I wrote recently about how much a presentation in a business actually costs. I didn’t include the soft costs of things like missed opportunities and damaged morale – even so it came to about two and a half thousand pounds (and that was pretty clearly an underestimate). The question that this raised in my mind was the obvious one – if bad presentations cost so much and give so little, why do people continue to do it? Why (oh why, why!) do people insist upon giving bad, pointless and painful presentations?
Truth to tell, I’m not sure.
It could have something to do with them simply never having done the maths about how much money they’re wasting. It could be that wasting two and a half thousand pounds a time isn’t their biggest problem (but if that’s the case, I know some people they should talk to)… but my best guess is much more prosaic – and it’s simply this:
it’s somehow acceptable (in the UK at least) to give bad presentations
It used to be acceptable to smoke (indoors); it used to be acceptable to drink and drive; it used to be acceptable to not know how to use email.
Now it’s not.
Now, society has moved on. Nowadays if you want to smoke you have to leave the building and if you drive after you’ve been drinking you’re looked on as a pariah. So why is it okay to waste everyone’s time and the company’s money (still!) ? Why do we put up with presentations that don’t deliver but consume our time? Why don’t we walk out? (Why don’t we rise up and shoot the presenter?)
Well, controversially, I think some of the blame lies with people like me and many of the so called professional speakers. Heaven help us there are some bad presentation skills trainers out there and some professional speakers I’d not listen to if they paid me, let alone the other way around!
There are people out there still advocating the VAK model, or even (may their socks never match in pairs) the 7% myth. There are what I call WIKI trainers (What I Know Is) – and what they know is what they do – not what works for the client, who may have a different style or needs.
There are even (seriously!) presentation skills trainers who believe PowerPoint is correct focus for training! I struggle to think of a curse appropriate for these people! :)
So what am I suggesting? What’s to be done?
How about this for the start of an agenda? (Or even the foundation of a revolution!)
- The next time you’re in a presentation where you’d be genuinely better off being somewhere else, leave. Go to where you’d be more productive. If you have to walk out in the middle, walk out in the middle. How will bad presenters learn they need to raise their game if everyone just politely sits there?
- The next time someone asks you for feedback on their presentation, give them honest (but constructive) feedback. We all know it’s nerve-wracking to be up there at the front of the room but if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want to upset the speaker because it’s so hard to do then you’re not doing them any favours in the long term. The phrase “You were wonderful” should be used every time someone speaks wonderfully; not ever times someone simply speaks.
- Ask questions. Most presenters/presentations finish with an “any questions” slot. If you didn’t understand something, ask them to explain it (again). Be polite, be friendly (after all, it’s hard up there for sane people!) but asking them to do their job isn’t hostile, it’s helpful!
- If you can’t hear someone or can’t make out their slides, raise your hand. Most presenters will get the idea about their voice if you stand up at the back and cup your hands around your ears!
So what do you think? Is that too much to ask? Is the idea of being a “responsible audience” (to get responsible presenters) a fair one? I’m not suggesting you’re difficult for the sake of it, but please, for the sake of my sanity, don’t put up with baaaaad presentations without at least a token protest!
