Nancy Duarte's Blog, page 25

In Love Poems and Presentations, Less is More

The latest installation in our Duarte Gallery is a series of blackout poems. Specifically love poems, in honor of Valentine’s Day.

The blackout style was made famous by Austin Kleon, the author of Newspaper Blackout, “a best-selling book of poetry made by redacting newspaper articles with a permanent marker.”

 

During a lunch break dedicated to enjoying “Analog Time” we gathered newspapers, magazines, photo copies of novels, lots of Sharpies, and started creating by subtracting. By the end of the hour, we had some incredible poems, and a solid buzz from the Sharpie fumes. Each of the poems was wildly different, even when they were created from the same passage of text. Some were hilarious, some were heartwarming, and at least one was pretty racy.

Poring over which words to omit, I realized that creating blackout poetry is similar to creating a great presentation. You start with a lot of stuff, you study it all and make decisions on what to eliminate and what to highlight, and at the end you are left with the few essential elements that work together to tell a story.

As a recent blog post by Garr Reynolds reminds us, the secret to storytelling is the editing. Like blackout poetry, it’s often what you don’t say that matters.

“It’s difficult for us to dispose of pieces that we worked so hard on, but the value of a bit’s worth—whether it’s in film or literature or multimedia presentations, or even writing software for that matter—should not be measured merely in terms of the labor we put into it. The only question in measuring its value is: from the point of view of the audience, does it work in support of the story?”

When you’re pitching an idea or launching a product, it’s your job to look at the available information and uncover the hidden story that is going to resonate with the audience, and hopefully persuade them to act. It’s tempting to include all the specs and features and research you worked so hard on, but by eliminating superfluous information, you highlight what’s important and clarify your message. Of course you shouldn’t mislead your audience my omitting important details, but you should be sure every piece of information supports your big idea and moves it forward.

Think about your last presentation – did every element support your story? If not, I’d advise you to get a Sharpie, and go to work.

The Most Talked About Super Bowl Commercial Was a Presentation in Disguise

During Sunday’s Super Bowl, a presentation went undercover, posing as a commercial.

The commercial featured a slideshow of photographs, accompanied by the recognizable voice of radio personality Paul Harvey. The narrative was an excerpt of his 1978 speech to the Future Farmers of America, with the recurring phrase, “So God made a farmer.”

What made this commercial stand out is also what makes it a great presentation. Where other commercials used video, the Dodge Ram commercial used a succession of still images. Where other commercials relied on special effects, the Ram commercial relied on a powerful story told by a solitary, resonant voice.

So how did America respond to this presentation in disguise? The spot was the most talked about commercial of this year’s crop, according to Bluefin Labs, a Massachusetts–based company that measures the impact of television via social media.

“We measured comments in a 45-minute time window from when each ad aired … the most social commercial this year was Dodge Ram’s “Farmer” spot, which generated 402K comments.”

The goal of a commercial and the goal of a presentation are often the same: to persuade. Unlike most presentations, commercials have as few as 30 seconds to get the job done. The Dodge commercial told a simple, visual story that struck the right tone with the audience using three aspects essential to great presentations.

No matter if you have 30 seconds or 30 minutes, you can use these techniques to make your message more memorable:

Know Your Audience

Like presentations, commercials are nothing without an audience. Sundays in America are famously a day for both football and religion, which are one and the same to some. The Super Bowl turns up the volume on that sense of camaraderie and patriotism, and on this Sunday in particular as we all watched the power of familial bonds play out between two brothers competing for the championship. The stage was set perfectly for Paul Harvey’s soothing voice to kindle the embers of shared pride, the value of hard work, and the importance of family. Dodge considered the spirit of the crowd who would be watching, and crafted their presentation to accommodate.

Use Simple Visuals

Whether you’re using literal images or lyrical imagery, your presentation should encourage your audience to visualize what you’re saying, which will help clarify your message and solidify it their minds. The commercial relied on still photos rather than video, which set it apart from its competitors, and perfectly matched the cadence and tone of the narrative.

