5 ms·

How to give a great presentation: advice from a legendary adman (2012)

224 points by c0restraint 7y ago

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
cl42 7y ago
Oh man, Ogilvy’s writing is so great and he has such good advice. I remember reading some of his other writing... One anecdote about superglue: want to show people it’s strong? Don’t just say it in a billboard ad; glue a car to the billboard! Brilliant.
- smacktoward 7y ago
  Timeless advice for writers: show, don’t tell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don%27t_tell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don%27t_tell
AndrewKemendo 7y ago
I have been giving presentations professionally since ~2007. The only thing I agree with is the end: "The most effective speeches and presentations sound as if they have been spoken, ad-lib, and not written down at all. Great presenters and speakers make it all sound so easy and so natural that one assumes it just pours out of them. It almost never does." You'll never see an amazing talk/brief/speech like described above, follow the formula outlined in the "How to organize a presentation." The "How to organize a presentation" is great for someone who has never given a presentation to be able to give a tolerable presentation. However going from tolerable to good takes a completely different pathway and most people never get there. I suggest if you're serious about being influential as a presenter you try an open mic for poetry, improv or standup comedy. You'll bomb probably, but the exercise is really important. Practice storytelling. Write more. Understand your audience before you even start building your presentation. There's so much to do that is never ending but at the end of the day you're trying to build a relationship with your audience so that they trust you and what you are trying to convince them of.
- tootie 7y ago
  My line of work requires a lot of time presenting. We typically tag team our presentations so experts are presenting their own slides. It definitely adds to the authenticity. Typically I'll write up slides relevant to the audience, but it's usually on topics that I already know inside and out and don't need to follow a script and can easily respond to questions and tangents. Then pass to another expert who can talk about their stuff with equal vigor. Speaking about something that's actually interesting is also hugely important. I think the exact inverse example is probably Donald Trump. He has little relevant expertise to his job and hasn't really bothered to learn much along the way. Instead, he speaks at length without a script and without breaking tempo unburdened by facts, experience or even coherence. Just a lot of confidence and a lot of emotion. And it evidently works really well for a lot of people.
  - dkersten 7y ago
    I personally don't really like tag-team presentations. I'm sure it can be done really well, but in almost all talks I've ever watched (GDC, strangeloop, various language conferences) the switch between speakers always came across as distracting, hectic or jarring. Yes, I imagine they were rarely (or ever) as well practiced as you sound and I imagine that makes a huge difference and it sounds like you're doing it for the right reasons (so that the person talking is always talking about something they know about, certainly helps talks sound less artificial, as you say), my main point is that I don't think its good advice to tell people who aren't as well practiced because I find it often makes otherwise decent presentations not so great. Everything else you say sounds great, though :)
  - joshuaheard 7y ago
    Scott Adams (Dilbert creator) has written several books on persuasion and persuasive techniques. He analyzes Trump's communication style very positively.
    - dragonwriter 7y ago
      Scott Adams isn't an expert on either persuasion generally or the domain in which Trump operates (writing a book doesn't make you an expert; ideally, being an expert would be related to having a book taken seriously, but being a celebrity can do that without any expertise.) Trump did a decent enough job at leveraging decades of Republican propaganda designed to create permanent unmet needs and resentments to support politicians permanently promising incremental steps in the direction of those needs, and cutting the legal out of the people making that offer by not nakedly offering the whole hog rather than incremental steps. But that's not a triumph of persuasion: the persuasion was done by decades of work by professional political propagandists; Trump was just meeting the already-radicalized Republican base where they'd been set up to be exploited.
BossingAround 7y ago
An interesting lecture on the topic is also How To Speak by late MIT professor Patrick Winston [1]. Very much recommended! [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY
cbanek 7y ago
This is some great advice. I totally agree with the "it feels natural and ad-lib but it's not." If something is really well organized, one topic will naturally flow into the other (also, it's easier to adlib with well organized presentations, I find). One way I frame the first bit of advice (about having a theme, and keeping it to the theme) is my favorite line from Planes, Trains, & Automobiles: "When you're telling a story, have a point! It makes it so much more interesting for the listener!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JLbAePwoHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JLbAePwoHQ
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
JoeMayoBot 7y ago
Lots of good tips here. I've been speaking and teaching for several years (software development) and it's a process of continual improvement. Here are my thoughts on a few of the items: - Involving the audience: People often ask questions and this can be the best part of the presentation because I learn about what I might not know, I understand what other people care about, and it often introduces fun interactions. Sometimes, giving away swag is fun by asking questions at the end of the presentation and giving a prize to the first answer. - Give them a book: I always include a slide at the end of the presentation so people can contact me, find related material for more info, and the URL to any code used in the presentation. - Making it sound like you: Non ego driven sharing for the benefit of the audience. Sometimes, I'll go listen to a speaker because of who they are, regardless of the topic.

