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 Insider Tips - 14 Maurice McTernan has learned a lot in his years as one of the industry's top live production specialists. An expert problem-solver, he has some sound advice to share that will keep the stress of planning and executing a major marketing event down to a minimum: These days, sales and marketing meetings, can involve hundreds, possibly thousands, of people, especially when a mega-corporation takes to the road. These large-scale events are becoming very technically sophisticated in order to capture and hold the interest of their audiences. For most companies, gone are the days when the president walked up onto the dais with the room lights on, papers in hand, and delivered the "state-of-the-enterprise" address over the house sound system. Now the message is supported with complex visual images, read from teleprompters, and the presenter has an interruptible fold back (IFB) in-ear monitor system to feed directions, if neccessary, as he or she speaks. Obviously, the ever-increasing complexity of presentations brings spiraling costs and (more importantly) the increased potential for disaster. And if the event is your responsibility, the personal exposure in the organization can add significantly to your stress factor. As if the job wasn't stressful enough. While no two presentations are the same, there are always similarities. Remembering a few fundamentals will help reduce the risk, cut some of the stress and generally make your life a little easier: 1. Keep It Simple Real life does not imitate art. In other words, things do go wrong. Unless you have the luxury of lots and lots of rehearsal time, always err on the side of simplicity, whether you are responsible for multiple dates in various cities, or a single presentation. Your hardware supplier will tempt you with all sorts of marvelous stuff to make your event the greatest show on earth but remember, a simple show that succeeds is better than chancing it with unknown and untried complexities. No one will ever know what might have been, only what happened. 2. Don't Be Funny If the management team was as funny as Jerry Seinfeld or could deliver lines with the conviction of Robert DeNiro, they'd be in pictures. Avoid the tendency to weave levity or empathy into the text of the presentation. It almost never works, leaving both audience and presenter to deal with uneasy, embarrassing silences. Keep the message simple. Don't obscure it with bad delivery. Where possible, use professional presenters and leave the brilliance of your senior staff in tact, in their area of expertise. 3. Hire Outsiders To Run The Show Every organization has its problems and politics. Often the reality of the day-to-day corporate culture can run contrary to the effective communication of information. Bringing in an outside producer or writer, for example, while seemingly extravagant, often provides the catalyst needed to zero in on what is really important, without raising anyone's hackles. Professionals from the outside often have a much better chance of telling the CEO, tactfully, that some peculiar notion he or she has regarding staging the event may not be the best way to realize their goals for the exercise and the company. Check out Maurice McTernan's bio at Key Players.
Contact Davidson Communications. We'll write it, script it, stage it, and do all the follow-up. |
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