Sometimes, the right prop can make the difference between an average speech and one that is memorable for the audience and truly enjoyable for the speaker. A prop doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate, though it can be, but it does have to relate closely to the topic of the presentation and should help the speaker emphasize a key point of the talk.

In 1995, I gave a talk at an Apple Newton (Personal Digital Assistant) Developers media event in Cupertino, California. The theme was “The Apple Newton and Integration with Vertical Applications.” My company manufactured bar code scanners and magnetic stripe readers for the Newton. I had given a so-so talk at a similar conference the previous year and I wanted to redeem myself this time around.

I decided to liven up my talk by showing a Newton “integrated” with an electric guitar to emphasize the unlimited possibilities the product had. I already had an electric guitar that I had bought at a flea market for $35, and since I could only play Louie Louie on it, and not very well at that, I decided to make the supreme sacrifice. I took the guitar to my dad’s shop and milled out a slot for the Newton, added a rubber whip antenna (“wireless”), a slot for a memory card (so I could talk about the Newton’s connectivity, compatibility and overall suitability as an integration platform) and a voltmeter (just because it looked impressive).

I showed up at the event with my Newton Guitar hidden in a black trash bag so I wouldn’t reveal the bit too early. As I waited for the speakers ahead of me, I sat next to a very well dressed young woman from one of the major consulting companies, thinking to myself, “she’s going to kick my a** up there.” I had no prepared remarks, just the guitar, one of our bar code scanners in shrink-wrapped packaging, and a general idea of what I was going to say.

Without meaning to, one of the speakers who preceded me gave me the perfect introduction to my talk when he demonstrated his company’s musical notation software. When it was my turn to speak, I walked to the podium, and before revealing the guitar, introduced myself and said, “I’d like to apologize to the previous speaker. We not only foresaw the development of musical notation software but we’ve really moved beyond that…” at which point I withdrew the guitar and held it in front of me in traditional rock star style.

The guitar drew sustained laughter and a few flashes went off as people took photographs. I launched into an explanation (totally fabricated of course) of how we had integrated the Newton with an electric guitar and wireless capability to enable “virtual jam sessions” in cyberspace. I pointed out the memory card slot and explained that we were offering as accessories “Personality Modules” such that the user could simply slip in a Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton or Ernie Isley card and instantly play in the style of their favorite guitar legend.

The elapsed time of my presentation to this point was perhaps three minutes but it was the most fun I’ve ever had on stage. I was so exhilarated by the reception the guitar joke received that I segued casually into my “real” talk about our company and products and how the Apple Newton was perfect for applications like inventory control, library bookmobiles, law enforcement, body shop estimating, etc. I closed by saying I’d like everyone to think about how they could integrate bar code scanning into their applications and suggested they could get started right away, at which point I threw the shrink-wrapped product ($399 retail) into the audience. I invited everyone to come by my company’s booth on the exhibit floor. Many came by later to find out about our products but others came by to have their pictures taken with the guitar!

The best part of my talk was when I returned to my seat, and sat down next to the young woman I had wondered about previously. She turned to me and said, “boy, I’m sure glad I don’t have to follow you.”

So that’s my entrepreneur’s bargain basement prop story. At the other end of the spectrum is a story that involves a keynote given by Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, at the company’s 2003 SunNetwork Conference in Berlin. I was Scott’s speechwriter at the time and a member of the team working on his keynote.

Scott’s father was an executive at American Motors and Scott grew up near Detroit, Michigan. Scott loves to use automotive metaphors in his keynotes, suggesting for example, that you wouldn’t buy turn signal software from one company, an engine from another and a transmission from a third, and then try to make them all work together; yet that’s what many CIOs do when they buy software and hardware from multiple vendors and try to integrate it themselves. Hence, we were always looking for automotive “bits” for his keynotes.

Someone came up with the idea of having Scott drive on stage in a Mercedes to highlight the fact that Mercedes was a Sun customer, but we couldn’t arrange it. The suggestion that stuck was to have Scott arrive on stage in a “Smart Car,” which is a tiny, gas-efficient car rarely seen in the U.S. but exceedingly popular in Europe due to high fuel costs, and a lack of parking in urban areas.

Scott made his entrance to the event by “driving” the Smart Car onto the stage. The movement of the car rolling across the stage and its bright color scheme easily caught the attention of a crowd more accustomed to speakers strolling onto stage under their own power wearing wingtips and business suits.

The Smart Car was the perfect “hook,” allowing Scott to talk about vehicles (and computer systems) specifically built by experts for a single purpose, and the customer benefits of their precise suitability for that purpose. This was the set-up for Scott to talk about Sun’s strategy of building fully configured computer systems for specific purposes and releasing them on a regular “cadence,” which was similar to the strategy of automakers, who segment their markets, develop specific models for those markets and release them on a predictable model year schedule.

We had license plates made for the car that said NC03Q4, which is the naming convention Sun used for both its quarterly product launch events and the systems launched at these events. (NC03Q4 is Network Computer, 2003, 4th quarter). The car, covered with Sun Microsystems advertising, also drove around Berlin before the keynote, and was featured in a video, generating interest in the company and the event.

You can see pictures of the car on Sun’s web site at:

http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/presskits/networkcomputing03q4/photos/index3.html

These are just two examples of using props in speeches, one at the sub-$100 end of the spectrum and one at the “price undisclosed” end.  It doesn’t work for every speaker and every situation. You don’t want to overdo the reliance on props such that your speaker degenerates into a poor imitation of Carrot Top, but introducing a clever prop that is integrated into the storyline is a great way to help make an important point while interjecting some fun and excitement into a presentation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joel Postman is a Director of Executive Communications at
Hewlett-Packard, where he manages a team of speechwriters supporting
senior executives responsible for the company’s enterprise and
commercial business, an organization of 90,000 employees responsible
for over $30B in annual revenue.

Prior to joining Hewlett-Packard, he served for four years as senior
speechwriter to Scott McNealy, chairman and CEO of Sun Microsystems.
Joel lives in Boulder Creek, California, with his wife and two
children.  joel@hydeparkassociates.com