presentation – Page 3 – Andrew Careaga

Lately I’ve noticed a lot of conversations about upcoming higher ed conferences floating along my Twitter stream. A lot of folks are also talking about submitting their proposals to present at those conferences.

In this post, I review two recently published books that can help you become a better presenter. (Actually, one of the books is a second edition, originally published in 2008.)

This information may come too late to help you with your proposal submissions (as you’ll read below, even submissions to present at a conference are presentations). But maybe it will encourage you to think differently about your next conference presentation. Or if you work on one of those campuses with tight purse strings and won’t be going to any conferences in the near future, maybe this information will help you with other presentation opportunities around campus or in your community.

How to avoid this (photo from learningcycle.ca)

If nothing else, maybe this post will help you avoid a horrible death-by-PowerPoint presentation. (But if you’re really worried about that, you should read Eric Stoller’s brilliant post on Inside Higher Ed, Conference Sessions Do Not Have To Suck, and his recent addendum to that post.)

Since publication of the first edition in 2008, Presentation Zen, by Garr Reynolds, has become required reading for anyone who wants to improve their visual presentation skills — in boardrooms, classrooms or conference rooms. So is Reynolds’ Presentation Zen blog. Many of you have probably read the book and also read the blog from time to time. I’m embarrassed to say that I never read Reynolds’ book until the revised, updated second edition came out earlier this year. I didn’t know a revised edition was coming out until I read about it on Reynolds’ blog.

The second edition’s focus remains consistent with that of the original book — the importance of simplicity in PowerPoint presentations (“zen” in the book refers more to the artistry of a Japanese zen garden than the Buddhist philosophy) and the power of storytelling and compelling visuals. Consistent with those themes, Presentation Zen is simply and beautifully presented in words and pictures. And the storytelling element is there. Reynolds enlists the help of many big names in marketing to help tell the story — Guy Kawasaki writes (actually, he presents) the forward to the book, and Seth Godin shares a short essay on pages 20-21 about the importance of evoking emotion — and shares examples of presentations delivered by speakers, educators, technology experts and others.

Presentation Zen is an enjoyable, quick read, and a book you can return to over and over for reference or inspiration. The principles presented in this book can be applied to other situations besides presentations.

How does the new edition differ from the original? It’s bigger — with about 70 pages of additional content — and, if you purchase the exclusive Barnes & Noble edition, you also get a DVD video of Reynolds serenely discussing the Presentation Zen ideas. The video is a nice addition, and if you’ve had a harried day, it’s a nice way to unwind and refocus. But if you already own the first edition, it probably wouldn’t be worth the $30 bookstore price (or $18.98 on Amazon) to buy the second edition.

* * *

While Presentation Zen focuses on crafting an artful approach to creating presentations, another book that came out this year, The Art of the Pitch, looks at the idea of “presentation” through a broader lens.

The Art of the Pitch is by Peter Coughter, a veteran advertising guy. As an ad man, he’s presented all manner of pitches for business to all manner of potential clients. So his perspective differs from Reynolds’ — and is in fact more philosophy than art in the visual sense. (Maybe the titles of these books should be altered to Presentation Art and The Zen of the Pitch.)

Like Reynolds, Coughter is a masterful storyteller. His book is filled with anecdotes about pitches won and lost — miniature case studies of what to do and what not to do when trying to win business, persuade others or simply present information.

Coughter’s book is not at all like Reynolds’s. The Art of the Pitch doesn’t discuss visuals until page 55, whereas Presentation Zen dives right in to that aspect of presenting.

Rather, Coughter’s emphasis is that every conversation, every business transaction, is a presentation. Or should be. Even your submission to present at a conference could be viewed as a presentation.

“Great work has to be sold,” he says (page 75). It’s not enough to simply do great work and expect it to win on its own merits.

Coughter peppers his book with a bit of Zen philosophy too. Like Reynolds, he believes in the merits of simplicity and restraint. On page 36, Coughter quotes a Zen proverb:

Make a choice about what’s important and let everything else go.

That’s an approach Garr Reynolds would also embrace, I’m sure.

Perhaps Reynolds might also embrace another quote from Coughter’s book: One attributed to British writer Sake (H.H. Munro) and a favorite aphorism of “legendary San Francisco ad man” Howard Gossage (whom I’ve never heard of):

When baiting a mousetrap with cheese, be sure to leave room for the mouse.

That gets back to The Art of the Pitch‘s greatest takeaway: Many of us are in the business of presenting — of trying to persuade. We could learn a lot from Coughter’s ideas, not just for conferences and PowerPoints, but also for meetings with the boss or dinner-party conversations.

If there’s one thing I don’t like about The Art of the Pitch, it’s the few occasions when Coughter slips into the old-fashioned, cigar-chomping, ad-guy writing style. This doesn’t happen often, but there are times.

