a few, well chosen words can evoke amazing images. there’s been some comment in the blogosphere on this. for instance CreativityWorks’ post citing Churchill’s ‘iron curtain’ speech. here in australia, an equally evocative phrase, ‘stolen generation’, conjures up plenty of desperate and emotional images.

in this context, the link between words and images is summed up in one word itself: emotion. photos, paintings, pictures – phrases, poetry, prose are all at their best when they convey emotion.

I don’t know, but emotion, to me, in both words and pictures means an ability to suggest. Stimulating the audience to conjure up the texture and dimension of the story themselves produces the strongest reaction. it’s the classic – tell me you’re funny, or tell me a joke – maxim. the inclusion of involvement is the imperative. without it, life is a lecture, with it, it is an adventure.

the images we create from certain words are individual, private even; but often, when the suggestion, the emotion, is extremely powerful, the images have the commonality of an ‘archetype’. and as such can be immensely powerful, binding us all together, collectively, in the human condition. producing the equivalent of a profound, ‘we understand’.

even words that don’t on the face of it ‘paint pictures’, can, used in the right way, in the right context, be dramatic and a driving force. think about Obama’s ‘yes we can’.

but all too often words are trotted out ad infinitum, machine-gun style. too many words, or the same words delivering, basically, the same information, in the same way. a lazy, fearful, vacuous soup where all too many business presentations, unfortunately, reside.

words are about communication. if we are to communicate well, we need to pay words more respect. the famous line ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me’, is perhaps the most disrespectful and inaccurate use of words, in history. words cause wars.

but, equally, words also deliver hope. and without them and the connection they provide, we wouldn’t even be here.

words, to me, exist to paint pictures. so I think we should all learn to paint with them. some days we will use words to create modern art, some days to paint impressionist landscapes, other days to measure out exact technical drawings or precise diagrams. but never to create grey, fuzzy photocopies.

in business, this means don’t tap out PowerPoint slides full of words. use words carefully. parsimoniously. try alternatives for words that are overused, words that have lost their shine from the battering of the bandwagon they’ve been on.

imagine, for a moment, actually being the word ‘agenda’. your very soul would be so dull these days, you’ve been ‘photocopied’ so many times; used to the point of becoming almost invisible. the same goes, it’s a pity to say, if you were any one of the words: ‘objective’,  ‘leverage’ or ‘strategy’. you just don’t evoke the same passion, imagery or meaning that you once did.

so here’s some practical food for thought. say, for example, you’re in a digital camera manufacturer’s sales division and you’re in the audience at some swanky, exotic location for your annual sales conference. the first slide in the presentation on screen reads ‘objective 2010 – increase sales by 15%’. I’m guessing here…but I don’t think I hear your adrenaline pumping in your eagerness to hit that mark’?

so, instead, what if the first slide had read ‘what are we going do this year?… make 9 million more people say ‘cheese’ with a Sony’. now there’s an evocative image! doesn’t that involve and inspire you a bit more. and what about the ‘agenda’ slide. how about ‘a million smiles in the making…’

understand? get…the picture?

words. they are at their best when they paint pictures. so why not try learning to paint.

 a few, well chosen words can evoke amazing images.

there’s been some recent comment in the blogosphere on this. for instance CreativityWorks’ post citing Churchill’s ‘iron curtain’ speech.

here in australia, an equally evocative phrase, ‘stolen generation’, conjures up plenty of desperate and emotional images.

 in this context, the link between words and images is summed up in one word itself: emotion. photos, paintings, pictures – phrases, poetry, prose are all at their best when they convey emotion.

 I don’t know, but emotion, to me, in both words and pictures means an ability to suggest. Stimulating the audience to conjure up the texture and dimension of the story themselves produces the strongest reaction. it’s the classic – tell me you’re funny, or tell me a joke – maxim. the inclusion of involvement is the imperative. without it, life is a lecture, with it, it is an adventure.

 the images we create from certain words are individual, private even; but often, when the suggestion, the emotion, is extremely powerful, the images have the commonality of an ‘archetype’. and as such can be immensely powerful, binding us all together, collectively, in the human condition. producing the equivalent of a profound, ‘we understand’.

 even words that don’t on the face of it ‘paint pictures’, can, used in the right way, in the right context, be dramatic and a driving force. think about Obama’s ‘yes we can’.

 but all too often words are trotted out ad infinitum, machine-gun style. too many words, or the same words delivering, basically, the same information, in the same way. a lazy, fearful, vacuous soup where all too many business presentations, unfortunately, reside.

 words are about communication. if we are to communicate well, we need to pay words more respect. the famous line ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me’, is perhaps the most disrespectful and inaccurate use of words, in history. words cause all wars.