224 points by c0restraint 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

cl42 7y ago

Oh man, Ogilvy’s writing is so great and he has such good advice. I remember reading some of his other writing... One anecdote about superglue: want to show people it’s strong? Don’t just say it in a billboard ad; glue a car to the billboard! Brilliant.

smacktoward 7y ago
Timeless advice for writers: show, don’t tell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don%27t_tell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don%27t_tell

AndrewKemendo 7y ago

I have been giving presentations professionally since ~2007. The only thing I agree with is the end: "The most effective speeches and presentations sound as if they have been spoken, ad-lib, and not written down at all. Great presenters and speakers make it all sound so easy and so natural that one assumes it just pours out of them. It almost never does." You'll never see an amazing talk/brief/speech like described above, follow the formula outlined in the "How to organize a presentation." The "How to organize a presentation" is great for someone who has never given a presentation to be able to give a tolerable presentation. However going from tolerable to good takes a completely different pathway and most people never get there. I suggest if you're serious about being influential as a presenter you try an open mic for poetry, improv or standup comedy. You'll bomb probably, but the exercise is really important. Practice storytelling. Write more. Understand your audience before you even start building your presentation. There's so much to do that is never ending but at the end of the day you're trying to build a relationship with your audience so that they trust you and what you are trying to convince them of.

tootie 7y ago
My line of work requires a lot of time presenting. We typically tag team our presentations so experts are presenting their own slides. It definitely adds to the authenticity. Typically I'll write up slides relevant to the audience, but it's usually on topics that I already know inside and out and don't need to follow a script and can easily respond to questions and tangents. Then pass to another expert who can talk about their stuff with equal vigor. Speaking about something that's actually interesting is also hugely important. I think the exact inverse example is probably Donald Trump. He has little relevant expertise to his job and hasn't really bothered to learn much along the way. Instead, he speaks at length without a script and without breaking tempo unburdened by facts, experience or even coherence. Just a lot of confidence and a lot of emotion. And it evidently works really well for a lot of people.
- dkersten 7y ago
  I personally don't really like tag-team presentations. I'm sure it can be done really well, but in almost all talks I've ever watched (GDC, strangeloop, various language conferences) the switch between speakers always came across as distracting, hectic or jarring. Yes, I imagine they were rarely (or ever) as well practiced as you sound and I imagine that makes a huge difference and it sounds like you're doing it for the right reasons (so that the person talking is always talking about something they know about, certainly helps talks sound less artificial, as you say), my main point is that I don't think its good advice to tell people who aren't as well practiced because I find it often makes otherwise decent presentations not so great. Everything else you say sounds great, though :)
- joshuaheard 7y ago
  Scott Adams (Dilbert creator) has written several books on persuasion and persuasive techniques. He analyzes Trump's communication style very positively.
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    Scott Adams isn't an expert on either persuasion generally or the domain in which Trump operates (writing a book doesn't make you an expert; ideally, being an expert would be related to having a book taken seriously, but being a celebrity can do that without any expertise.) Trump did a decent enough job at leveraging decades of Republican propaganda designed to create permanent unmet needs and resentments to support politicians permanently promising incremental steps in the direction of those needs, and cutting the legal out of the people making that offer by not nakedly offering the whole hog rather than incremental steps. But that's not a triumph of persuasion: the persuasion was done by decades of work by professional political propagandists; Trump was just meeting the already-radicalized Republican base where they'd been set up to be exploited.

BossingAround 7y ago

An interesting lecture on the topic is also How To Speak by late MIT professor Patrick Winston [1]. Very much recommended! [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY

cbanek 7y ago

This is some great advice. I totally agree with the "it feels natural and ad-lib but it's not." If something is really well organized, one topic will naturally flow into the other (also, it's easier to adlib with well organized presentations, I find). One way I frame the first bit of advice (about having a theme, and keeping it to the theme) is my favorite line from Planes, Trains, & Automobiles: "When you're telling a story, have a point! It makes it so much more interesting for the listener!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JLbAePwoHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JLbAePwoHQ

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

JoeMayoBot 7y ago

Lots of good tips here. I've been speaking and teaching for several years (software development) and it's a process of continual improvement. Here are my thoughts on a few of the items: - Involving the audience: People often ask questions and this can be the best part of the presentation because I learn about what I might not know, I understand what other people care about, and it often introduces fun interactions. Sometimes, giving away swag is fun by asking questions at the end of the presentation and giving a prize to the first answer. - Give them a book: I always include a slide at the end of the presentation so people can contact me, find related material for more info, and the URL to any code used in the presentation. - Making it sound like you: Non ego driven sharing for the benefit of the audience. Sometimes, I'll go listen to a speaker because of who they are, regardless of the topic.