Presentation is Everything

That's what an ex of mine taught me. I'm the sort who has been content to just sort of get the content there. A birthday gift to a party. A crock-pot of chili to a pot-luck. Words down on a piece of paper.

But this particular ex was a fanatic about presentation. Gifts were wrapped just so - with attention to the ribbon, creased wrapping paper, and a thoughtful card. A pot luck dish was accompanied by garnish, a nice bowl, serving utensils, and a carefully lettered card with information for the vegetarian-spectrum folks as well as those with allergies or sensitivities. "Presentation is everything" - and indeed, the recipient of such largesse was often delighted at the attention, regardless of the actual value of the content.

While I remain somewhat challenged in that department, I've certainly learned a thing or two. A few years back, I did a poster session for a conference. I could have printed out my material on 8.5" x 11" pages and pinned them to the backdrop (as did most of the presenters). Or bought a piece of foam core and spray-mounted the content (pretty slick, but not quite there, and a hassle to ship to the west coast). As it was, I put the presentation together in PowerPoint. I used custom dimensions, and set them to be huge, 3' x 4'. Then I walked the file down to Kinko's on a CD (I'd use a USB drive today) and had them print it out. Roll it up, stick it in a tube, unroll it at the conference. Cost a few bucks, but it's a deductible business expense.....

Scaled that way, the resolution was excellent, I was able to simply paste all my various graphics onto the poster and make use of the PowerPoint tools for formatting (bullets, shadows, lists, boxes). And pretty much every one of the other presenters came by to drool, and ask how I did it. Even as recently as last year, I presented with 3 employees of one of the world's biggest corporations. (Think big blue meatball) And yet, looking at the production quality of the slides and the preparation that went into the presentations, one would think it was the other way around.

So yeah, I get the need and the desire to do things right - to look sharp, to put one's best face forward. I've been teased (and have been teasing) the yogi's in my life about things not being "shoddy". But yeah - doing things right adds up to a positive experience. There are often a vase of flowers on the desk at the studio, and healthy plants as well. The place is clean, smells good (despite the sweaty bodies), and is tastefully but simply decorated (paint, tapestries, lighting fixtures).

Just thinking about that a bit. We're working on the annual balloon club dinner and I'm focused on little things. Table placecards. A slide show to run during the cocktail hour. Making sure there is a sound system and microphone. Picking out the background music. All sorts of small touches that don't cost a lot, but add up to a positive experience.

My inner interior decorator / event planner is getting a chance to stretch her legs.....