KEY POINTS:
Imagine you pulled out a chair. Or two large pieces of paper. Or a balloon.
What you're doing is waking up the audience with a prop. And props wake up the sleepiest of audiences in seconds. Yes, even if the prop isn't remotely connected to your business.
Here's what I do when I'm presenting the Brain Audit presentation.
I set a chair in the centre of the room. I then sit down on it.
Then I stand up. Then I sit down. Then I stand up. Then I sit down. Then I stand up.
It doesn't matter what the audience was doing/thinking about/fiddling with before I put that chair in the centre.
Now they're looking at me and in an instant, I've got their attention.
Aha, and it's all because of the prop I've used.
But the prop alone won't work. The prop will indeed get the attention of the audience, but it's now up to you to create the connection with that prop.
So here's how I connect. I ask the audience a question that's impossible to goof up: "Who among you expected the chair to break?"
I wait a few seconds and ask another "impossible-to-goof-up" question: "Why didn't the chair break?"
And after initial hesitation, I get a response. Sometimes two or three.
And then it's time to create the connection: the chair didn't break because it was built on science. Our communication, however, is not built on science. It's built on randomness.
Which is why so many people misunderstand what we say.
Which is why we spend thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of dollars, and still don't get the message across. This is because our communication is built without parameters.
The Brain Audit, however, is built with parameters and with benchmarks. And like the chair, it's built on science.
Which means that you can be sure that if you use the concepts outlined in The Brain Audit, you'll get specific, consistent results.
So, you see, using props is a three-step process:
* You predetermine the prop you're going to use.
* You take the prop out of context (if you can) to create drama.
* You then make the connection and snap your audience out of la-la land.
Predetermining the prop is absolutely important.
If you don't prepare in advance, your presentation may get their attention, but you're more than likely to goof up on the connection and make a hash of your presentation.
And taking the prop out of context is also important, because a chair is a chair, is a chair - until you put a chair in the middle of the room. The prop out of context is what creates the drama.
But the question that may arise is: does the prop need to be connected to your business? So, if you're presenting a phone, do you need a phone? Or should you always use something that's not quite connected, like a sneaker, or a cup of coffee instead?
I'd always use the prop that's not connected to my business. The reason is drama.
When you stand up to talk about phones, the audience is expecting you to talk about phones. But a sneaker, or a cup of coffee, or some completely unrelated object throws them off guard and creates instant drama.
But you don't have to listen to me.
You can use props that are connected to your business, as well as props that are not connected.
Take an example of using a prop connected to your business.
Imagine you're presenting an Icebreaker garmentmade from pure merino wool.
What's cool about the brand is that you can sweat a lot in their garments and they don't stink.
So an Icebreaker garment itself can become a prop. The marketing executive can tell the audience: "I have a secret. I've been wearing this T-shirt for the past 35 days."
Boof! She's got the attention of the audience.
And she continues: "And guess what? It doesn't stink."
The late Sir Peter Blake wore one for 45 days and nights while he was sailing and it didn't stink.
See the connection? Icebreaker's uniqueness is that their garments don't stink. And they used the prop that's connected to their business.
Now, an example of a prop that's not connected to your business.
Let's imagine the marketing executive removes a stuffed skunk and places it on the table and says:
"If you were to wear your T-shirt for the next 35 days, your T-shirt would smell like this skunk.
"But not with Icebreaker.
"You could actually wear an Icebreaker T-shirt for 35, 40, or even 45 days, and do the most rigorous activity and still not stink."
Got your attention, didn't it?
And props - properly used - will always get the attention of the audience, irrespective of whether the prop is connected to your business or not. So the next time you're making a presentation, don't just blah-blah.
Use a chair. Or two pieces of paper.
Or a skunk for that matter!
Sean D'Souza is chief executive of Psychotactics and is an international author, speaker and trainer.
psychotactics.com
