Tell 'em, Tell 'em, Tell 'em - Reflections on Artistic Presentations

On Monday I attended the 'Show & Tell' at the end of a course for 'creatives' in Middlesbrough, run by CIDA. (Thanks, Anamaria for inviting me!).

The presentations were full of really interesting creative stuff that the participants were doing but some of them lacked the impact they deserved because they were not well structured. For me, the beginning and end of a presentation are crucial - the first to grab attention, the last to summarise and make the 'call for action'. 

My thoughts about 5 key 'Tell 'ems'..........
 
Tell 'em who you are (slowly and clearly, preferably with your name on the screen)
"Hi everyone, my name is Richard Hanage and I run a business called Richard Hanage Associates.
I provide business start-up training and support, mainly in the University sector. More importantly, for this presentation, I am doing a PhD researching creative graduates starting creative sector businesses".

Tell 'em why they should listen to you...(grab their attention)
"You probably know that many start-ups fail to get off the ground. In the creative sector the success rate is even worse - because its a really tough sector to get into.
I would like to share my thoughts on how can we help more young graduates succeed".

Tell 'em the main presentation.
(I could write a book on this bit... bit I won't. It's well covered ground)

Tell 'em what you have just told them....(preferably 3 things)
"In summary, then, I think there are 3 key things we can try to do...
 - build their confidence to speak proudly and passionately about their 'art'
 - help them with the nuts and bolts of running a business
 - train them to make really good presentations and sales pitches."

Tell 'em what to do next (the call to action, preferably with contact info on the screen)
"I hope you have found that useful.  If you would like to hear more please contact me after this presentation or by e-mail. Here is my business card, and you can follow me on Twitter at @rhanage".


.... and a call to action!
I suspect that if a presentation has a really good start and finish it doesn't matter so much if the audience don't take in all the middle bit. So I beleive that when we are giving presentation training we should help our participants to concentrate on these parts as well as the main body.