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8 learnings from the school of rock and pop
30/10/2013
Are your presentation skills up to scratch? We seem to be doing a whole lot more training on the topic these days. For training companies it’s one of those programs that is dependent on a great facilitator and presentation expert. We recently conducted a program with a little twist focused on how entertainers & media experts (TV / Film etc) present their skills – from the informative to the exciting to the passionate to the incredibly engaging.We then moved on from this to Music. Specifically Rock and Pop bands in terms of how they prepare and deliver their live concerts. They have to present themselves, engage, entertain, and leave their audience rapt, even euphoric.What we should understand is that our presentation skills in real life and workplace should also engage and enthrall our audience. Let’s see what we can learn from a couple of concerts…Let’s take this year’s Singapore GP – a mixed bag by all accounts. Big Bang, The Killers, Rihanna and Justin Bieber took the stage respectively from Friday up till Monday. The harshest criticism targeted Rihanna who was said to be a little worse for wear, lip-syncing, and really not at all bothered about her audience. Some of the chatter on the social media was brutal:“She doesn’t care”“I paid for this????”“I’ll never buy another track”“I left after 4 songs – what a waste of time and money – real anti-climax”.Fierce stuff. It not only taints her as an artist but the overall event itself.Now compare that with another band that had played at the Singapore GP from 2012. On a small stage at the Esplanade, a pair of twins from Scotland, (The Proclaimers) belted out a string of thick Scottish accented pop-folk rock songs. The audience came from all over the world, including many who had not even seen them before. Look at the comments that were doing rounds on the social forums:“wow – fantastic – never heard of them before and they were just amazing”“they were very funny in between songs and got the whole audience involved. Lots of fun – and foot stompingly good toonz!”“…by the end everyone was on their feet dancing, clapping and smiling. I’d never heard of these guys before and didn’t know what to expect – they got me in song 1."“They even seemed to be really enjoying it and were joking and talking with the crowd. I didn’t know their songs but was singing along by the end anyway!”“Entertaining, brilliant musicians; loved it!”“I simply couldn’t leave. Absolutely brilliant.”What can we learn from this as presenters in any situation?1) care about your audience and show it - no matter how high profile you might be2) know your stuff3) put your heart and soul into it4) involve and engage your audience - be brilliant5) use appropriate humour6) you can enjoy it too7) leave a strong impression (leave them wanting more!)8) think about your encore and follow upWhat concerts (pop, classical, rock etc) have you attended? What were some pointers you can share about the art of presenting that we could use in the workplace?Feel free to share with us on this forum.
