How a viral dance video can improve your presentations

Normally I would never post a viral dancing video on LinkedIn, that’s for Facebook. But watching this video I realized that it’s much more than dancing. It’s a presentation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Hb4eidDB4

Everyone loves to watch people dance, but I saw something else in this video. I saw a guy dancing to Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars with pure joy like no one was watching. There’s an implied confidence when you do something you want to do without concern for the thoughts of others.

If you notice, lots of people around him pay attention. There are lots of cameras taping him. Sure, he is a good dancer, but it was more than his talent that caught everyone’s attention. He plays off the people who walk past him. He plays with his dancing. It wasn’t a bunch of memorized moves that he struggled to put in the right order. It is dancing improv which came from confidence in what he was doing. He didn’t have to memorize a routine.

So it was like a great presentation.

A great pitch or presentation feels effortless. It should never look like you had to memorize a bunch of facts or moves. People remember stories and how you make them feel before they will remember any specific fact.

A great presentation is entertaining. How many times have you seen a presentation where someone simply read the text that was projected onto a screen? Did you enjoy it? Do you remember anything of substance from it? Probably not.

His dance is entertaining. We pay attention. We may remember certain moves, like when he paused with the music and then jumped back into his moves. We may remember laughing because his smile was infectious and he had humor in him moves.

What happens after a great presentation? People remember you. They want to be associated with you. They want to hire you.

Years ago I pitched a movie at Fox. It was a complex but true story of a family man who had to go undercover to rescue his nephew. But I knew the story. I knew it inside and out. I didn’t have to worry about when to say what word. I pitched the story differently every time I told it. I even teared up when I got to an emotional part of the story.

When I described a big action scene I jumped up and acted out part of it. I even jumped on the furniture in the guy’s office. I was sweating by the time I was done. But my energy was infectious. Fox offered me a contract for the story.

My agent was actually in the room for my pitch because he had never seen me pitch before. The exec looked at my agent and said, “That was the best pitch I’ve ever heard.” He remembered me and how I made him feel, even if he forgot some of the details of the story.

So when you make a presentation, think about this dance routine. Present like no one’s watching and know your subject so well that you’ll never worry about what to say or how to say it.

Make a statement and be memorable. And dance.

#viraldance #pitch #viralvideo #dance #uptownfunk

Mark Simon is the founder of Animatics & Storyboards, Inc. and co-founder of www.SellYourTvConceptNow.com, where he helps people to pitch their projects. Check out his LinkedIn course on storyboarding at www.lynda.com/MarkSimon. (he also uses storyboards in his pitches)