Creativity is important when it comes to speaking and presenting.
I once read that Peter Gabriel instructed his session drummer to record Red Rain without using cymbals. It was a unique concept. Cymbals are commonly used for percussive accents and are an integral part of most drum tracks. The idea, by the way, went another direction when Gabriel hired Stewart Copland from The Police, just to play high-hat (cymbals) on the song. Creativity is not always easy. Trying new things requires leaving your comfort zone, often without proof of concept and sometimes with no guarantee that things are going to work out.
Even inserting a new joke into your presentation can be traumatic. Belly flops in public are no fun and these days a camera is often recording the experiment. Salespeople are particularly loathed to switch it up. No one want to take a chance on mucking up their commission check.
So there are lots of reasons not to try something creative.
Keep your eyes on the prize
The goal is to help more people by delivering your content in even more efficient and effective ways.
So, what can you do to leverage creativity in your presentations?
- Purposely use less time?
- Avoid PowerPoint?
- Use only one slide?
- Do a "cold open" by starting with a story?
- Begin with your call to action?
- Move twice as less?
- Move twice as much?
I just finished watching Hemingway, the three-part PBS series by Ken Burns. "Papa" was the master of the declarative sentence. He wrote short sentences using short words. You might consider applying the Hemingway technique to your presentation: - Limit your sentences to twenty words or less
- Don't use words that have more than two syllables
- Double down on repetition or use of the word "and" Let me know if you want help
Get ongoing tips in my Present Like a Pro group on Facebook. If you're under pressure to get creative quickly, let's jump on a call and get you some help right away. Use this form to tell me what's going on.
