Who Is That Guy?
Bastian’s Blog
April 6, 2007
Who Is That Guy?
Imagine you’re at a typical company meeting.
There’s a uplifting opening video … a welcome by the head of Communications … an address from the Vice President of Sales and Marketing … maybe an update about the United Way campaign by the Human Resources guy … perhaps a couple of awards … an outside speaker … and finally an uplifting address by the President and CEO. Then, if you’re lucky, a catered lunch.
Wait a second. Back up … back way, way up. An outside speaker?
Who is that guy?
Why would you violate the sanctity of your company meeting with an outside speaker? What could an outsider possibly add to your event?
Well, if you pick the right speaker, the answer is: Quite a bit. (Of course, the secret is to pick the right speaker, but I’m making the assumption you’ve done that.)
Bringing an external perspective to your decidedly internal event can provide your audience with another outlook on their world and their place in it. It can validate your current culture and give you a rare glimpse into other corporate cultures that you might not otherwise experience.
It can also shake things up a bit by getting your audience to question the way they do things and the “why” they do things as well.
You want examples? Sure, I’ve got examples.
Joe Calloway, a business speaker with credentials as long as your arm, has served in that role with Deluxe Financial Services at their events for a couple of years now. He brings them his outsider view of their industry, providing examples from other businesses he’s worked with … and then he’s helped Deluxe on internal issues and programs, which also benefited from his outsider perspective.
Dr. Terry Paulson, a psychologist and professional speaker, recently helped Boston Scientific at a series of product launches. He spent some of his time on stage interviewing customers about the new product … and then later motivated the sales force with a custom presentation on change in their industry and how to deal with it. In that speech, Dr. Paulson included examples from their meeting along with other business stories from his own experience, to create a custom presentation that spoke directly to the audience’s current issues.
The best outside speakers (the Joe Calloways and Terry Paulsons of the world) can be a fly on the wall at your event, assimilate your culture, listen to your speakers, and then provide your audience with a true outsider perspective on business and market issues.
And, as outsiders, these speakers can be used to ask (and answer) the hard questions that your executives may want to avoid, and do so with the gravitas of someone from the outside with no agenda to pursue or axe to grind.
Plus, when they’re really good, these speakers often move from being “outsiders” to becoming accepted and trusted “insiders” who can continue to offer their unique external perspective on your internal issues.
So, to return to our primary question: Who is that guy? The answer is (if you pick the right speaker), he’s the guy who can make a huge, positive impact on your next event.
Telling Stories
Bastian’s Blog
April 3, 2007
Telling Stories
Is it just me, or is there a storytelling renaissance going on today?
We see it more and more in the corporate world – a concerted attempt to fortify/strengthen/communicate a company’s culture by telling stories that reinforce what the company is all about.
Now, obviously, storytelling is nothing new. Since the days when we made hand shadows in front of the fire in our caves, mankind has always depended on the power of a story to move people to tears, action, or self-reflection.
Storytelling is still a big part of our lives; the methods may have changed a bit, but the basic concept is still intact. What is YouTube but a story around a fire … however, in this case, the fire is the Internet and the audience is in the millions.
Yes, it feels like we’re returning to stories en masse … and that return is reflected most powerfully in our popular culture. We’re seeking out stories that are longer and more complex. Why are millions tuning into Lost or Heroes or Desperate Housewives? Why do they turn out in droves for multi-part movies, like The Lord of the Rings? What is it about Harry Potter that has turned millions of kids into reading junkies?
The answer is: Compelling stories.
The better the story (more involving, more interesting, more memorable), the more likely your audience is to take action. To learn. To remember.
It’s an idea we all understand but often forget when it comes time to make our next training video or product intro video or CEO message video: What story are we telling and what can we do to make it more compelling? How can we emulate the best stories, by involving our audience, surprising them, and providing them with a satisfying conclusion to the story we’re telling?
The best corporate videos do that and that’s what makes them the best corporate videos.
So when you think about your next video, check to make sure that you’ve included a healthy heaping of the elements of a great story (humor, empathy, surprise, suspense, resolution) and remember that as sophisticated as we may think we are, we’re still basically sitting around a fire, waiting to be enthralled. Be sure your video has a story that will grab your audience and hold them tight until the words “The End” appear on the screen.
