Pimp My Story

“Guess what? I got a fever! And the only prescription… is more cowbell!” – Bruce Dickinson (SNL)

If you have seen the movie Swingers, you probably can appreciate the many great one-liners in Mikey’s quest to forget his recent break-up and move on with his life in Los Angeles. You may remember the scene where Trent is coaching Mikey on how to ask a girl out. It made movie history as being the motivational speech of 1996. For anyone who is fearful of telling their own story the same principle applies:

“You’re so money and you don’t even know it… I don’t want you to be the guy in the PG-13 movie everyone’s really hoping makes it happen. I want you to be like the guy in the rated R movie, you know, the guy you’re not sure whether or not you like yet. You’re not sure where he’s coming from. Okay? You’re a bad man. You’re a bad man, Mikey. You’re a bad man, bad man.”

You have probably noticed that every time you give a presentation your audience is amazingly sensitive.  In fact, they pick up on everything you say and do.  They watch how you use your hands, they check your grammar, analyze your clothing, study your posture, and they criticize your content.

Why? Here’s an interesting thought from Robert McKee. When an audience settles into a darkened conference room, its collective IQ jumps about twenty-five points. Think about it. When you go to a movie, a musical, or any other type of performance, don’t you feel smarter than what you are watching? For instance… when watching a movie you probably can predict how the movie is going to end 8 out of 10 times. You know John McClain will live free and die hard or you can predict that Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly will finally meet outside of AOL. The same holds true for the presentation environment. ¨The audience feels smarter than you. They know what you are going to do next. Don’t be a Joe Fox, be a Cole Sear from The Sixth Sense. Be a bit unpredictable.

The lesson for all of us: Craft your story and presentation so that the audience is left a bit on edge. Keep them surprised and delighted at the same time.


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