 but, equally, words also deliver hope. and without them and the connection they provide, we wouldn’t even be here.

 words to me exist to paint pictures. so I think we should all learn to paint with them. some days we will use words to create modern art, some days to paint impressionist landscapes, other days to measure out exact technical drawings or precise diagrams. but never to create grey, fuzzy photocopies.

 in business, this means don’t tap out PowerPoint slides full of words. use words carefully. parsimoniously. try alternatives for words that are overused, words that have lost their shine from the battering of the bandwagon they’ve been on.

 imagine, for a moment, being the word ‘agenda’. your very soul would be so dull these days, you’ve been ‘photocopied’ so many times; used to the point of becoming almost invisible. the same, it’s a pity to say, goes if you were any one of the words: ‘objective’,  ‘leverage’ or ‘strategy’. you just don’t evoke the same passion, imagery or meaning that you once did.

 so here’s some practical food for thought. say, for example, you’re in Sony’s digital camera sales division and you’re at some swanky, exotic location for your annual sales conference. the first slide in the presentation on screen reads ‘objective 2010 – increase sales by 15%’. you’re in the audience. I’m guessing here…but I don’t think I hear your adrenaline pumping in your eagerness to hit that mark’?

 so, instead, what if the first slide had read ‘what are we gonna do this year – make 9 million more people say ‘cheese’ with a Sony’. now there’s an evocative image! doesn’t that involve and inspire you a bit more. and what about the ‘agenda’ slide. how about ‘a million smiles in the making…’

 understand? get…the picture?

 words. they are at their best when they paint pictures. so learn to paint with them.

Or perhaps this has happened to you.

Why does this occur?  Well it’s because many presenters wrongly assume their summary or recap slide is their final point, or the presentation’s conclusion.  Unfortunately the summary slide is not the final point, at least not for the audience.    

You see a presentation is like a journey; a journey of logic.  As the presenter, imagine you are the driver of the bus and you are taking your audience i.e. your passengers (ideally engaged and involved ones!) on your journey of logic.

And as with all journeys, a presentation must have a final destination – a final destination where you want to take your passengers.  So, the end of your presentation is not a summary or recap of all your points within the presentation.  The end of your presentation is your final destination and the final destination needs to be all about your audience, not about you and your points!

Creating a memorable destination 

To make it sticky, make it short.  Ideally only 1 sentence, which has two parts:

i)             Decide what audience reaction you want i.e. what do you want the audience to do/think/feel as a consequence of your presentation? 

ii)            Determine their motivation i.e. the WIFT (what’s in it for them), or what might be the consequence, that will motivate them.

Combine reaction + motivation (any order) to = the final destination.

Here’s an example of a destination based on this blog: 

If you want to deliver a memorable message and

end your presentations with conviction (motivation)

you need to finish your presentations with a final destination

that focuses on the audience (reaction). 

I said before that a destination is not the same as your summary.  A summary is simply a recap of your points of interest and persuasion along the journey.  More about those soon!

One last thing – perhaps a word of warning(?).  Deciding your final destination can take a bit of time.  Like deciding where to go on holiday; so many choices!  But make the effort to think carefully.  You may only get one chance to take your audience on this journey, so make it matter, make it memorable, make it count.

p.s. remember it’s your personality that powers your presentation performance.

Then he/she gets to the recap.  You’re looking forward to having the key insights from the presentation delivered in a crystalised, golden-nuggetty form for you to take away.  But no!  Instead the presenter decides to deep-dive back into the content, flaying around in his evidence, leaving you tediously bored and utterly frustrated.

Make sure you never make the same mistake.  Use my simple 2-step process to help you develop a short, sharp recap – and deliver it with impact.

Step 1:  Look at each chunk of your presentation (usually determined by your agenda – every business presentation should have one!) and decide what is the key point of interest or persuasion from that chunk of information.  Decide this point of interest or persuasion for each presentation chunk.

Step 2:  To deliver your recap, all you need to do is remind the audience of each chunk of the presentation that you covered and the key point of interest or persuasion from that chunk.  Easy! 

No deep diving back into the content.  No fat, flabby recaps.  No sinking summaries.  Simply the key points re-iterated; short, sharp and gift-wrapped for your audience.

An example from this blog…

Summary:

Step 1 –  develop your recap by deciding what the key point of interest or persuasion is from each presentation chunk.

Step 2 -  deliver your recap by reminding the audience of each chunk of the presentation that you covered and the key point of interest or persuasion from that chunk.

So in future, don’t bore or frustrate your audience just when they are supposed to be feeling enlightened and uplifted. Nail your key points and deliver a concise, impactful recap they’ll remember.

p.s. remember it’s your personality that powers your presentation performance.