How to learn Presentation Skills from Boris - by doing the opposite!

The spotlight falls on Boris Johnson tonight as Michael Cockerell’s documentary airs on BBC 2, and it has already highlighted a few uncomfortable truths for the Mayor on the Andrew Marr show preview.

Whatever you think about Boris Johnson he has some great achievements to his name despite, or perhaps because, he is such an extraordinary figure.  As is often the case with extraordinary people it is not necessarily a good idea to copy them in your own quest for success. A generation of schoolboy cricketers, for instance, was advised against trying almost anything they ever saw the legendary Ian Botham do on a cricket field.

Arguably it would be counter-productive to give Boris any kind of training, but a study of his communication style does throw up a few nice examples of how not to do it – if you are anyone except Boris. His use of negatives, for instance, has been known to be so extreme that it resulted in an ‘award’ from the Plain English campaign.

The principle here is that negatives need to be avoided because they impede clear communication; any sentence including a negative needs to be unscrambled before it can be properly understood. If, for instance, I were foolish enough to give a tray of drinks to a small child, I might say: “Don’t drop it”. The way their brain is going to interpret that information is as follows: 1) Drop it – that’s the general concept, then 2) Don’t.  By this time they have probably done exactly what I told them not to do, because all the attention has been on dropping.  If, instead, I said: “Hold it steady”, the instruction is immediately clear, there is a certain amount they can actually do about it and they can certainly visualize what is required. 

The best example I have ever see of this principle in action – because I saw the impact immediately - was when my son received his half-term report.  It concluded: He is making every effort to be efficient and well organised, not without success. My son was in tears; all he could see was ‘not’ and ‘without’, connected to the word success.  His little 11-year old brain couldn’t or wouldn’t unscramble the message to what his teacher meant, which was ‘with success’.

Now look at the quote that won Boris a rather dubious award:

I think he is saying that he agrees, but you have to unscramble and unscramble to get through to the meaning.

One proviso I make to the increasingly international make up of the business executives I coach in presentation skills is that I believe this mis-use of negatives  to be largely a British problem, that tends in particular to afflict those who have been to English public schools and can’t quite face up to saying what they actually mean. People, in fact, like Boris who have trouble in saying what they really mean when continually asked questions such as “Do you want to be Prime Minister”?

Extracted and adapted from Nick Fitzherbert's book Presentation Magic, published by Marshall Cavendish.

So how do you dress for a national emergency?

As I sit in Soho House the mood is unusually muted, sombre even, for a club that is known for its comings and goings and buzzy atmosphere. And the top floor is cluttered with buckets and mops. That's because because I am sitting in Soho House, New York; indeed I am trapped in New York thanks to Hurricane Irene and although we have just been informed it wasn't as bad as it might have been and the conditions have now been downgraded to 'tropical storm' Irene, it looks like I am going to have to wait for a week before I can get a flight home to London.

Outside it looks wet and windy and the general sense of weirdness is highlighted by the sandbags that protect the Apple store next door in New York's Meat Packing district. So we stay inside for shelter and keep the TV switched on in the vain hope of better news on the weather and travel fronts. All of which has provided a terrific opportunity to study the Presentation Skills displayed by politicians and commentators at the centre of the emergency situation.

Mayor Bloomberg has been the undoubted star of the saga, delivering a steady flow of rich information in a measured way that exudes authority and inspires confidence. President Obama has clearly learned a lot from Bush's failings in New Orleans and the media is striking a generally good balance between snippets of dramatic footage and regular localized updates.

What strikes me most, however, is the apparently more trivial aspect of 'severe weather
wardrobe'. This is probably due to memories of UK broadcasters famously covering last year's heavy snowfalls wearing an assortment of garish anoraks, invariably emblazoned with unsuitably large logos. Like the rest of us and our infrastructure generally, they seemed to have been caught on the hop.

By contrast, the Americans appear to be all ready for it, with a selection of changes ready to go as the situation unfolds. On the day before Irene's arrival Mayor Bloomberg was looking immaculate in a business suit surrounded by his team - all very conducive to implying order, calm and readiness for the coming storm. The following day, however, it was very much a question of shirtsleeves for both Bloomberg and Obama - perfectly in tune with the mood of that particular moment. Reporters on location, meanwhile were wearing the obligatory anoraks, but in the colours of their networks, and with perfectly proportioned logos.

So Americans certainly know how to dress for an emergency and they recognize that it is all part and parcel of an efficient communications process. I am, however, left with one nagging thought - aside from how and when I am going to get home - and it's this. How would Boris have handled it and would we be sleeping safey in our beds as a result? I like to think he would have risen to the occasion with aplomb, but would he have banked enough goodwill and respect to have inspired the necessary confidence?