Number 6 of 52 Compelling Communicators - Jesse Desjardins
February 11, 2013
I came across Jesse Desjardins a couple of years ago on Slideshare, an online community where people share their PowerPoint presentations. He was generating a big following for his unique productions and had a knack for synthesizing hot topics. His PPT’s were so compelling I sought him out and hired him to help make my presentations more powerful. Have a look at his work on the links below and I will give you my take on why his shows resonate.
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| Click here to view full presentation |
He intrigues you with a big name celebrity then tells a story packed with quick stats that support his 10 points. Snappy, edgy quotes married up with striking visuals create a story that is easily digestible. He takes the key elements of what Lady Gaga represents and repackages it to showcase his communications abilities.
Connecting with someone who already has a huge audience immediately builds a bridge to their
fans. Akin to a positive testimonial
from a friend, you are warmed up to like the person if your pal says they are
great.
While I was impressed with his work, it was this next presentation that put me on a mission to find this compelling communicator and learn his techniques.
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| Click here to view full presentation |
I had just been to this movie and thought I had captured some cool lessons to use in presentation training workshops. Then, I saw what Jesse did with the show and was humbled. How did this guy pull together such a brilliant synopsis and how could I learn how to do the same? Through some discussion and prodding from me, he agreed to a few tutorials over Skype. Jesse did not see himself as a teacher so the onus was on me to pry out of him the essence of his communication brilliance.
Here are some of the
things I learned from Jesse:
1.
Take notes
anywhere – Jesse made notes in the movie theatre. I often notice things that
inspire me but don’t write down the idea at the time, then the
thoughts disappear. Now I use
Dragon Dictation or Notes on my iPhone to capture ideas before they evaporate. Good communications lessons happen in the
most bizarre places. I picked up a few
at a funeral service a few months back that I will share in a future post.
2.
Quasi-Plagiarism
is okay today. Jesse said he would
search around online for opinions about The King's Speech then repackage them
for his show. At first, I was aghast at the thought of taking other people’s
ideas. Then, I realized we have been
forming our opinions this way all along. I read newspapers, ask questions of friends and review all sorts of
online sources to shape my perspectives. Go ahead, steal concepts but make the
final words and ideas your own.
3.
He clearly
understands his medium. PowerPoints on Slideshare need to stand on their own. There is no verbal narrative so the pictures and words need to work sans a
presenter. Some live presentations unintentionally embody this concept – people put all the copy on the slides,
then read each word. Do we need a real
person standing there when we could read it ourselves? Think through your mode of communication –
just as you would not use a bicycle to cross the ocean, you should not present
dense, dry copy when trying to inspire an audience.
4.
Use your tools
wisely. Jesse taught my coordinator and
me tons of ways to use the instruments of PPT’s technical bits and bops. That
did not immediately make us creative geniuses. We recognized we still needed a
graphic expert to set us up with templates that depicted our style. Just
because you know how to drive a car, does not mean you should design one. Too
many people create cheesy PPT’s because they learned how to use
“dissolve” or can Photoshop family snaps. Just because you can does not mean
you should. Learn what is possible then get help in the areas outside of your
expertise.
Being compelling when you
are not physically in front of someone takes a mind focused totally on the
audience and the vehicle being used. Don’t use the same approach for every
communication tool. Documents on slides
bore everyone and much as textbooks without pictures.
Jesse was so compelling
via SlideShare that he raised money to pay for a trip to an out of town
conference and the attendance fee. He offered sponsorship of his slideshows
about the conference. Brilliant. He also raised his profile substantially and I
believe that helped him land his great job.
Jesse is now head of social media for Tourism Australia. He said he does not do PPT's for SlideShare anymore - just live presentations.
Jesse is now head of social media for Tourism Australia. He said he does not do PPT's for SlideShare anymore - just live presentations.
Proof positive that
working hard on your communications pays off.
Put another shrimp on the
barbie, Jessedee! Follow Jesse on Twitter.
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| Check out Tourism Australia's Facebook Page |
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