Be Like Gallagher: Use Props

Remember this guy?

Use Props!

Say what you will about whether or not he was actually funny, but you can't deny that he was memorable. 

Most effective stories, presentations and performances that are effective are memorable (although the reverse cannot always be said).

The use of props will go a long way towards making your presentation memorable. Words alone just can't compete.

Do you remember what Gallagher said, or do you remember his sledgehammer? How about these guys?

Okay, enough with the comedians. That's not your gig. 

This past week we were discussing a recent very successful winning pitch we designed and its use of props. Apparently, though the client was impressed with our entire approach and team capabilities (and screen presentation), they kept talking about the props we brought which included actual lapel pins and necklaces of a logo we were proposing as part of a campaign and which were handed out to the clients. Most would have stopped at just designing the logo and putting it on screen. Maybe some would go ahead and make t-shirts to hand out. But our team actually created a wearable piece of jewelry that, like Gallagher's sledgehammer or Steve Martin's arrow-through-the-head, effectively encapsulated the entire story being presented.

Here are 3 more examples--maybe the most famous and effective use of presentation props of the last 25 years:

You probably recognize Colin Powell's UN presentation in which a small vial of fake anthrax effectively told his entire story. Similarly, Johnnie Cochran didn't just rely on oratory ("If the gloves don't fit, you must acquit"), but he used the actual gloves as props to accomplish his goal. Good or bad outcomes, props made these presentations unquestionably effective and memorable. 

Okay, so who's the 3rd guy and what's he doing? That's the physicist Richard Feynman testifying before Congress about the Challenger explosion. You may remember that blame was ultimately laid on the rubber O-rings of the booster rockets that were compromised at the freezing temperatures on the launch pad. Well, to prove this, Feynman didn't present PowerPoint slides, but instead took out one of the O-rings and submerged it in a glass of ice water. He then showed how the piece of rubber lost its resiliency at low temperatures--something NASA's managers had denied and which ultimately proved disastrous for the shuttle. Edward Tufte devotes a whole chapter to Feynman's presentation in his book, Visual Explanations.

So, what props are you going to use in your next presentation?

A Memorable TED Talk

If you're not familiar with and a frequent viewer of the various talks given at the TED conferences, you should be.

In her essential book on presentation, Slide:ology,Nancy Duarte talks about a presentation given by brain researcher Jill Bolte-Taylor as one of the most memorable TED talks to date.

To see why this speech is one of the most talked about of recent years and to see just how effective a single prop can be in making what you have to say memorable, watch Jill Bolte-Taylor speak about her own stroke.