‘Props are your enemy’ – as Madonna has displayed all-too-publicly

We have a saying in magic: “Props are your enemy”. I first heard it from the American magician Rich Bloch, who explained that it’s a bit like Murphy’s Law – ‘if it can go wrong it will go wrong’; and with magic props there is often an awful lot that can potentially wrong. Madonna’s tumble at the Brits was much more that a simple, embarrassing ‘wardrobe malfunction’; it was a full-on case of a prop biting back and threatening the whole performance. Like the best magicians, Madonna hardly let it affect her, carrying on like the true, hardened professional that she is, but how much planning went into managing the props?

I encourage business people to deploy props in their presentations – anything to break the screen-induced trance. And if you have the actual item to hand why not get it out rather than just project an image! My encouragement comes, however, with the stern warning that ‘props are your enemy’ and you may live to regret using one. Among the questions I ask are: How are you going to get in on stage? How are you going to unveil it smoothly; Will it need support? Can you be sure it will work properly? How are you then going to get rid of it to avoid it becoming an on-going distraction?

I had exactly this situation recently when coaching a packaging executive who was announcing a particular product going into his packaging for the first time. He had the first samples with him and was keen to open one on stage as the climax of his presentation. “OK” I said, with my usual provisos, “but we must rehearse that carefully because, with all due respect to your packaging, it’s not the easiest to open. And it will be even less easy without a solid surface, on stage, under the spotlights, in front of hundreds of people”. Sure enough, in rehearsal he fumbled in a way that would have be awkward in front of his colleagues.Then, when he emptied the contents, it was the wrong product. Potentially super-awkward! 

So, for the actual show, we made small but definite slits in the packaging and also had peek to check that it contained what the labelling said it did. It all went perfectly and he received rousing applause – because we had approached the situation knowing that props – potentially at least – are your enemy. Madonna is clever enough to turn her tumble to her advantage in the long run, but I bet she still wishes she had planned that cape removal a little more carefully.

Keeping your business presentation to time – the Dos & Don’ts

Keeping to time in a business presentation has always been important, but the pressure to do so has increased as the demand for short TED-style talks grows. Now, five-minute presentations are the order of the day at many business networking events.

There are actually many benefits of speaking for a short amount of time, but let’s focus here on the dos and don’ts of keeping to time.

Don’t even try to cram in all you would ideally like to say to this particular audience. Ideally, choose one key message and focus all you say around that.

Don’t speed up just to cram in all you want to say – it will simply diminish the effect of anything they manage to hear.

Don’t start to embellish what you have rehearsed. However nervous people may feel in advance of giving a presentation, they often start to feel more relaxed as they get into the swing of it. As a result, they become more conversational in tone and stretch out what they had planned to say, with the result that they run over time. Do stick to the plan!

Don’t have a ‘countdown-style’ clock or a system of lights or signals in front of you. This will simply feel threatening; and what are you supposed to do if you are running out of time? Speeding up is not the answer! Also, don’t have a digital clock in front of you. When you look at a digital clock you need to ‘translate’ the digits into an image in your mind to understand what you are seeing; that is going to distract from your delivery.

Do have an analogue clock within your general view so that, with the merest glance, you can check you are broadly on track. If you are giving a lengthy presentation, make a note of where you should be at key points of time and mark these on any prompts you are using.

Do rehearse - and keep rehearsing - until you come comfortably within the allotted time in a natural manner. That way, your analogue clock simply provides reassurance – it is not driving you along! Ensure that you have at least one rehearsal in the space where you will be speaking – so as to overcome feelings of unfamiliarity.

Do aim to come in slightly under time. People will appreciate this and it will give you an added feeling of comfort.

Do ensure there is some leeway in your speaking time eg ‘between six and eight minutes, but no more’. Only TV presenters have to hit a precise ‘mark’ as they finish speaking. That is a whole skill in itself and is rarely required outside TV. If there is no leeway, then aim to come in under time, so giving yourself some leeway.

Do remember that “Firsts & Lasts’ are the most important parts of any presentation – they are what audiences remember. Furthermore, your opening is essential to engaging your audience and your close is where you send them away with your ‘big message’. If you run out of time, you lose the ability to deliver your big message or have to do it in a rush.

Do – ideally – include some content towards the end of your presentation that is ‘nice to have, but not essential’. That way, you have something that can be cut if, despite all your preparation, you are still running out of time. And your big finish can remain intact.

Finally, I was recently coaching a business presenter on the concept of message distillation and he thought for a moment, before saying: “I get it. Don’t tell them everything; just tell them what they need to know.” He had, indeed, got it.

