like” and to button up, explaining “No one heard Hillary the day she showed cleavage” and “Think Lauren Bacall, not Marilyn Monroe.” Other tips on the memo include:

  • “Like” You’ve got to Lose “Um” and “Uh,” “You know,” “OK,” and “Like”
  • Don’t raise your pitch at the end of a statement if it’s not a question.
  • Lower the pitch — say “uh-huh” and match that pitch to how low you can go
  • Don’t qualify: “Kind of, sort of, just…”

Some of it is good advice that we need to be reminded every now and then but the rest -- Well I think there is better advice to give anyone giving a presentation. My advice,

  • Be yourself but professional.
  • Be natural but have fun.
  • Enjoy the moment, it's yours.

If you want other good presentation tips, Ragan.com posted 8 Things Never To Say During Your Presentation.

Following the release of the memo on the blog, Above the Law, a Clifford Chance representative said, “The original presentation and associated tips represented a personal perspective, shared with a group of colleagues, some just starting out in their careers.”  (See the rest of the memo here.)

If that is the case, then Clifford Chance should respond they way the memo was leaked and use social media to address the issue directly.  They should follow up with a blog post of their own and post it on their blog or website. I would not recommend they respond to concerns on Twitter or Facebook. If they do they will continue to contribute to the debate and if I were advising Clifford Chance, I would have them post a blog or statement and find opportunities to reinvest in the people of their firm to restore trust and their image, particularly women.