Tell a Story

The speech told a moving story about the hard work and pioneering nature of Americans, relying heavily on repetition—a rhetorical device favored by MLK and Steve Jobs. The narrative took its audience on an emotional journey designed to inspire a renewed sense of pride in our laborers, in our families, and in the indefatigable spirit of our country, ending with the promise that Ram shares these values.

Besides confirming that storytelling principles help messages stand out from the crowd, this commercial challenges us to rethink the definition of a presentation. When the time comes to develop your next presentation, let TV help you think outside the box.

(Oh, and an extra piece of awesome:  The commercial was based on a video made by farms.com in 2011, so RAM is donating money to the FFA for each view of the commercial, up to $1M. So, if you haven’t watched yet – get on it.)

Public Speaking for Introverts: 6 Essential Tips

Susan Cain is the author of the New York Times bestselling book QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, which is being translated into 30 languages. Her record-smashing TED talk has been viewed more than 3 million times and was named by Bill Gates as one of his all-time favorite TED talks and by the New Yorker magazine as one of five key talks.

Susan is developing an online course on Public Speaking for Introverts (you can go here for more info). Here are six of her favorite tips.

1) Be yourself; good speakers are not necessarily “naturals.”

Have you ever watched a fiery orator or a speaker who has the audience in stitches, and thought, “I can’t do that”? You might be right – and that’s OK. The best speakers are not necessarily dynamic or hilarious – they are simply interesting. They communicate valuable information. “People think that being a good speaker means being funny or glib,” says David Lavin of the Lavin Agency (who happens to be my lecture agent). “But that’s wrong. The best speakers are compelling. People underestimate the power of content and of storytelling.”

2) What do Malcolm Gladwell and Lady Gaga Have in Common?

At the same time, public speaking is a performance, and that’s a good thing, even if you’re not a natural actor. Have you ever wondered why people enjoy costume parties? It’s because they feel liberated when interacting from behind a mask. Dressing up as Cinderella or Don Draper removes inhibitions as effectively as a glass of wine. Think of your onstage persona the same way. Surprisingly, both Gladwell and Lady Gaga have this in common. Gladwell, a world-class speaker, says he isn’t chatty at dinner parties, but he becomes a storyteller on stage. As for Gaga? “When I wake up in the morning, I feel just like any other insecure 24-year old girl. Then I say, ‘Bitch, you’re Lady Gaga, you get up and walk the walk today.’”

3) Serve the audience.

Introverts are phenomenal listeners, which attunes them to the needs of others. And that’s why speaking (instead of listening) can feel uncomfortable – unnatural, even. But remember that public speaking is not about you. It’s about the audience. Your job is to take care of the audience, not to be judged by it or even to entertain it. Remind yourself that you are not seeking approval or love. You are a teacher, a giver, an enlightener.

4) Accept your nerves.

Not all introverts are afraid of public speaking – a subset of them loves it – but introverts are disproportionately likely to fear the spotlight. That’s OK. As the public speaking trainer Charles di Cagno says, “There are only a few people in the world who have completely overcome their fears, and they all live in Tibet.” If you have stage fright, accept it and learn how to work with it.

5) Calm your body.

According to Gina Barnett, who coaches many TED speakers, if you have trouble calming your mind before a speech, try calming your body first. When you relax your body, your head will follow suit. Here are a few tips:

Shake out every limb in your body. This gets your blood flowing and makes you tingle all over.
Stand up straight. Shift back and forth, putting your weight first on your heels, then on the balls of your feet. Find the place that’s evenly distributed between both, then gently press your toes on the floor. This will give you the sensation of forward momentum.
Yawn.
Talk with your tongue out. You’ll sound ridiculous, but it will loosen you up vocally.

6) Smile.

After all of your preparation, relaxation exercises and affirmations, there’s one thing left to do, and it’s the simplest thing – smile. Smile at your audience as they enter the room, and smile at them when you begin speaking. This will make you feel relaxed, confident, and connected.

Good luck. You have something valuable to say, and the world needs to hear it!

(Some of these tips have appeared in modified form on my blog.)

