
I
encourage business people to deploy props in their presentations – anything to
break the screen-induced trance. And if you have the actual item to hand why
not get it out rather than just project an image! My encouragement comes,
however, with the stern warning that ‘props are your enemy’ and you may live to
regret using one. Among the questions I ask are: How are you going to get in on stage? How are you going to unveil it
smoothly; Will it need support? Can you be sure it will work properly? How are
you then going to get rid of it to avoid it becoming an on-going distraction?
I
had exactly this situation recently when coaching a packaging executive who was
announcing a particular product going into his packaging for the first time. He
had the first samples with him and was keen to open one on stage as the climax
of his presentation. “OK” I said, with my usual provisos, “but we must rehearse
that carefully because, with all due respect to your packaging, it’s not the
easiest to open. And it will be even less easy without a solid surface, on
stage, under the spotlights, in front of hundreds of people”. Sure enough, in
rehearsal he fumbled in a way that would have be awkward in front of his
colleagues.Then, when he emptied the contents, it was the wrong product. Potentially super-awkward!
So,
for the actual show, we made small but definite slits in the packaging and also
had peek to check that it contained what the labelling said it did. It all went
perfectly and he received rousing applause – because we had approached the
situation knowing that props – potentially at least – are your enemy. Madonna
is clever enough to turn her tumble to her advantage in the long run, but I bet
she still wishes she had planned that cape removal a little more carefully.
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