Lessons from the boardroom

I thought I'd take a slightly more leisurely stroll through the world of branding today, given that the last two posts have been a little on the serious side.

Over the years, I've had to make all sorts of presentations. Some have gone better than others, but three things have always stood me in good stead in the boardroom when it comes to putting on a show – or, conversely, settling a showdown.

Firstly, I've learned how to make sense of more boardroom audio–visual systems than most. This might not sound like much, but it can make a world of difference when you've got an anxious CEO and his executives hunched over the table in impatient anticipation.

While most falter when faced with the seething snake pit of cords and cables that lurk beneath the boardroom table, I jump straight in with all the fearless instinct of an intrepid Indiana Jones – albeit one with a lanyard swinging from my neck rather than a whip crack from my hand. Generally, it's a test of whether I can get the presentation on screen before the IT chap arrives. On those occasions when the client is organised enough to have arranged the IT chap to meet me on arrival, I always feel a little disappointed – perhaps even cheated of the challenge.

Secondly, if you can't present your 2-hour presentation in 5 minutes (including questions), then I would say you're underprepared.

I've encountered the "5–minute flick" over the past few years far too many times to count, but oddly enough I have noticed that there tends to be an inverse relationship between the scale of the project and the typical amount of time you get with key decision–makers. Often, the more they're paying you, the less they want to see you.

Thirdly, it sometimes sounds so much better if you can find someone else to say it for you. But I don't mean your wife or your best mate, I mean Winston Churchill or Gary Hamel.

The right quote can give a presentation not only a lift but also some leverage – to the point that it can instantaneously fix your message firmly at the front of your audience's minds. It's not only memorable, it's also motivating, so I would suggest that you always have a spare quote or two up your sleeve (as snake oil salesman as that unfortunately sounds).

Anyway, I'm not sure if these are lessons so much as observations, but there you have it.

Oh, and by the way..."the older you grow, the more you become".