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Lessons from a Stunning Three-Minute Stop Motion Film

Olympus Camera

I recently rediscovered this brilliant—and it is brilliant—three-minute stop motion film commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Olympus PEN camera. I first came across it in 2009, the year in which it was released.

According to the people who made this creative work, they took 60,000 photographs, developed 9,600 prints and reshot 1,800 photos. And there was no post production! If you haven’t seen it yet, you are in for a treat.

As I watched it again, it occurred to me that the film contains a number of useful lessons that we should keep in mind when it comes to public speaking and presentations.

  • The success of your presentation is almost always directly correlated to the amount of your preparation. I can’t even begin to imagine how much work went into this project, but it was a lot longer than the three-minute final product.
  • Images are powerful. (But don’t worry, nobody is expecting you to take 60,000 photographs!)
  • Look for ways to present information in a creative manner. Creativity is appreciated.
  • No matter what your presentation or speech is about, you need to connect with your audiences on an emotional level.
  • A good speech or presentation is circular, in that it ends where it began. In the stop motion film, the story begins with the boy leaving the school after a class photo; it ends with him returning to the same school as a man, many years later, for a class reunion photo.
  • Have a message. And on that note, let’s end this post with the message contained in the lyrics to the song in the film:

Be just who you want to be, my friend,
You just got to trust in faith.
Do the things you want to do ’cause life don’t wait.
Take it easy, keep your head up high,
No need for sorrow and despair,
Just keep on moving, it’s such a wondrous world out there.

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  4. I just found your blog John thru LinkedIn … wonderful stuff. Thanks for sharing.
    I would add that good presentations many times are made better by looking at the topic from a slightly different point of view or perspective. Sort of a mash-up of two seemingly unrelated topics along with everything else you mentioned.

    Reply

    1. Thanks very much for the comment, Daniel. Glad to you enjoy the blog and hope you come back. Looking at a subject from a unique point of view is a great way to make the message memorable. It reminds me of one of the indicia of a sticky message as per Chip and Dan Heath in Made to Stick … Be unexpected.
      Cheers!
      John

      Reply

  5. Haven’t talked in awhile, John. Just wanted to say that, for some reason, this wonderful little film that you alerted me to made me incredibly sad. I think that certainly supports the idea of the importance of both image and story. Thanks for sharing this.

    Reply

  7. And I feel the exact opposite of Maciej. I’m having a very tough day, and this has made me feel happier and more optimistic. Great example of how something can impact people in different ways. I wonder if it is generational – as I would have been alive before the first Olympus Pen was introduced.

    Thanks for sharing – and for making the connection to our own presentations.

    Reply

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Testimonials

John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

Karsta Goetze

TA Leader, Gore and Associates

I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

Andy Yen

CEO, Proton Technologies

John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

David Lindelöf

Senior Data Scientist, Expedia Group

After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

Umberto de Pretto

Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

Sara Canna

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

Thomas Scott

National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

Jon Lopez

General Manager Europe, Hayward Industries

Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

Henning Dehler

CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

Eric Thuillard

Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

Guadalupe Garcia

Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International