Remembering the Challenger, and One of History’s Greatest Speeches

Yesterday marked 27 years since the tragic Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Ronald Regan’s subsequent address to the nation is still one of the most well-crafted pieces of communication I’ve ever witnessed.

Michel E. Eidenmuller, in his book Great Speeches described the situation: “In addressing the American people on an event of national scope, Reagan would play the role of national eulogist. In that role, he would need to imbue the event with life-affirming meaning, praise the deceased, and manage a gamut of emotions accompanying this unforeseen and yet unaccounted-for disaster. As national eulogist, Reagan would have to offer redemptive hope to his audiences, and particularly to those most directly affected by the disaster.”

The speech succeeded in meeting the emotional requirements of five audiences by carefully addressing each segment.

The speech lasted only four short minutes, but it resonated on many many levels. The content in quotation marks below indicates direct quotes from Eidenmuller’s Great Speeches:

Speech


Analysis





Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d planned to speak to you tonight to report on the State of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.

The State of the Union address is an annual, constitutionally sanctioned speech delivered like a national progress report— and is a significant task to reschedule. “Reagan positions himself both outside the fray as one presiding over it and as one inside of it who shares its painful reality.”

Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we’ve never lost an astronaut in flight; we’ve never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.

“Reagan positions the tragedy within a larger picture without losing the significance of the present tragedy.” He names each crew member and praises them for their courage. To further manage our emotions, Reagan again calls us to national mourning, and establishes the primary audience as the collective mourners.

For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we’re thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, “Give me a challenge, and I’ll meet it with joy.” They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.

Reagan narrows his focus to the first and most affected sub-audience: the families of the fallen. He acknowledges the inappropriateness of suggesting how they should feel and offers praise they can take hold of with words like “daring,” “brave,” “special grace,” and “special spirit.”

We’ve grown used to wonders in this century. It’s hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We’ve grown used to the idea of space, and, perhaps we forget that we’ve only just begun. We’re still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.

Reagan then draws attention back to the general audience’s interest in the larger scientific story. He then envisions the crew’s place in history as transcending science altogether by calling them pioneers. “The term ‘pioneer’ cloaks them in a mythical covering, one dating back to our nation’s earliest ventures.” The astronauts’ death is portrayed as a reasonable outcome of their endeavors.

And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle’s take-off. I know it’s hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.

Reagan’s next sub-audience is the school children—an estimated five million—among whom are the students of Christa McAuliffe’s class and school. “Reagan momentarily adopts the tone of an empathizing parent which is tough to do while remaining ‘presidential’ but Reagan carries it well.”

I’ve always had great faith in and respect for our space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don’t hide our space program. We don’t keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That’s the way freedom is, and we wouldn’t change it for a minute.We’ll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue

Here, Reagan the national eulogist hands off to Reagan the U.S. President. This passage contains the only political statement in the address and is targeted at the Soviet Union. He attacks the secrecy surrounding their failures which had irked American scientists who knew that shared knowledge was the best way to ensure the stability and safety of space programs.

I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA, or who worked on this mission and tell them: “Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it.”

In this direct address to NASA, Reagan gives needed encouragement, and then turns back again to connect to the whole audience by saying “we share it.”

There’s a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, “He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.” Well, today, we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake’s, complete.The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.”Thank you.

In closing, Reagan creates an eloquent and poetic moment. It captures the mythological sentiment surrounding humanity’s unending quest to solve the mysteries of the unknown. The phrase “touch the face of God”, was taken from a poem entitled “High Flight” written by John Magee, an American aviator in WWII. Magee was inspired to write the poem while climbing to 33,000 feet in his Spitfire. It remains in the Library of Congress today.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – The “King” of Visual Communication

Among the many amazing features of Dr. King’s numerous classic speeches – including, of course, his iconic, “I Have a Dream” speech – was his use of “visual communication”… his talent and ability to paint pictures with words.

While Dr. King drew on a variety of rhetorical techniques to “Educate, Engage, & Excite” TM his audiences – e.g., alliteration, repetition, rhythm, allusion, and more – his ability to capture hearts and minds through the creative use of relevant, impactful, and emotionally moving metaphors was second to none.

