A few years ago, I saw a presentation at a conference by Gary Bertwistle. As a director of a fast growing company I was very interested in the subject, but what really struck me was how absolutely flawless his 90 minute presentation was. The structure was easy to oversee, there was enough but not too much info, there were jokes, questions, anecdotes and Gary made it all look so easy.

How do they do that?

This short takes is about doing short presentations; How do we engage? How do we structure? How do we optimise video for slides? What about body language?

Who’s speaking?

We have confirmed the following speakers: Mo Fox is talking about ‘Surfing Ambiguity’: how to deal with ambiguity in life and business. Mo is an artist and speaker with a wide range of experience in both arts and the corporate world, giving her a unique perspective on both.   Robert Moorman is talking about ‘Why Most Business Video Doesn’t Work. And What To Do About It.’ Robert is creative director with 20 years of experience creating online and mobile video. He’s got a bee in his bonnet about making video more effective. Suzanne Mercier‘s talk is called “Are your female leaders skirting Leadership or stepping up?” Suzanne is founder and CEO of Liberate Leadership, a business that helps leaders shift mindsets that block success.

When? Where?

Short Takes is on the 7th of March at the Hunting With Pixels headquarters on level 1, 270 King Street in Newtown. Doors open 18.30, we start at 19.00.

What does it cost?

This Short Takes is free, think of it as a belated ‘happy 2012’! You will have to register though. Click the link below:    

Earlier this year, we caught up for a social with the charming Andy Ellwood, Director of Business Development for Gowalla, a location-based social media group. For more info about Andy, click here. In this clip, Andy discusses the way in which the ubiquitousness of social media has changed what and how we share with it. To a person from the 19th century, today’s society’s habit of sharing via social media would seem positively exhibitionist. Our notion of privacy has come a long way in a very short space of time. Andy frames it as a uniquely American trait, the church of the individual, where people are raised to believe their voice counts more than any other, and so become quite used to talking about themselves. Whether US specific or not, with the globalising influence of the Internet, we all now have the opportunity to have our voices heard, and are taking advantage. But what are we saying? In the formative days of social media, it was acceptable and common to post the completely banal into the web ether. However, doing this assumes an audience for an individual’s banalities that simply doesn’t exist. Andy suggests that if someone were to tweet about eating toast in today’s internet, they would be ridiculed. Instead, the kind of sharing that generates a positive reaction is those with greater value. Using social media to distribute genuinely useful information, or even to entertain or inspire the reader, gives justice to the term ‘sharing’. Far from an internet full of individuals talking about themselves, we then gain a network of people with overlapping interests and cross-pollenating ideas. With the explosion of social media content, it is harder than ever to stand out on the web. Those people who are genuinely sharing, who are placing online content that has value, will be heard far more than just another narcissist. And after all, isn’t being heard what we all want? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ5VXCd2Wbw

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Steve Rubel, executive VP for Global Strategy and Insights with Edelman. Edelman is a global public relations firm, well known for being on the forefront of technological change. Click here for more info on Steve and Edelman. In these clips, Steve discusses online video as a method of communication. He explains why it provokes greater engagement, and gives examples of best practice. With the increasing democratisation of online space, it is easier than ever for anybody to have their voice heard on the web. The side effect of this is that it’s increasingly cluttered, and those seeking information online have less and less time to devote to each individual source. As a business, you want your website to draw people in, to pique the interest of casual browsers and make them actively seek more information. Steve suggests that words alone are no longer the optimal way to do this. Today’s time-poor web browser will read as little as 20% of a page before moving on, devoting between 10-20 seconds. Obviously, this is not enough time to communicate in an accurate and engaging way. Video, as opposed to text, is capable of much stronger and more ‘human’ communication. There are many visual and emotional cues that come from listening to and looking at another human being, which text misses. If the content is relevant, it has been shown to be far more engaging with viewers, with greater retention and more follow-ups. This is not to say that you need to hire Spielberg to do your website. Video can be unpolished, provided that the content and presentation fills a need of the target audience, be that information, entertainment or a service. When asked what an example of effective video communication looked like, Steve pointed to The White House official website. The US government uploaded a regular video series named The Explainer, in which a presenter used a white board to draw and explain a dry or complicated topic. If this had been presented in text form, most site viewers would fall asleep, however as a relatively low tech video it carried enough presence that these ideas were successfully communicated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF2CqqG37v8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaUpRDbco6E

Our first pilot shoot for our speaker reel videos was a great success, but how could it not be with speakers like Nigel Collin, Kim Seeling Smith, Adette Rosenbach Goldberg and Mo Fox?

Now it’s time for round two.

We couldn’t fit in everyone in the first round so we’re doing one more pilot at cost price. Currently we have two spots left, so if you’re looking for a great speaker showreel at cost price, let us know.

Learn from the pros

We’re also changing the format. This time we’re not only doing the presentations but also doing a Q&A around presenting skills; how do you build the story? What slides work? How should I use video in presentations?  

When? Where?

The pilot takes place on the 7th of March at the Hunting With Pixels headquarters on level 1, 270 King Street in Newtown.

Who’s speaking?

At this point we have confirmed the following speakers: Gary Bertwistle is talking about Unlocking Your Creative Mojo   Robert Moorman is talking ‘Why Most Business Video Doesn’t Work. And What To Do About It.’   Mo Fox is talking about ‘Surfing Ambiguity’: how to deal with ambiguity in life and business.  

So what does the speaker showreel video look like?

Here’s Kim’s video: http://vimeo.com/34933864

What does it cost?

This is a showreel filmed with four broadcast level cameras; a shoot like that would cost you thousands, but by pooling the resource with three other speakers you can cut the cost to under $ 1000,- The pilot is even better value; we can offer this package for $ 695,- provided we can use it for promoting the package, how does that sound? Here’s a video with some more info:

So let’s move up the foodchain now!

Contact us to secure your spot and get a super slick, TED style showreel at cost price that you can send your clients and speaking agencies. This is as good as it get people!