Billy Wilder had one of those 20th century old Hollywood lives that epitomizes what the American Dream used to mean. You may not be very familiar with his name, but surely you know his masterpieces: Double Indemnity, Some Like it Hot, and Sabrina to name a few. Wilder was Austro-Hungarian born and became a screewriter in the late 1920s while living in Berlin. He relocated to Hollywood after the rise of the Nazi party in the early 1930s, and there he stayed establishing himself as an esteemed writer and director. Here are a few storytelling tips we can learn from Mr. Wilder’s advice to screenwriters as told to Cameron Crowe (from the book Conversations with Wilder).
“The audience is fickle. Grab ‘em by the throat and never let ‘em go.”
It’s important for any presenter to remember that an audience’s loyalties, interests and affection are constantly changing. They’re constantly reacting, judging and opining about the content being presented to them. They’re a fickle bunch, indeed, and it’s imperative for you to form a solid connection with them throughout the presentation. Work hard to engage them as completely as possible. Don’t allow them to get bored or lethargic. Engross their minds fully with your content and don’t let go.
“Know where you’re going. If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.”
This is good advice for those working on a presentation’s structure and flow. Always, always know where you’re going. Make sure you have a very clear idea of what you’ve said, what you’re going to say, and where you want to end. Like Wilder says, if you have a problem in the last part of your presentation, the real problem is in the first part of it. Your presentation needs to have an established structure before you go any farther than the planning period. Have a skeleton outline before you attempt to flesh out ideas completely. It will help you see what goes with what, and how things logically fit together. A strong outline is the backbone to a solid presentation.
“In doing voice-overs, be careful not to describe what the audience already sees. Add to what they’re seeing.”
Though Wilder was speaking about film here, the advice is still apt for the world of presentation. When you’re presenting a slide, don’t simply describe what the audience is seeing on it. Instead, add something extra, new, interesting to the slide’s content. If you’re simply reading from a slide, you’re apt to bore your audience and lose their attention completely. Rather than read three bullets on a slide, for example, find three icons that represent the points, and then colloquially tell the audience what each represents. This eliminates any confusion about whether the audience should read a slide or listen to you, and it increases the audience’s engagement with you as the presenter.