While his tales of ad accounts won and lost would be fascinating cautionary tales to any student of advertising, PR or marketing, he sometimes comes off as a hypester. For instance, if Howard Gossage is really such a “legendary” ad man, would Coughter have to use that phrase to describe Gossage?

The same goes with the book-jacket description of Coughter as a professor at “the prestigious VCU Brandcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University.” Come on. If the VCU Brandcenter is really prestigious, do you have to call attention to that fact?

Perhaps Coughter could have used just a bit more restraint in his writing.

P.S. – For another perspective on both of these books, I recommend Karine Joly‘s reviews from her 1-1-1 Express Book Review series:

Presentation Zen (first edition)
The Art of the Pitch

I’m a day too late to post the customary Friday Five, but I did want to share some key takeaways I gleaned from my recent trip to Minneapolis for The Art and Science of Social Media Marketing for Higher Education, a one-day workshop put on by The Lawlor Group.

Since I’m a day late, I’m going to make it up to you by providing an extra takeaway — a Saturday Six of bullet points. Also, if you hurry, you’ll find more about the conference via the Twitter hashtag for that event, #tlgsm. But hurry, because hashtags, like fruit flies, tend to have short life spans.

1. Brands can learn a lot from evolutionary biology. I’ve been thinking a bit about the evolution of brands and branding at least since the mid-2000s, when I read Al and Laura Ries’s book The Origin of Brands. Dan Zarrella has been thinking about this, too, and during his kickoff session at the workshop — titled “The Science of Social Media Marketing” — offered several great points to ponder about evolution, branding and marketing. Just as species evolve and thrive by their ability to adapt to the forces of nature, so brands most able to adapt to ever-changing cultural, social and economic pressures will do well. This is an important point for those of us in higher ed to keep in mind, especially these days.

You can hear much more from Dan about these and other issues by viewing his one-hour presentation on this topic. Yes, an hour is a long time to spend watching a video about social media, but you won’t be disappointed. You’ll also find that his conclusions about what works in social media is backed by research. (Thanks to Karine Joly, who first directed me to that presentation in this post a couple of months ago.)

2. Facebook: The Jersey Shore of social media. Facebook has become the most mainstream of social media. Brands wanting to connect with Facebook users should learn to “write for Snooki,” as Dan put it. But maybe without all the F-bombs. Just keep it simple and to the point.

3. It’s OK to tell (or ask) people what to do. In their presentation about listening and strategic planning, Jennifer Kane and Kary Delaria, both of Kane Consulting, made the point that people don’t mind being told what to do. It’s OK to tell (or ask) people to “like” an article on Facebook, for example. This correlates to what Dan Z. mentioned about retweeting. His research found that the phrase “please retweet” or “please RT” in a Twitter post were among the most retweetable words.

4. Size, frequency and timing matter. In the debate about quality vs. quantity, quantity wins. According to Dan Zarrella’s research, the larger the number of followers a brand has on Twitter, the more fans on Facebook, etc., the greater the chances are that the brand’s messages will be shared more broadly. Likewise, the more frequently a post is shared on Twitter, the greater the odds that it will be retweeted. But beware of over-sharing. Link fatigue could set in among your fans or followers.

In terms of timing, Dan’s research suggests that click-through rates for information posted on social media increases during the weekend, even though social media activity tends to slow down on the weekends.

5. Stay positive. Nobody likes a Debbie Downer. Not in real life. Not in social media. So if you want to build your brand in the social media sphere, avoid getting negative. Stay upbeat. Related: Don’t talk about yourself all the time, either. Just as no one likes to talk to the person at a cocktail party who only talks about himself, no one will pay much attention to your brand if you’re only talking about yourself. Dan Z. suggests finding “combined relevance” that connects your brand to the interests of others.

Here’s a real-world example of combined relevance in action: Earlier this week, a minor earthquake struck east of Rolla. I tweeted about the event and asked our followers if anyone felt it. The tweet had nothing to do with our brand, so to speak, but it was relevant on a few levels: geography, a shared experience, and the fact that we offer majors in geology, geophysics and geological engineering — disciplines that attract students interested in quakes. The result: half a dozen retweets and interactions with five followers.

6. Lougan Bishop rocked Twitter. I had the good fortune of co-presenting on a panel with Lougan and Dan Z. I talked about blogging, while Dan talked about Facebook and Lougan opined about Twitter. Lougan did a terrific job talking about Twitter and reinforcing what others had said earlier in the day. Check out his presentation (on Slideshare or below).

Twitter Channel Presentation

View more presentations from lougan

In all, I had a great time presenting, meeting new people, reconnecting with a few earlier acquaintances, and learning from my peers. I really appreciate the opportunity and thank John Lawlor of The Lawlor Group for putting on an exceptional workshop.

P.S. – I’ve also posted my presentation for your viewing pleasure.

Category: presentation

Book review: Zen and the art of presentations