Don’t let False Memory mess up your messages in business presentations

The concept of ‘False Memory’ has been in the news this week, with NBC news anchor Brian Williams being suspended after his bosses were forced to consider why he had claimed incorrectly to have been in a helicopter that was shot at during the Iraq war. Had he been lying, exaggerating or suffering from ‘False Memory’? The latter sounded unlikely but is perfectly possible, according to Chris French, Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths, who contributed to a Newsnight discussion on the topic. See here (until mid-March 2015, starting at 40.42).

Williams' slip up was less surprising to those of us in the magic community, who exploit the False Memory principle somewhat shamelessly. A lovely example came up last night when the much-admired American magician Wayne Houchin lectured at The Magic Circle. Among the items he demonstrated and taught to us were: 1) Sucking a thread into his mouth and pulling it back out through his eye 2) Swallowing a needle, followed by some thread; then pulling the thread back out, with the needle attached. Later he advised us that it was a good idea to perform both of these tricks in the same show – because False Memory Syndrome kicks in. Audience members, he said, come up to him afterwards congratulating him on ‘swallowing the needle and pulling it back out through his eye’. “I just keep quiet and thank them” said Houchin, “because that is a lot more impressive than what I actually did”!

So the message for business presenters is: ‘Don’t let False Memory get the better of you and your message’. I have written before in various ways about the need for high focus and aiming for the ideal of basing your presentation around ‘one big message’. The dangers of False Memory, it seems to me, provide another compelling reason to maintain high focus. If you tell your audience a list of things they might remember none of them; tell them one big thing and you’re in with a chance. And if your audience members are anything like Brian Williams - ‘America’s Huw Edwards’, according to Newsnight’s Evan Davis - they might get that list of things mixed up to create a whole new perception!

Finally, to anyone thinking of seeking help to exploit False Memories to their benefit in the way magicians do, I would have to say: “that would be devious; magicians are paid to be devious; it’s not such a good idea in the business world! Let's talk instead about 'underlining' and 'bringing life' to your message."

Applause Cues are crucial to business presentations with a memorable message

I would like to add an element to what I have said before (see here) about the importance of ‘Firsts & Lasts’ in any presentation or speech: make your ending definite. Your audience needs to know for certain that you have reached your conclusion. At the risk of sounding a bit ‘showbiz’, you need to create an ‘Applause Cue’ – a little signal that indicates ‘that’s all folks’.

So what were Tony Blair and his speech writers thinking when they constructed his Sedgefield resignation speech? He had learned from both the occasional disaster (Women’s Institute conference) and many triumphs (The settlement train is leaving; She was the people's princess…; I feel the hand of history…). Prior to his final party conference he reportedly sought advice from Kevin Spacey in order to ensure he went out with a bang. And yet, when he came to make the really big speech in which he resigned as Prime Minister he finished as follows:

This is the greatest nation on earth.

It has been an honour to serve it. I give my thanks to you, the British people, for the times I have succeeded, and my apologies to you for the times I have fallen short.

Good luck.

You can see what happened if you click on the video below and fast forward to 8.52. He says: “Good luck”, then there is an awkward silence as audience members look at each other for a moment, before eventually bursting into applause as Blair raises his hands.  He had created a ‘Have you finished?’- style conclusion at one of the most crucial moments of his career.

So you need to create an Applause Cue, whether or not you are expecting actual applause. To achieve this you need a well constructed sign-off line, combined with a sense of rhythm and emphasis. Think in terms of: Dum-diddly-um-tum…dum-dum. Blair could never have achieved this with a mere two-word sentence. He needed to extend it a bit and add emphasis, gusto and perhaps even a wave as he utters the words “good luck”. 

This applies to the everyday business presentation just as much as it does to a Prime Minister bidding farewell to the nation. Your conclusion needs a carefully constructed ‘Call to Action’ – the message that you want your audience to go away remembering, but this needs also to be carefully rehearsed so that it acts as an Applause Cue. If necessary it can be as simple as: “Thank you for your attention” – as long as it sends out an unambiguous signal that you have finished.

Two final points. First, however awkward or nervous people tend to be about getting up to speak, once they have got started, they invariably find it difficult to stop. They tend to ramble on longer than required – another reason to instil discipline on how you finish.

Second, even with a well-constructed and executed Applause Cue, business audiences are often unsure as to whether applause is appropriate.  So when you are in control of a meeting, decide if you want applause. If you do, then get someone to act as ‘applause leader’ – once one person claps, everyone else is sure to join in, because applause is infectious!