MAKE IT LOOK EFFORTLESS 185
Make Video Your Best Friend
Nearly every year, I’m asked to work with CEOs who give major
presentations at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The
conference is usually scheduled for the first full week in January,
which means we’re rehearsing over the holidays, often while the
rest of the company’s employees are off. Regardless, CEOs will
show up for practice, because they know how important it is.
In one particular year, after several days of rehearsals, one
of my CEO clients took the stage in Vegas but had trouble
with the slides. The clicker had failed, and the slides were not
advancing. Most amateur speakers who don’t spend enough
time practicing would have frozen, calling even more atten-
tion to the problem. Not this guy. He was so well prepared that
he casually motioned to an assistant to advance the slides for
him (we rehearse contingency plans). He didn’t miss a step and
kept talking. It didn’t end there: something was wrong with the
computer; it had locked and would have to be rebooted for the
I once saw the executive of a major publicly traded company
give a keynote presentation to a large audience of customers,
press, and analysts. I later learned that the company had spent
upwards of $25,000 for professional designers to create slick,
animated slides. That figure did not account for the lighting,
audio, and venue. The most creative slides will fail to impress
your audience unless you practice your delivery; this guy
did not practice, and it showed. Since he had not practiced
coordinating his words to the animation, the slides were off,
and he lost his place numerous times. He stumbled through
most of the presentation and at one point threw up his hands
in exasperation! If you spend money and time on a presenta-
tion—and time is money—you owe it to yourself to practice,
practice, and practice some more!Flushing Away $25,000