When I ask people to name three talks they can remember, they seem to have a brain hiccup. The most common response is to talk about the most recent one they’ve seen.
At this moment, if I asked myself the same question, I would say, “The Reverend Diana Clark, Dean Richard Brodhead, and illustrator and author Christopher Myers.”
Reverend Clark, an Episcopal priest, gave a three minute talk I will never forget. She told the story of her vacation. She got on a plane with her husband, and immediately opened a new book she had brought for the occasion.
She felt a tap on the shoulder and looked up. The flight attendant was asking her to put on her seat belt. She had been so engrossed in her book that she completely missed the instructions on getting ready for take-off.
She concluded her talk by very gently suggesting that we may often miss other important voices in our lives because of our preoccupations.
No PowerPoint! Just a story, an analogy, and a powerful point about listening–to ourselves and others (including those in high places.)
The presentation skill lies in the revelation of insight through story and analogy.
A powerful point without PowerPoint. The visuals are in the story, and therefore play repeatedly in the theater of the listener’s mind.