My niece just turned one. And there’s nothing like experiencing the holidays through a child’s eyes. Even in 2020. Watching her eyes widen at the sight of outdoor lights and indoor decorations has brought us all lots of cheer even in the dreariest of years. Which reminds me that one of the most powerful and overlooked human emotions is the sense of wonder.
This holiday season I’ve been reading a book written by a painter. You read that right. Scott Erickson is a painter who is using his gifts of artistry to refresh our sense of wonder during the holidays. It made me realize how much we need wonder not just during the holidays, but all year long.
If you give presentations from time to time, you’ve probably thought about developing your content, creating an attractive slide deck, or elevating your delivery style. But have you thought about infusing your presentation with wonder? I’ll be honest. I haven’t. And yet this one little word could be what our audiences are longing for and what our presentations are missing.
What is wonder?
Psychology Today defines it like this: “Wonder is a complex emotion involving elements of surprise, curiosity, contemplation, and joy. It is perhaps best defined as a heightened state of consciousness and emotion brought about by something singularly beautiful, rare, or unexpected.”
In his book, Erickson contrasts wonder with nostalgia. Nostalgia is feeling comfortable because something is familiar. It draws on past, positive experiences to give us a sense of peace and warmth. But opposite to nostalgia is wonder. Erikson says, “wonder is an interesting phenomenon, because it’s that moment when all of our narratives and stories about life disappear in the rapturous experience of actually being here.”
You see, as human beings, we use narrative to make sense of the world. We create stories where none exist all the time. Take for example the famous 1944 Heider and Simmel experiment. You can read about the fascinating study in this article from Scientific American. This study demonstrates how quick we are to form stories by categorizing experiences, ideas, and people into story form.
But Erickson says wonder occurs where stories are missing. Wonder occurs at the moment we encounter something novel or extraordinary. For an infant or toddler, it makes sense that an indoor tree with sparkling lights would inspire wonder. Because there is no category for that in their world experience yet. Erickson says, “Wonder is most accessible in new situations, because we don’t have a narrative about what’s happening.”
So how do we recapture those moments of wonder in our presentations?
While there are many ways to inspire wonder, you might try starting with these:
- Avoid cliches. If the audience has heard your content or structure before, it should be an intentional choice on your part to create nostalgia. If you aren’t creating nostalgia with familiar content, you are creating boredom.
- Appeal to surprise, curiosity, contemplation, and joy. Those are the emotions Psychology Today identified as the recipe for wonder. So make those goals for your presentation.
- Highlight what is new. Remember that it’s those moments and ideas that aren’t so easily categorized that bring about wonder. So find ways to break the molds with your presentation.
Erickson says that wonder occurs “when all of our narratives and stories about life disappear.” And I agree. But what if we look at it from another perspective? What if wonder is the very birthplace of narratives? What if when you infuse wonder into your presentation, you are helping to create new categories and stories?
Let the magic of the holiday season challenge you to create moments of wonder in your presentations. Moments that light up the eyes and hearts and minds of your audience members. Moments that make way for truly wonderful stories to begin.
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