Life is full of dichotomies. One of the more poignant ones is, in our humble opinion, the simple fact that every human is born into this world alone, dies along, and yet is interconnected and interdependent with the rest of society. Presenting is much the same.
A great presentation often depends on a great many contributors. There’s the content help, the designer or design team, the managers and the subordinates and the interns who get coffee and stats at your beck and call.
But there is only you when it comes to getting the opportunity to present, and having a core message to speak about. There is only you standing on stage, and there is only you afterward, with whatever results you did or did not get. You are part of a team—but you are also a team of one.
Presenters need to realize that too much emphasis on teamwork often leads to a weakened message. Presentations, by merit of the venues in which they are given, beg for charisma and a personality that can anchor an entire, palpable ambience. Someone must embody a message or else it feels like script or dogma—it must be a personal story. Crowdsource too much and you strip a presentation of it’s very essence: you.
Thus, you can be your own worst enemy as you put your presentation together. It is essential that presenters know what can be delegated, and what rests entirely on their shoulders. Take everything that isn’t critical and have others do it, but never ever ever unload the core responsibility of embodying your own personal message onto others. No one tells your story better than you.
You may wonder if this applies to truly corporate work, sales decks and other apparently obvious “team” products. Yes. It does. Even if you’re selling something, the customer is buying, in large part, you. Even if the sole purpose of the deck is to promote the company, the audience will understand the company through your personal lens. This is why so many major corporate brands’ social media presences have become so heavily story based.
Team is great. Company is great. Cooperation is great. It is part of our nature to be interconnected with the world around us…but we are meant to connect as individuals. Presenters can never shy away from the responsibility of showing up as a strong, red-blooded and enthusiastic embodiment of a powerful message. It’s the one thing you can do that no one else really can.
Question: Have you played yourself down too much?
