Star-Power Presentations

Use Acting Secrets To Grab Attention, Be Remembered 

By SCOTT LEWIS
Managing Director
Willard PR, Kyiv

Wouldn't it be great if Tom Cruise or Anastasiya Zavorotnyuk could give your next presentation for you?   With a world-class star in the room, your audience would be spellbound, gripping every detail of what otherwise might be a rather mundane quarterly earnings report or sales pitch.

Afterward, people would talk about what they'd just experienced.

Fame aside, why would Tom or Nastya perform better in front of a crowd than you would?  Why would their words be more memorable, or their messages better received? 

The more important question: Why can't you have the same impact?
The answer: You can. 

An actor is believable on stage because when performing, he can put his own personality aside, step into a character and convey that character's words and emotions, rather than his own.  True, he may rely on personal experience or knowledge to help build and interpret a character, to understand the character's motivation and help bring that character to life, but on stage he becomes the character. 

This has been referred to as a sort of out-of-body experience, and that's not far from the truth.  When performing, you aren't you - you're the character you have created for the situation.

Stepping into a character permits a presenter to do and say things that he or she might never do within the scope of a regular business day.  Open your presentation with a song, a poem, a dance, a humorous or dramatic story… whatever suits the needs of your presentation and captures your audience's attention. 

"That's not dignified," you say.  "It's not professional."
 

To the contrary, it's losing that isn't dignified, and it's being dull that isn't professional.
We're not suggesting that you act clownish, only that you open your presentation with an attention-grabbing technique, and that you close it in similar fashion. 

Sandwiched between the beginning and the end?  Confidence.

Your character should exude confidence - that's part of what makes him believable.  An actor makes a character believable by achieving a realization of who the character is - fashioning a history for the person that may never be told on stage, but that makes the person real in the actor's mind.  Where did they grow up? What sport did they enjoy as a child?  Was it a happy childhood, or a deprived one?  What schools were attended?  What jobs have been held?  What loves have been won or lost?

You get the idea. 

Once you have created your on-stage persona, the next acting trick kicks in: Memorize your lines. Know precisely what you'll say, who you'll say it to, when you'll say it, and know the expression that will be on your face and the inflection in your voice when you speak the words.  Try different variations until you find that inner voice that tells you that you have found the right combination.
 
Stuck?  It may help to pattern your character after a television presenter, singer, comedian, politician, or religious leader whose speaking ability you admire.  Who moves you?  Find out why, and use those same attributes to move your audience.