Consulting Journal: Techniques - Presenting as acting

Techniques: Presenting as acting

by David Blakey

Some acting techniques can be useful when planning a presentation.

[Monday 26 April 2004]

When they are preparing to give a presentation, consultants can learn a lot from actors. Here is an technique used by actors that you may find useful.

Here is a section from a play.

CONSTANCE. I hate to think that I've made you unhappy.
BERNARD. But you haven't. I've had a very good time: I've enjoyed my work; I've made a bit of money and I've had a lot of fun. I don't blame you for having married John instead of me.

An actor preparing to play Bernard will read through the part looking for beats. A beat is when the subject or the mood changes. In his script, an actor playing Bernard could mark the end of a beat with ] and the start of a beat with [. These do not have to be paired. A beat can start before the speech and it may end after it.

The actor might mark the part as follows.

CONSTANCE. I hate to think that I've made you unhappy.
BERNARD. But you haven't.][I've had a very good time: I've enjoyed my work; I've made a bit of money and I've had a lot of fun.][I don't blame you for having married John instead of me.

Now the actor - and director - can work on Bernard's movements. If Bernard was sitting next to Constance when she said I hate to think that I've made you unhappy, he can rise when he says But you haven't.. He can walk away from her as he says I've had a very good time: I've enjoyed my work; I've made a bit of money and I've had a lot of fun. and he can turn and then move back towards her as he says I don't blame you for having married John instead of me. Each change of beat has a change of movement. The actor might also put in a pause and might change the tone of his voice.

If you imagine these changes on stage, you can see that the actor can communicate:

the possibility that Constance may have made him unhappy (but you don't really know),
the fact that he has had a good time, and
the assertion that he doesn't blame her.

Three different beats.

Transfer this thinking to a presentation.

You can see that business continuity management and disaster recovery planning can fit together and engage each other. Low impact risks, such as a power failure, should be taken care of by BCM, and it is only when the scale of the impact becomes disastrous, such as destruction of manufacturing plant, that the BCM invokes the DRP. Note that the two work in parallel. The BCM keeps distribution, orders and sales going while the DRP acquires manufacturing plant.

I can see changes of beat within this paragraph.

You can see that business continuity management and disaster recovery planning can fit together and engage each other. Low impact risks, such as a power failure, should be taken care of by BCM,][and it is only when the scale of the impact becomes disastrous, such as destruction of manufacturing plant, that the BCM invokes the DRP.][Note that the two work in parallel. The BCM keeps distribution, orders and sales going while the DRP acquires manufacturing plant.

The speaker will talk about

normal operations, under BCM,
a disaster, causing BCM to invoke the DRP, and
how BCM and the DRP work together.

Like an actor, the presenter can plan movement, pauses and changes of tone. For the first beat, she can walk to the side of the screen; for the second, she can turn and point; and, for the third, she can pause and then speak while walking away from the screen towards the audience.

The key is to identify the beats first and then plan how you will give each one the particular emphasis that it needs.

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