What do metaphors do? They make the abstract concrete; the intangible tangible; the unfamiliar familiar, and the complex simple. By joining together in an innovative and powerful way the seemingly unconnected, effective metaphors imbed powerful and memorable images in our minds, while at the same time forging a powerful and memorable connection between speaker and listener.

With that thought in mind, I’ll leave with you this powerful and moving list of metaphors and images that Dr. King left with us:

A great beacon of light and hope
The flames of withering injustice
A joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity
A lonely island of poverty
A vast ocean of material prosperity
We have come…to cash a check
America has defaulted on this promissory note
A bad check which has come back marked “insufficient funds”
The bank of justice…the vaults of opportunity
The luxury of cooling off
The tranquilizing drug of gradualism
The dark and desolate valley of segregation
The sunlit path of racial justice
The quicksands of racial injustice
The solid rock of brotherhood
The sweltering summer of…discontent
An invigorating autumn of freedom and equality
The whirlwinds of revolt
The bright day of justice
The palace of justice
Satisfy our thirst for freedom
Drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred
The high plane of dignity and discipline
Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream
The storms of persecutions
The winds of police brutality
The valley of despair
The table of brotherhood
The heat of injustice
The heat of oppression
An oasis of freedom and justice
The mountain of despair
A stone of hope
A beautiful symphony of brotherhood
Let freedom ring…

Reposted from Todd Cherches, of BigBlueGumball. 

Todd Cherches is the co-founder and CEO of BigBlueGumball (www.bigbluegumball.com), a cutting-edge NYC-based consulting and coaching firm known for applying innovative visual thinking, communicating, and storytelling techniques to their management, leadership, and presentation skills training.

Hangin’ on to Holiday Cheer

The Christmas trees have been hauled away by the Boy Scouts, and our New Year’s Resolutions have been bent and broken, but the holiday spirit is alive and well in our hearts.

Now that we’re all firmly entrenched in the hustle and bustle of 2013, we wanted to share a little inspiration for why we do the work we do.

Duarte works hard throughout the year to raise money for Cops That Care, a local charity that provides less fortunate families with a whole lot of Christmas toys, and even more holiday cheer. It started with one man–Mountain View Police Officer Ron Cooper–delivering toys in his car, and has grown to become a large-scale event providing toys to more than 1,700 children.

This year we captured the magic from our extravagant shopping spree to the heartwarming delivery.

If you want to learn more about the Cops That Care program, visit http://www.mvpal.org/

Stop that Stutter: 6 Steps to Overcome Presentation Performance Anxiety

Recently we received a tweet from a follower of @Duarte requesting any advice for a stuttering presenter. They shared that, “The presenter is competent with the material but when presenting gets nervous and begins to stutter on stage”.

When this message was sent around the agency, I immediately had flashbacks back to my college days. I dreamed of being on stage as a musician, but my nerves were debilitating. During my first live musical performance I was so scared that I faced the microphone away from the audience and only looked at the band. I wore a hoodie, a baseball hat, and sunglasses in the dark. Luckily it was the nineties so I just looked like every other reclusive, alternative frontman out there. In reality, I was scared. As an introverted youth, it was hard to overcome my fear.

I struggled with my nerves until I met a professor who challenged me out of my fear. She was an eccentric lady who performed everything she did. Every gesture was as if it was in a play. The course involved a lot of performing in front of the class, which she knew I hated. She said to me, “Would you like to know the minimum you can do and get a passing grade? Or, would you like to beat this challenge down and become a great performer?”

My inner wannabe-rockstar stood up, I wanted it so very badly. So she coached me in a variety of techniques to help me overcome my nervousness before I went on stage and performed (presented). I can say that they truly worked for me. I’ve been a lecturer, instructor, musician, and presenter for over a decade.

