The way we communicate has changed - we have become more involved in communication. I remember on my 10 birthday getting a transistor radio (yes I am that old!) - I spent my evening glued to it, listening to the crackle from Radio Luxembourg. It was a very passive thing - just me and the radio.
When I was 12 we got a black and white TV - suddenly communication was a family affair - we would gather round the small 12” screen in the evening to watch Sunday Night at the London Palladium in glorious black and white. Rather than the solitary affair suddenly communication had become a visual as well as auditory affair. I can remember staying up till the early hours of the morning on 20th of July 1969 to watch the moon landing with not only my family but also most of the street - we were one of the few houses with a TV.
If I look at today communication is not only visual and auditory but also tactile in that most of the communication we do today involves touch - it has become something that involves nearly all our senses - all except smell (I guess it’s only a matter of time!).
I was pondering this the other day when I was putting together a presentation for a client. If the way we communicate - in this case a business message - has changed so much, how can I reflect this in the way I present. OK I have visually stimulating slides and a, hopefully, good verbal style but what about the other sense - touch?
The point is it takes more to get attention and engage your audience than it did in generations past. To make sure our message is heard and remembered we must involve more of the total person than just the ears. Our senses are daily bombarded with myriads of impressions. If we are going to give presentation that make an impact and are memorable we must use very sense available to impact our audience. The risk is that if you don't then people will quickly engage that third sense, touch, by picking up there phones/blackberries. I have come to assessing the viability of a particular presentation at a conference by the number of people checking emails and surfing the web whilst the presentation is on.
The more senses you can involve in your presentations the more enjoyable and memorable they will be. If you can put something in the hands of your audience that can reinforce the message you will be more successful in making the message stick.
Next time you give a presentation think about what small item you could give people - maybe a pencil, a pen, a small bar of soap, a flower, an eraser etc. Use the item as a metaphor for one of your points in your presentation - you may find that the hotel or conference centre are more than happy to donate something as it will be advertising for them?
- Pencil - an organic product, soft in the centre, leaves a mark that can be changed, can be sharpened etc.
- Pen - leaves a mark that cannot be erased, inorganic/man made, choice of colours which may mean something, typically plastic, status symbol etc.
- Soap - tactile (supposed to have been the inspiration for original ipod). slips through your hands, smells nice (sometimes), carries branding, low cost, global standard etc.
- Toothbrush - a tool for a particular purpose, global standard for design, comes in many colours, single purpose, hard or soft, going high-tech, associated with dentist/hygiene
I am sure there are many other things that you could think of which you could use to reinforce your message - use the comments section below to share your ideas - remember it will have to be cheap/free and readily available.
We often think our flashy slides and enthusiasm will be contagious and engage our audience. Although this can be true the more senses you can engage the more memorable the presentation will be.
When I was working at the Innovation Lab in Royal Mail we conducted a series of experiments with a group of people. We had a message to convey and used several methods to get the story across. What was interesting the approaches we took which involved touch - i.e. using Lego or making Rich Pictures, were the ones which had the longest persistence. A the memory of a plain old Powerpoint presentation lasted around 3 - 5 days. When we introduced touch into the equation the ‘memory’ of the message lasted 4 - 6 weeks.
The next time you prepare a presentation try and be creative put an object in the audiences hands that will reinforce your message from their hands to their imagination.
Any thoughts or experiences?
