Presentation Zen [18]
Busyness kills creativity. Busyness leads to the creation and display of a lot of PowerPoint decks that substitute for engaging, informative, or provocative meetings or seminars or keynote speeches where actual conversations could and should be taking place. But people feel rushed, even frantic. So they slap together some slides from past presentations and head to their presentation. Communication suffers… the audience suffers. Yes, we’re all insanely busy, but this is just all the more reason why we owe it to ourselves and to our audience not to waste their time with perfunctory “slideshows from hell.” To do something better takes a different mindset, and it takes time and space away from “busyness.”
When you think about it, the really great creatives—designers, musicians, even entrepreneurs, programmers, etc.—are the ones who see things differently and who have unique insights, perspectives, and questions. (Answers are important, but first come questions.) This special insight and knowledge, as well as plain ol’ gut feel and intuition, can only come about for many of us when slowing down, stopping, and seeing all sides of our particular issue. It does not matter if you are a scientist, engineer, medical doctor, or businessperson, when you prepare a presentation you are “a creative,” and you need time away from the computer and dealing with digital outlines and slides. And whenever possible, you also need time alone.
One reason why many presentations are so ineffective is that people today just do not take—or do not have—enough time to step back and really assess what is important and what is not. They often fail to bring anything unique, creative, or new to the presentation, not because they are not smart or creative beings, but because they did not have the time alone to slow down and contemplate the problem. Seeing the big picture and finding your core message may take some time alone “off the grid.” There are many ways to find solitude, and you don’t even have to be alone. I find a very pleasant form of solitude, for example, at “my Starbucks” down the street from my apartment in central Osaka, where the friendly staff know me by name. It’s a bustling café, but also cozy and relaxing with loads of overstuffed sofas and chairs and jazz playing softly in the background. And I am left alone.
I’m not suggesting that more time alone is a panacea for a lack of ideas or that it necessarily leads to more creativity or better solutions, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised if you can create more time every day, every week, month, and year to experience solitude. For me at least, solitude helps achieve greater focus and clarity, while also allowing me to see the big picture. Clarity and the big picture are the fundamental elements that are missing from most presentations.
I don’t want to overly romanticize solitude. Too much “alonetime” obviously can be a bad thing as well, yet in today’s busy world, too much solitude is a problem faced by few of us. For most professionals, finding some time alone can be a great struggle indeed.
The Need for Solitude
Many believe that solitude is a basic human need, and to deny it is unhealthy for both mind and body. Dr. Ester Buchholz, a psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist who passed away in 2004 at the age of 71, did quite a bit of research on solitude during her career, what she called “alonetime.” Dr. Buchholz thought that society undervalued solitude and alone time and overvalued attachment. Dr. Buchholz thought that periods of solitude were important if we were to tap our creative potential. “Life’s creative solutions