The cutting edge has been a destination for most businesses and professionals for decades. New ideas travel more quickly than ever before, and the rate of change in modern society is unprecedented. Innovation is no longer a value; it’s a requirement, like eating or breathing.
But while most businesses are working diligently to keep their products and services “cutting edge”, almost all businesses seem satisfied to deliver their presentations about these cutting edge products and services in the same old boring PowerPoint mode. It’s like Nike choosing a retirement village bridge club to represent a new line of track shoes–the vehicle doesn’t exactly reflect the values.
There is such a standardized expectation for presentations in the corporate world that many individuals fail to even consider new ways to deliver information, let alone implement them. But the benefits of rocking the boat in the content, design, and delivery of your presentations can have a serious effect on how receptive an audience is to your presentation. And there’s almost no risk.
I say this primarily because the greatest risk to any presenter does not lie in offending the audience, but instead in boring the audience. The opposite of a great presentation is not a magnificent flop; it’s a forgettable presentation. Nothing is more forgettable than 30 minutes of bullet points that drive each audience member to their smartphones seeking Angry Birds.
The best place to start anytime you’re trying to innovate and do things different is to survey the scene to identify what “standard” and “commonplace” currently mean. This is incredibly easy with sites like Slideshare and YouTube regularly posting presentation-related content. Search by your industry or expertise to discover the approaches your audiences are exposed to day after day. Then, do anything but those approaches. The worst case scenario is that they’d be bored–doing something different can change that. The next worst case scenario is that they’ll be turned off by your new style–it’s better than boring them, at least, and you can change and modify your approach with each presentation.
And of course, the possible benefit is that they’ll love you for it. The rewards of such a response far outweigh any risk associated with your efforts.
