It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just five days away, and even harder to believe that 2012 is almost over. Many of us are already on vacation; some of us are trudging slowly through the rest of the week. Regardless, the four-day holiday weekend is sure to do us all some good. So, in honor of the impending holiday, we thought we’d consider what one of our favorite Christmas movies, A Charlie Brown Christmas, could teach us about presentations. Probably more than you’d think.
“I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.” –Linus
It’s easy to become intimidated, discouraged or frustrated by your presentation. Maybe it’s not coming together as well as you’d like, or maybe you’re lacking the design skills to make it come to life like you’d envisioned. When you find yourself in the depths of this negative thinking, remember this quote from Linus. The puny, feeble Charlie Brown Christmas tree is transformed into a beautiful, magnificent tree because of the love the children give it. Think of your presentation in a similar way: the amount of love you give it will determine how wonderful it is in the end.
“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel.” – Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown proves to be quite the downer throughout A Charlie Brown Christmas. He’s sad that he doesn’t feel like he should feel; he’s depressed by the commercialism surrounding Christmas; he doesn’t know how to break out of his disheartened mood. Luckily, Linus reminds him of the true meaning of Christmas by quoting a few lines from the Gospel of Luke, after which Charlie Brown finally realizes what Christmas is really all about.
Try to isolate the true meaning of your presentation in a profound, succinct way. Charlie doesn’t realize the true meaning of Christmas until Linus spells it out for him in a couple sentences. It’s this kind of direct, clear messaging that we must find in our presentations for them to leave a lasting impression.
Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Ethos3! We hope you have a lovely holiday season full of family and friends, good food and good times.
