Actor, director, man’s man, icon, Clint Eastwood is a film and television legend who has left an indelible mark on popular culture. From his bare-knuckle roles to his unforgettable tag lines, it seems there is almost nothing Clint can’t handle. If you read between the lines, the man even has good advice for your next presentation!
Do You Feel Lucky?
In the dark masterpiece Dirty Harry, Clint challenges a cornered criminal to guess how many bullets he has left in his gun. If you’ve seen that film, you know that it’s not the criminal’s “lucky” day. When it’s time for you to do your presentation, don’t leave anything to chance. The idea is that you want to blow the room away with everything you know. You don’t want to get blown away by what you don’t expect.
Jazz it Up
Not everybody knows that Clint Eastwood is an accomplished jazz pianist. He has also been involved with films celebrating the likes of Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker. Both of these geniuses made their mark as one-of-a-kind improvisers. Being able to improvise when it comes to your presentation is largely a matter of total preparedness. If you know your material inside-out, you can riff as you please. Being able to improvise can help you tailor make your presentation to your audience moment to moment. It can also be just the thing to get you out of a jam during an equipment glitch or a particularly sticky Q & A session.
Spaghetti Anyone?
After making a name for himself as a television personality, Clint’s rise to cinema star was stalled before he shot a number of Westerns in Italy. These enigmatic films came to be known as Spaghetti Westerns. They revolutionized the genre, bringing a sense of personal, stylized film making to the traditional Western narrative. Creating your own kind of presentation doesn’t mean re-inventing the wheel. The key is to begin with great fundamentals before investing your presentation with a style all your own.
Mr. Mayor
When Clint Eastwood found himself opposing some of the legislation in his town of Carmel California, he took matters into his own hands: He became mayor. In a sense you are doing something similar when you take the stage for your presentation. You are saying, “I am an expert. I have the answers we are looking for.” When someone comes to your presentation they don’t want to see just anyone behind that podium. Take charge!
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
So you’ve established your story and your theme. You’ve memorized all of your information. You’ve worked the room, and now its time for the magic. Despite your best efforts things may still go wrong with your presentation. You might have technical problems with your equipment or you may simply drop the ball in a particularly thorny Q&A. The point isn’t to dwell on the negative – or the positive. No matter how well – or badly – your presentation goes, there is always room to learn and improve.
