217: Why I Don't Like Videos In Presentations

<p>There are so many competitors for our audience’s attention today.  The last thing we need are “own goals” by letting the slide deck or the video steal our thunder.  We must be the dominator on stage not the dominated. </p> <p> </p> <p>There is no question visuals are super powerful in presentations.  This can range from your eye contact, body language and gestures all the way up to actual live fireworks.  Think about sporting presentations where they make heavy use of visuals to stir emotions.  The half time show is full of music, fireworks, action.  The team scores a goal and the big screens are zeroing in on the action that just occurred.  The boxers are introduced as they enter the arena and fireworks are exploding behind them, like they are modern day messiahs here to save the masses.  You might not think of it this way, but this is what you are competing with today, as the lines get blurred between how events are presented.</p> <p> </p> <p>There you stand, with just your slide deck advancer in your hand.  You are facing an audience fully tooled up on the most realistic computer games, viral videos, light show events and TikTok quick cut video action.  You are thinking your information quality will carry the day, even though you speak in a monotone, are deadly boring most of the time and embolden us with all the passion of road kill.  Sad to say, but none of this ever worked well and it certainly doesn’t work today. </p> <p> </p> <p>The supreme, unquestionable, highly regarded quality of your information has zero significance if no one is paying attention to what you are saying.  In this Age of Distraction, audiences are leaping on to their phones at the first sign of tedium.  Even when binge watching their favourite television series, they have the implement of destruction - their phone - at the ready to take up and multi task.</p> <p> </p> <p>The question today is how to integrate all of this cool stuff into our presentations without it overwhelming us, the presenter.  Slide shows are an ever present dan