• Lessons learned; Presenting with others

    Posted on May 19th, 2011 by and currently 4 commenting.

    I had the great pleasure of presenting with John Moore at WOMMA’s School of WOM about offline word of mouth marketing.

    Something that isn’t for the faint of heart, as John pointed out in his part of the presentation. 90% of the WOM-U agenda is online marketing, and add to the mix that John is a helluva act to follow.

    John and I worked hard to build a cohesive presentation that would not create a disjointed two-part experience for the attendees. And I think we accomplished that, so the question is how?

    John and I know each other very well. We know each other’s stories, rants, and speaking styles. You might say that knowledge would make it easy for co-presenting… but not so fast.

    Lesson 1) Being familiar with a co-presenter is great, but instead of going with surface knowledge, use that familiarity to dig deeper. Go beyond a phone call chat, share a white paper, a case study or a rant. If you don’t know your co-presenter the same goes.

    Lesson 2) Think Audience First. Agree on a singular preso look and feel. I get a little design happy with my preso’s, but I learned a big lesson. Come up with your preso theme together, build a common template. Your audience will thank you.

    Lesson 3) Forget about being competitive. When you’re presenting with someone for the sake of the people that are the real heroes– your audience. Drop the posturing and find common ground in your presentations.

    Lesson 4) Enjoy the backstage. Be present when your co-presenter is speaking. It’s a wonderful learning experience for you, too. Watch them, listen to what they’re sharing, watch your audience’s reactions. This is your prep for QandA time.

    Lesson 5) Be supportive. I love the QandA, and this is where teamwork shines. Don’t just answer the questions your asked, support your co-presenter.

    To be honest I’ve never enjoyed co-presenting before, but I have a newfound respect for it, and the opportunity for growth from it. Next time, you have a co-presentation opportunity don’t think of it as what’s going to be my part. You are probably presenting together for a reason, find that common thread and build complimenting pieces, again your audience will thank you for it.

  • http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/ john moore (from Brand Autopsy)

    Thanks for the kind words Geno. Right back at ya with enjoying co-presenting. Like you, I’ve had mixed results co-presenting with others in the past. We worked well together for the reason you listed. In a classic Brains on Fire way, I present to you another lesson… LESSON ELEVEN.

    #11 | Don’t Be Afraid to Match Different Presentation Styles
    Geno is a masterful storyteller presenter. He uses his Southern charm to tell the human side of the marketing equation. I’m a “moral of the story” presenter. Meaning, I share lots of quick hits and takeaways in a fast-paced rhythm. On the surface, our presentation styles are different but they actually very similar.

    Geno and I both tell stories. He tells long-form stories with an in-depth example and a lasting takeaway. I tell short-form stories full of many examples and rapid takeaways. Because we each tell stories sharing real world examples of marketing that works, our presentation styles sync. Plus, we each give the audience a different flavor but with the same theme. The audience at WOMMA seemed to appreciate our unique flavors and our “true school” word of mouth marketing message.

  • http://www.twitter.com/danfarkas Dan

    This is great advice. I can’t wait to share it with students next week.

  • http://www.rodbrooks.com Rod Brooks

    Just read this Geno. Love the advice for copresenters. I was in the audience for the session you and John led and while the styles were different the content and experience felt seemless. Nice job. Great advice!

    Rod

  • http://brainsonfire.com Geno

    Thanks Rod,… co-presenting is such a learning experience. I’d never really thought about it before but to do it right, it causes you to be supportive, to be a good partner.

    Which helps direct the focus on the audience not the presenter.