The Curator’s Egg

Earnest, serious, dull. That is not, however, the definition of professionalism. Overrunning your time, stumbling delivery and reading from a script. I’m not going to name names, but the general quality level of the presentations at the conference was really low. I’m not talking particularly about the content, but rather the presentation and delivery, many of which I thought pretty unprofessional. So here’s a few handy hints to keep the audience engaged, interested and alert.

1. Don’t read from a script. Let’s be honest, if you’ve typed it all out and all you are going to do is read it, it would be quicker and more effective to photocopy it and let the audience read it. They wouldn’t have to take any notes, either. And if you really feel you must read it out - at least practice beforehand so you know you aren’t going to overrun your allotted time, and so you can put a bit of life into your delivery. Honestly though, if you really have something to say, I feel that a few notes should be all you need.
2. Pictures. You need pictures of wonderful, quirky interesting things, people or events to break up the talk, hold the attention of the audience and illustrate what you’re talking about. Museums are full of such things - use them.
3. Humour. Jokes are good - even bad jokes. Remember the audience is on your side and is looking for excuses to support you. Jokes do not detract from the seriousness of your message, and they will make it more memorable.

To sum up - what we want is pictures and jokes.

I believe the appropriately-named “Nick” Winterbotham may be stealing another of my one liners… but I suppose that is a sort of fame. I wonder whether it counts towards the FMA?

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 27th, 2005 at 6:32 pm and is filed under Management. Both comments and pings are currently closed.