Tech company execs generally make lousy presenters
Being in Guam, I'm limited by budget and geography in not being able to personally attend big events put on by leading firms in the high-tech sector like Google, Microsoft, CBS News, Oracle, etc. So I watch a lot of streaming video of their grand presentations, both from live trade shows and from pre-produced marketing devices. I've now developed another excuse for not going: the presenters, more often than not, are absolutely terrible.
I normally have to force myself to remain focused on the content therein, not the typical boring/uninformative/unentertaining way in which it is presented (a key factor to the success of any talk). Many execs, technical VPs or product managers seem like they'e just unpassionately reciting an prepared script, and others make me wonder if they even have a pulse at all. Ironically, the "presentation" is missing from their delivery.
This brings to light the common conundrum for tech firms: most marketing people aren't technically savvy enough to conduct the presentation in a manner which would allow them to leave the room without being torn to shreds by the audience (typically 95% techie/5% mainstream news media); and most engineering types tragically don't possess the salesman-esque people skills - humor, passion, delivery - needed to really effectively communicate a message. How can we leverage a presentation where the content is technically accurate and integrated, yet retaining the conviction, quality of delivery and evangelism that's so required?
Most people aren't gifted with being blessed with cross-discipline skills, so one suffers. And in my experience with tech presentations, it's always the sellability factor. It just makes for boring, uninspired viewing. The passion is obviously there, it's just not effectuated.
Think about it - how many software engineers in large shops who write complex functionality code simultaneously work on UI development? It's the segmented, single-purpose nature of the industry that's given rise to this deficiency.
These companies have cash coming out the wazzoo, so take a note: hire the genius of
Penn Gillette to do your next keynote or product demo. He's known the world over for his wit and delivery, he's a geek and is phenomenally gifted technically, and his ability to marry even the most complex technical concepts with proper delivery (
i.e., get the books-on-tape version of Nicholas Negroponte's "Being Digital", read by Gillette) is much appreciated by people like me, who consider the holistic value of tech speeches.
If not, then there's some serious work to do.