For reasons I am unsure of, I have been asked to do a lot of presentations over the last few weeks.
From the board of directors of the World’s most notorious video game company to Silicon Valley VC’s to the social platform Trump is petrified of and a whole host in-between … I’ve been asked for my POV on all manner of things.
The role of technology in sexual education.
How technology can evolve how we tell stories.
Why the best way to be wanted is to be banned.
How experience design is increasingly built on efficiency not emotion.
How to create the environment where the best creative is allowed to be born.
It’s been so much fun …
Not just because it made me think about things or that I got to meet a bunch of amazing people, but because I could do the presentation entirely as I felt I wanted to.
It’s not that I have felt I couldn’t do what I believe was right, but over the last few years, there’s been a few people who have tried to convey a ‘this is how you should say things’ attitude.
Now don’t get me wrong, it takes an army to make an argument and you should always be open to other people’s thoughts and suggestions … but if you’re made responsible for giving the presentation, then you should get the final call on how you express it.
Having people more obsessed with how you’re saying things rather than what is being said is pretty depressing, but not as depressing when you realise colleagues can be more of an obstacle to great work than your clients.
When that starts happening, you start questioning things.
Often yourself.
Are you good enough?
Are you worthy enough?
And then, before you know it, you’re chipped into complicity by the constant stream of criticism … leaving you with no confidence, no self-belief and not much hope for where you’re heading.
I wrote about this a short while ago which is why I want to just reiterate, when you do the presentation you want, the feeling is infectious.
Not just to you, but to who the audience is.
Here’s some examples of the pages I’ve presented in the last few weeks …
And here’s the thing, they all went down very well.
Sure, some of them made the audience gulp.
But they also loved it because they knew I was saying was to try and help them win better rather than just kick them in the head.
And that’s the key.
Show you really give a shit about them.
However, while some seem to think you do this by pandering to the audience, I believe it is by giving them utter transparency and honesty.
Let’s face it, if you’re willing to do that to a client at a formal presentation – albeit doing it in a way where they understand why you’re doing it – then most of the time they’re going to respect you, even if they don’t agree with you.
I’ve had so many clients come to me/us who initially didn’t.
Because as my old, brilliant head of NIKE marketing said to me once,
“Middle management want to be told they’re right. But senior management want to know how to be better”.