We should never do anything for the sake of using technology. Chances are, you know what we’re talking about, too: we’ve all been to presentations that were heavy on technological gadgetry and light on persuasive power, and it always leaves the taste of pity in our mouths. There are many ways your presentation can benefit from advanced tech in the room—but there are also many ways you can wind up wandering off track due to the same technology.
Steve Jobs, arguable one of the greatest presenters of the modern era, was famous for his often analog approach to presentations. He used whiteboards, paper notes, free form oral brainstorming—none of which was supported by Twitter feeds or embedded web conferencing or the like. Obviously, the man wasn’t anti-technology. But he understood that presentations are about moving technology, and that for this purpose there is no greater tool than person-to-person interaction and communication.
We see people, on occasion, who feel such a profound pressure to perform at their next presentation that they lose sight completely of the audience they’ll be speaking to. As is the inclination of all things technological, people can become somewhat faceless, somewhat part of a mass quantity rather than individuals. Our effectiveness in changing hearts and minds, though, almost always stems from understanding individuals and helping them to understand our perspective. For this, technology can be a tool but never a primary vehicle.
The most important takeaway in all of this is not to abandon technology and revert to flip charts. The point is that we need to slow down and think about what we’re doing and what the true effectiveness of the approach will be. Technology may facilitate an experience unlike any other in the presentation setting, but we should carefully consider the effectiveness of any tactic when we present before we do it. It’s so easy, as a presenter, to get wrapped up in our own enthusiasm and feelings about what we’re going to do, but we always need that outside perspective, that devil’s advocate that asks, “Are you doing this for you, or for them?”
Question: How do you get outside opinions on your tactics and techniques in your presentations?
