In a current article in Forbes*, my colleague George Bradt
enjoins us to give up on presentations and have conversations instead.
My own epiphany on this subject came on a trip to Hamburg. I
had been expecting a one-to-one meeting to discuss innovation with the Unilever
marketing director there. Instead I was confronted by a phalanx of marketing,
innovation and R&D people.
‘Well, Roger, we are greatly looking forward to your
presentation,’ said Herr Marketing Director.
Presentation? What presentation? I didn’t have one.
‘Sorry,’ I responded. ‘But I think it would be much more useful if
we were to have a conversation.’
There was much puzzlement around the room. What kind of
presentation was a conversation?
It took a while to get going, but in the end it was richer
and more thought-provoking than any presentation, tapping into all their shared
knowledge and insight and enthusiasm. And mine too.
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