Practical techniques from a choreographer to improve your presentation skills in design.

Lee este artículo en Español➡ AQUÍ

I’m not sure when was the first time I presented a project in my life, do you?

I try to remember, and I think my first and best presentations were explaining to my mother all the detailed reasons why it was necessary for her to buy me the toy of my dreams, although they were not always successful many times 😅.

Last week, I remember being in a work presentation where one of my colleagues was very nervous.

While I listened attentively to her defending a brilliant proposal, with little confidence due to lack of time to develop it in depth, I wondered how I could come out of that situation successfully.

How could I improvise and “get myself out of trouble”?

In my career as a performer, I have dedicated many years to improvisation, not knowing what movement or word comes after another, and going on stage pretending that all the loose ends were tied beforehand, even though it wasn’t always the case.

For me, giving a presentation as a designer is like this.

Sometimes all the details are defined before starting, sometimes not, and sometimes, even when you think they are, someone asks you a question that throws you off.

You prepare something with an audience in mind that is not the one you encounter, in a bigger or smaller “stage,” with more or fewer people, and more or less formal. Or the classic scenario of someone looking at their phone while you give it your all. Managing that is also part of the “performance.”

There are always variables; you always have to be prepared to adapt and improvise.

One of the best tools I discovered to work on this was through the book “The Creative Habit” ,by choreographer Twyla Tharp, a book filled with gems.

In this book, Twyla explores the habit of creativity, gives advice and practical exercises on how to find creative solutions. She demystifies creativity as something exclusive to people who were born with this innate ability. She also explores the idea of having a creative DNA and how to structure artistic work through continuous practice.

In one of the chapters that struck me the most, called “spine,” she talks about having a “backbone” in your work. A core to which you can always return to give meaning to all the decisions you make.

Furthermore, she adds that everything “around” can be as closed or open as you want. In other words, you can improvise around your backbone, and it will always provide answers and validate your choices. Like a grandmother who always finds reasons to give you compliments and support your decisions.

“The spine is my little secret. It keeps me on message, but it is not the message itself” — Twyla Tharp

The creative habit book

I always thought that the backbone of my work was ideas or concepts I wanted to convey. However, over time, I realized that it doesn’t always have to be something tangible; it can be a feeling or intuition. And although it is important to have a clear idea of what you are going to talk about in a presentation, sometimes we don’t have the time we would like to finalize everything, and we have to adapt.

Something in dance that changed my life was the different approaches to a creation process that I learned by collaborating with various artists.

In my mind, the “goal” or the “main idea” I wanted to convey was always the starting point, and then it translated into movement. However, it was over time that I discovered that the process doesn’t always have to be that way.

Working with one of my favorite dramaturgs, I discovered starting from intuition and from the body, throwing yourself into it without really knowing what you are doing, and giving it meaning and coherence afterward.

She always told us in the creative sessions that, even though we didn’t yet know why we were doing it our body did. We just had to work on connecting the dots between parts and discovering our narrative instead of creating it.

In summary, we talked about two options:

1.Mind 2. Body/Intuition

2.Body 2. Mind/Intuition.

Here we can see an example of what would be mind first and then body.

Now imagine that you haven’t seen the creative process… most likely, you would imagine in your head what those movements mean, even if you have no idea where they came from.

And what if we take this as an example and use it as a technique to “train presenting”? In other words, take the result (the product or service) and work backwards to reach the narrative, but through improvisation and intuition.

Let me explain it better.

I know what I’m about to say may be controversial, but let me propose a game to you:

EXERCISE: Go to Dribbble and choose a random photo with three screens. Set a timer and record yourself giving a presentation about that product that you’ve never seen before in your life.

The idea is not to make up everything you’re going to say in a presentation from now on and not prepare anything, as that would obviously be counterproductive.

The goal of the exercise is, on one hand, to put yourself in a situation where you have to improvise without the pressure of your team being present. On the other hand, it’s to demonstrate to yourself that you know how to defend the indefensible and that you have the resources to do so. And finally, it’s about finding those “points of relation” to shape a story, even when you haven’t created it yourself.

Diez minutos, go! 💪

EXERCISE: Now do the same, but with the title of a Medium article that explains the main idea of the project without actually reading the article. In other words, improvise what that product and service could be, what functionalities it could have, what the business model and value proposition could be, and even how you could conclude your fictional presentation with impactful conclusions.

“If I can defend this, I can defend anything.”

Although this isn’t always true, these types of exercises reinforce your communication skills, and are a practice to improve your ability to handle situations on the fly.

Another famous improvisation game is the “yes, and furthermore” game, which is perfect for practicing in a group.

EXERCISE: Imagine the previous exercise I proposed, but now one person in the group starts the fictional presentation and at any moment, another colleague interrupts and says, “yes, and furthermore,” and continues explaining the proposal. You can also take the opportunity to start speaking when your colleague starts to get stuck or extend their “and…” 😅. It’s important to set a timer to practice being concise and getting straight to the point, quality over quantity.

Apart from all these practical games, another thing that helps me a lot before a presentation personally is paying close attention to my body.

There is a spanish saying that translates as “the body knows”, and i believe it holds a great truth. Your body breathes without you ordering it, your body tenses in a dangerous situation, your body is constantly communicating with you even if you’re not always listening.

When you’re about to present a project, it’s communicating with you, and many times it’s telling you that you’re afraid of failing, especially if it’s an important project for you.

Last week, I revisited a video from “In a Nutshell.” In a Nutshell is a YouTube channel that explains complex concepts in a very simple and accessible way. They mainly talk about science, philosophy, and human relationships (highly recommended).

In the video, they mentioned that one of the paradoxes of life is that when you want something a lot, it can be useful to convince yourself that you want it less than you actually do. Taking weight off situations helps us relax and unlock our abilities.

Here’s another suggestion.

The next time you’re going to present a project or an idea and you feel nervous or insecure, pay attention to your body twenty minutes before starting. What is it telling you? Now it’s your turn to respond. Respond with determination.

EXERCISE: Roll your shoulders back, bring your shoulder blades together, relax your eyelids, the corners of your mouth, and control your breathing. Breathe deeply and slowly. Force your machine to slow down. Exaggerate the slowness of all your body movements. As a result, the speed of your thoughts will also decrease, and you’ll have space to organize them with greater clarity and calmness.

Imagine you’re a cheetah lurking, prepared for action but from a crushing calmness.

Put it at your service. Your body is yours, and learning to work with it can become your value proposition.

Yes, it’s a choreography.

It’s a choreography that is sending you signals that you are confident, calm, and prepared for whatever needs to happen, and what needs to happen will be.

But what’s clear is that your improvisational skills in the face of possible problems are much more awakened when you’re in tune with your body language. This also sends signals to others that they can also be relaxed in that situation.

One of my favorite sayings is “everything in life can be practiced,” and natural talent is overrated. When you see someone relaxed and expressing themselves with ease, instead of thinking “it just comes naturally to them,” I suggest you think, “I wonder how many situations they’ve been able to practice to speak like that?”

I need more practice, game on! 🏋️