Here are the techniques that work for me:

Visualize Something Positive. Visualizing something that makes you happy is known to help you relax and thereby reduce stuttering. Imagine something that you love is in the room with you, or even keep a picture of something you love on the podium, or in your pocket. I’ve seen great speakers keep images of their children on their teleprompter because of this technique.
Get Familiar. To this day, I visit a venue a few days before a show. I’ll soak in the details and reduce future distractions that can cause my mind to wander. I don’t know if it’s ADD, but I get those “Ooh shiny object!” moments when performing, and I seem to stutter after those distractions occur. So I try to familiarize myself with my surroundings, and if possible, rehearse in the venue so that it becomes second nature. This familiarity reduces heart rate and irregular breathing which are muscular triggers that can lead to stuttering.
Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse. My professor used to tell us to rehearse our lines in a dark, quiet room, laying on our backs. This forces you to focus only on your voice and what you’re saying. Sometimes when I present, I’ll wear earplugs so that I can hear my voice, and focus on my projection and articulation. Perhaps you can’t memorize your whole presentation, but I would suggest rehearsing your opening and closing with this technique.
Take a Deep Breath, or a Lot of Them. Before you go on stage, focus on the pace of your breathing until you can slow it down and reduce your heart rate. Once I get a controlled rate of breathing, I try to be conscious of it when I’m on stage. If not, the adrenaline kicks in, my heart races, and I talk so fast that no one can understand me.
Pace Yourself. I mean actually pace – move around a bit onstage. A slow, steady walk across the stage can set a rhythm, that will help slow down your thinking and your speech, and reduce the confusion that often leads to stuttering. My instructor once made me recite four pages of a play while walking around the campus with her. I didn’t stutter once! But when I stood still on a stage in front of a large group, I stuttered and mumbled like a madman. The pace of my walking helped control the mechanics of it all.
Get Some Sleep. For a long time, I tried cramming lines and content up the last minute of the performance. Staying up all night rehearsing and memorizing. I was a wreck. My professor told me, “Rehearse and study, but the night before, sleep, a lot!”

Hopefully those tips and techniques help you with your presenter woes and performance fears. I can honestly say the best way to get better is to present often. Work your way over the hump a step at a time, and keep practicing the techniques. Eventually you worry more about practicing the techniques than you do the performance, and it’ll be over before you know it.

Good luck!

Lights, Camera, Inaction: The Onion’s Take on TED

Compelling speakers. Powerful visuals. A captive audience. And remarkably stupid ideas.

This is the premise of “Talks,” a two-month-old video series from the comic geniuses at The Onion. “Talks” pokes fun at all of the pageantry of presentation events like PopTech, TED, and TechCrunch—with the speakers, the audience, and the format itself all getting their due. And, for the inquisitive, you’ll finally get answers to burning questions like “What is the Biggest Rock?” and “Compost-Fueled Cars: Wouldn’t that be Great?”

For the folks at Duarte, “Talks” hits a bit close to home. On the one hand, the fact that the series exists is evidence that presentations have become so influential that they merit parody (like TV news, morning shows, and sports media). That said, watching these videos is a sobering reminder that even great storytelling and beautiful slides can’t save a terrible idea like, “Loudness Equals Power.”

Check out all the The Onion Talks on their YouTube page, or start watching below:

MAKE:SHIFT | San Jose State University BFA Graphic Design Exhibition 2012

Earlier this week, a few of us Duartians went to my alma mater, San Jose State, to check out their Senior Designer BFA Show. The graduating class held a gallery showing in Downtown SJ, retrofitted the space to their needs, and hung up some amazing work from their tenure through the program. We got the chance to meet some of the students from the program, as well as my professor.

It was a great experience to see how the program has grown. The students not only focused on conceptual design, but have been branching out into digital mediums like video, after effects and app design. Several of Duarte’s designers came from the program – perhaps they’ll add presentation design to the curriculum in the future…

Check out the photos below, and learn more about the program here: http://makeshift2012.com/

Purchased Fonts Not Displaying in PowerPoint?

We had the same problem! It wreaked a bit of havoc before The PowerPoint® Blog released a fix.

Turns out, a recent security update caused Open Type fonts not to display in PowerPoint. The fine folks at the PowerPoint® Blog identified the problem (Microsoft Security Update KB2753842) and a offered a solution (remove it.)

All the info you need is here.

Good luck!