A chance to escape from the confines of the office, the tyranny of emails. To mingle with non-work colleagues – friendly acquaintances and new people – and learn about new worlds.
The event topic* was a current and vexatious issue. A senior partner of a mid-tier advisory firm* had come up from Sydney to enlighten us. With, as we later discovered, three acolytes in tow.
It started well – a sunny day, great location and a novel approach to lunch that forced people from across the table to mix and talk.
And then in awful slow-motion… the train-wreck presentation unfurled...
When a business sponsors an event, it is buying the halo-effect of their brand being tied to the event.
When it buys the guest speaker spot, the cost of the investment escalates fast.
Especially when you count the opportunity cost of billable hours of a senior partner – plus the other three acolytes.
This was easily a $10,000 day.
Which can be worthwhile if you want to break new markets, add lustre to local operations, and if you develop opportunities off the back of it.
But success all hinges on the presentation.
- The slides were illegible from our seats, with dense slabs of text.
- The “case studies” were a link on a slide – and struggled to open.
- The presentation was a purported panel. In reality it was hosted by an acolyte asking patsy questions of the presenter. With the occasional cursory hand-off question for the other panellist, worded to reinforce the presenter’s statements.
- The presenter descended into technical language and repeated references to policy. All the while avoiding the elephant in the room – the very reason why the topic is so controversial.
- And then a grind down to the end. No conclusion, no call to action, no ‘where to next’. Finito.
The chatter afterwards was about the banality of the presentation – we had expected better.
It did not reflect well on the business.
It’s simple (but not easy) to do this well:
- Step off the platform you’re on, and sit in the seat of your audience.
- Get into their heads and hearts – they are busy business people who have paid money to be here.
- Make it easy to understand – interesting, impactful. A few well-chosen examples or stories are gold.
- Speak and write in simple language – able to be understood by a 13 year old. Too hard and our brains get distracted.
- Be strategic – why are you buying this event? What outcomes do you want it to achieve?
If you want to make a real impact on your audience – get them interested, motivated, take action – then start thinking about presentations and pitches that connect.
Or get in touch with us and we’ll craft them for you.
To get the outcomes you want.
* All identifying details removed to protect the identity of the culpable.