During our first Block last Fall, I was convinced that one of my professors was raving MAD (British word for crazy). He insisted that we think outside the box and present within the class in any way BUT the typical Powerpoint and oratory. Being in advertising for my entire career, I couldn’t help but feel that the “new” presentation styles would be irrelvant and inappropriate in the working world.
Now, after 3 blocks, I see the method to his madness. He got us to think outside our usual parameters and to accept new ways (ie think creativly).
We scored on the KPMG presentation because we covered all of the content and questions asked, but also made our presentation engaging through a central concept (thought bubbles on screen with two folks playing co-workers role-playing a workplace exchange and a commentator “pausing” and “playing” the exchange to get the major points across and expand on the necessary points).
And this Thursday, we scored again with a roleplay. This time, I was the “director” and my team mates played “Chinese Consultants” and “Indian Entrepreneurs” in a movie about “Effective Organizations” in order to drive home the major points that we took away within our Organizational Behavior course.
While I still feel that role plays aren’t the most relevant presentation style for the corporate world, our experience presenting in unique ways will (of course) make it much easier to get in front of small groups while presenting using more conventional methods. If I can “act” in front of 60-70 folks without stage fright, I can certainly handle a conventional presentation with 10-20 senior managers. No sweat…