Understanding and fulfilling the presenter’s contract

Public presentations — speeches, conference panels, reports, proposals, and so on — can be engaging moments of learning or excruciating wastes of time, depending on how well the presenter understands his or her job and prepares to deliver on that understanding. The ability to make an engaging presentation remains one of the key competencies of an effective arts leader (or any other leader, for that matter).

Lucky for us, two gentlemen with a particular flair for presentation and public speaking have posted some thoughts on the matter, hoping to help us all get better at this essential element of our work.

The oft-mentioned Neill Archer Roan has posted a series of entries on his weblog, exploring how to frame and prepare for a public presentation. As you might expect, the planning encourages close analysis of the needs and interests of the audience, the outcome goal of the presentation, and the key knowledge points that will serve that audience and that outcome. Read on to learn more:

• Planning an Effective Presentation: Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Maximizing your presentation timing

And just this month, another frequently cited sage on public presenting, Andy Goodman, posted his wonderfully sarcastic but insightful ”Presenter’s Contract,” making explicit all the implicit quirks of a live presentation to a group of people (you’ll find it in his August 2006 newsletter, available in PDF format). Some choice clauses of the contract include:

AUDIENCE promises to instinctively and mercilessly judge PRESENTER within the first thirty (30) seconds of PRESENTER opening his or her mouth. In return, PRESENTER promises to plan, rehearse, and possibly even memorize the opening of his/her presentation to garner AUDIENCE’s respect and to sustain its attention for the remainder of said presentation.

AUDIENCE promises to view overall presentation with naked self-interest, implicitly asking ”What’s in it for me?” In return, PRESENTER promises to conduct research prior to the presentation to understand AUDIENCE’s interests and beliefs and to craft his/her presentation in such a manner as to speak directly to said interests and beliefs.

AUDIENCE promises to view PowerPoint slides that employ standardized templates (e.g., title followed by multiple bullet points) with disgust, loathing, or similar emotions of AUDIENCE’s choosing. While PRESENTER’s use of such slides shall not be considered a de facto termination of this agreement, it may permit AUDIENCE to exit said presentation, check email on BlackBerry or other handheld device, slide into unconsciousness, or any combination of the above.

Very useful stuff in both discussions. If we all followed the contract (and took our preparation seriously), imagine how our meetings, conferences, and public discussions would improve!