Finally got to meet one of my inspirations, Garr Reynolds, author of Presentation Zen (blog and new book!)
There are some similarities to the presentation he gave last night at the Apple Store in Ginza to the talk he gave at Google, which is here:
Some points he made that were very important to me:
1. In writing Presentation Zen the book, he relied on trusted people to help him get a different perspective on the look and feel of the design, but, by and large he was focused on the ‘feel’. In other words, it wasn’t a scientifically designed book - he was focused on the quality of the paper, and the feeling he got from the juxtaposition of image and color and type…I have a similar approach to the programs we create. Of course, there’s a science to it, but I rely more on my crew to know the smallest details of production, and I focus more on the overall feeling that I’m looking for when I watch/hear the video, or listen to the podcast.
2. In terms of promotion, especially when you’re an independent creator, create something of value, share it with people, and you’ll be able to build on those relationships and use free or almost free media to allow people to share your work with others, and to get the word out to your own widening circle. Lather, rinse, repeat. That’s how I intend to launch Ladytalk, and I’m very, very much looking forward to having the basic infrastructure in place so we can get to the sharing stage.
3. In the world of business presentations in Japan, there’s muttering that “Well, Japanese people can’t express themselves well, or do good business presentations.” But, Garr made a point that I have long felt, which is that, with a tradition of comedy (e.g. rakugo and manzai) that is smart, funny, deep and thoughtful, there is no doubt that Japanese businesspeople could be fantastic presenters. It just seems that few of them draw on that great vein of expressive tradition in their presentations at the office. I wonder if it’s the sense that ‘it isn’t done’. Maybe it should be!
Altogether a great event. I did take Garr’s advice and order the book from Amazon, as it’ll be much less expensive than the Japanese bookstores.
And a shout out to brave student, Tomo, who came in by chance and, I think, left with lots of food for thought…
Okay, speaking of presentations, I’m getting prepped for one. Wish me luck!
Tags: Apple Store Ginza, Comedy, Events, Garr Reynolds, manzai, Presentation Zen, rakugo
