“If people did not do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever be done.”
– Ludwig Wittgenstein
An engineer from the nuclear industry teaches how to sew a button. A senior product marketing manager demonstrates how to make ginger cookies. And a manager at a national flooring company teaches you about integrity and magic. What’s up?
Participants in Rapid Knowledge Transfer: Teach us Something in 7 minutes were all invited.
A dynamic team program that I created based on the delivery of interactive presentations. This method has been my preferred method of leading teams, with presenters working in pairs or individually. It has been my favourite for over a decade. Let me now share with you four of the seven benefits that shorter presentations can bring.
1. Fear Reduced Fast
Public speaking is our biggest fear. The restless mind can find refuge in a short presentation that has a hard start and end time to counteract performance anxiety. Even a short presentation can become too complicated. You can always fall back to the “Oh well, it’ll be over soon!” mentality.
“The 7-minute constraint required a surprising level of efficiency and forced me to rethink how I present my thoughts daily.” TUS7M participant
2. Rapid Rapport
Effective presentation planning is a given. However, communication is most effective when it’s immediate, responsive, and improvisational. Connect! You are the message. Your audience should be able to connect with you, even if it is only a short presentation.
Even if you only have a few minutes to create meaning, it is essential. Design the presentation with a bias towards offering an experience for the user/listener/audience rather than using it as a forum to display the presenters’ knowledge about the subject.
“I expected to be mildly entertained while learning a lot from the audience sitting in the darkened auditorium on Saturday night for Teach Us Something in 7 Minutes. At 9:30 pm, the program was over, and I felt energized and ready for “Head, Shoulders.”
“Knees and toes” in French. I sew buttons, dance salsa, and banish my fear of public speaking. I was inspired by the dynamic presenters and wanted to continue learning.
TUS7M Audience member
“I learned to take risks and try something new. Although I try to control every aspect of a presentation and plan well for the best results in production, sometimes spontaneity and improvisation can produce the best results. TUS7M participant participant
3. Even brief presentations can have an objective
Your presentation should have a clear purpose. This is your guide for the presentation’s design and delivery. It will help you stay on track.
You can have concrete intentions (How to set up a successful lemonade stand or salsa dance), or you can be more experiential (The Power of a Minute). The latter showed how to quickly turn $2 into $20 and also highlighted the importance of integrity.
This was an efficient lesson in how to deliver a message in a short time. It takes creativity and confidence to understand and master the many elements that go into creating a memorable experience for an audience. These are two qualities that are difficult to acquire by simply watching from the sidelines. We had to get on board with the project and face all our insecurity and challenges head-on. TUS7M Participant
4. Different Presentations, Same Constraints, Authentic Voice In Business
Then, start by giving the same guidelines and encourage customization based on each individual’s strengths. Different presentations will show the diversity, individuality and variety within a group. It is easier for an audience to connect with a display that reflects their authentic style.
“The TUS7M project had a lot of fun and was educational. Because we were limited in time, it forced us to communicate clearly. This project was the one that made our MBA cohort a group. Amazing to see the differences in our projects, even though we were all given the exact instructions. It was a great experience, and I would do it all over again. TUS7M Participant
“The number one lesson I have learned about design and delivery [of a brief presentation] was to be accurate and authentic to myself and the person with whom I was working. This made the whole project exciting and fun. It was a great project that made us feel so passionate and confident. TUS7M Participant
5. Concise Presentations Increase Confidence
Individual learning can be accelerated by good teamwork.
People are on the same page and participate in the same process of constraint. Repeated action increases confidence. Everyone self-corrects when they practice, and this creates trust.
“The number one lesson I have learned about design and delivery [of a brief presentation] was to be accurate and authentic to myself and the person with whom I was working. This made the whole project exciting and fun. It was a great project that made us feel so passionate and confident. TUS7M Participant
6. Smart preparation is required for humble time frames
Practice, practice, run-throughs, and give feedback before you present.
One RKT couple lived in New York, the other in California. They relied on virtual communication. Their first idea was to show how to make and bake bread replicas of the Guggenheim Museum in just 7 minutes! They quickly realized that this idea was feasible after a test run in their respective kitchens.
Looking back, it is clear that our mutual desire for the best for each other and to keep our relationship free from conflict led us to lose our passion for certain ideas. We were able to reach our final (successful!) idea faster by accepting more creative tension rather than suppressing it. TUS7M participant
7. Velocity Values are Paring Down
Edit! Communicating clearly and concisely in a short presentation is crucial. Demonstrate that you can only do enough. Your hierarchy of information can be used to choose the most critical points.
Presenters who give short presentations are challenged to not complicate the message. Instead of trying to convey too much information in your production, focus on showing and not telling. This will make it easier for your audience engages with you.
“This highlighted for me why teaching and communication require a certain level of mastery to make the subject easy again.” TUS7M Participant
Linda Yaven is the leader of Rapid Knowledge Transfer Programs. She designs and delivers interactive presentations that are quick and engaging using this fun and engaging model.
Are you looking for an innovative alternative to traditional conference panels? Linda Yaven’s innovative Rapid Knowledge Transfer “Teach Us Something In 7 Minutes” program will help to facilitate knowledge exchange between conference participants and panellists. Inspire authentic engagement that improves the quality of audience take-home. Linda is an Associate Professor in Design Strategy MBA Califonia College of Art San Francisco.
