Creating Presentations That Are Authentic and Immersive (Part 2)

If you had the choice to travel to a real castle or a replica of that castle, which would you choose? Most of us would want to see the real thing, right? Maybe not, according to one example. In his book, The Art of Immersion, Frank Rose tells the story of the Chateau d’Ussé. Rose says, “according to legend, it was as a guest at the chateau that Charles Perrault was inspired to write ‘Sleeping Beauty’.” Later, the French Castle was made famous in the 1959 Disney movie. And yet, as Rose writes, “some 16 million people per year tour Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle, where they view Disney dioramas of Perrault’s fairy tale. As for the Chateau d’Ussé, it’s one of the less popular attractions of the Loire, its fusty Sleeping Beauty waxworks notwithstanding.” Why do we pay to visit the replica rather than the authentic castle? Because of the immersive Disney experience.

In our last blog, we talked about how humans crave both authentic relationships and immersive experiences. And how great presentations need to involve elements of both. In part 1, we shared some tips for being an authentic presenter. Check those out here if you missed them. Today, in part 2, we’ll look at how to appeal to your audience’s desire to be immersed by discussing why we love immersion and how to accomplish it in a presentation.

Why We Want to Be Immersed

In recent days, you’ve probably seen things like The Van Gogh Experience or The Friends Experience or The Harry Potter Experience promoted online. It’s an effort to bring art, or a TV show, or a book series to life by letting fans get inside the story. It’s another way to become part of something we love. Which is why we love fiction anyway. It lets us walk in someone else’s shoes. Live another story. Imagine a reality beyond the confines of our own. Immersion externalizes our imagination. And it’s fun.

The main reason we love immersive experiences so much is that they appeal to more than one of our five senses—they let us experience something the same way we experience it in the real world. It’s important that we emulate this in our presentations. Carmine Gallo, Harvard instructor and public speaking expert says, “Study after study has found that people will remember information and recall it more accurately when more than one sense is stimulated.” Multi-sensory presentations get closer to the immersive experiences we love, but how can we accomplish those within the normal confines of a presentation?

How to Make Your Presentation More Immersive

Normally, immersive experiences like the ones mentioned above involve reconfiguring a physical space. As presenters, we don’t have that option. But that doesn’t mean we can’t appeal to our audiences’ need for immersion.

1. Use screens thoughtfully. What can you show on the screen that will transport your audience members? A chart won’t do it. Neither will a screen with lots of text. Instead, make use of dynamic video to take your listeners inside your presentation. Check out our tips for creating a more cinematic presentation here.

2. Use audio clips. Julian Treasure does this well in his TED talks. For example, when’s talking about a noisy restaurant, he plays the soundtrack of one. Think of how to create a soundscape in your presentation. Here are some more tips for adding music to your presentation.

3. Involve the audience and get them out of their seats. Find ways to shake up the norm for presentations. Have a volunteer come up front to help you illustrate a point, ask questions , break out into small groups for discussion, create “stations” the members can visit during break, use QR codes to help them access other layers of the experience. Anything that gets them moving around or engaging deeper with your content interrupts the seated presentation norm and can help make the audience feel more involved.

4. Use stories. All of the best immersive experiences start from a story. We believe the best presentations start from one question: what is the story I want to tell? When you tell a story, you take your listener on a journey—an immersive one. As our CEO, Scott Schwertly says, ”Think of the mediums with which we engage our distraction-addled attention spans every day: movies, books, television shows, music and more. Those mediums engage us so completely because they involve stories. We become emotionally invested in and connected to those worlds of fantasy, and as a result we are steadfastly engaged with them.”

Engaging the Audience with Both Authenticity and Immersion

So in sum, the best presentations offer the audience two things. First, an authentic relationship with a speaker they can trust. And second, an immersive experience with which they can fully engage. The first element of the equation is going to be more about what you say and how you say it. The second element, the immersion factor, is going to be more about what you show and do—the overall aesthetic feel of your presentation.

At Ethos3, we can help you accomplish both authenticity and immersion. Ready to learn more?

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