The stage actor, the movie star and Zoom
I think a great way to understand how the Zoom experience of the last 2 years has changed business is to look at the differences between the stage actor and the movie star.
The stage actor has a lot of freedoms. They are just 1 element in our field of view - they are just one part of the whole view that we are looking at. Even in a solo performance, they are one part of many things that we look at.
And while stage actors have always been popular, it is the movie actor who is the star. The reason? The camera.
The camera allowed the audience to get up close and personal. It's the camera that allows us to see the lines on the stars face, the smile they have and the look in their eye. The camera allowed us to get so close to the actors that we think we know them, and we create a deep connection with them....even if it is only one way. They became stars and influential because we, the audience, thought they were speaking directly to us.
That's how it is in business now too.
The webcam has given us all of the opportunities to be the movie star. When presenting, the camera is focused on us. Those in the meeting can see the lines on our face, the small smile we give, or the sideways look as we seek confidence by looking elsewhere. And meetings are more personal than ever. We've swapped the contrived and impersonal office space for the very real and personal kitchen table or lounge room setting.
We have the two ingredients required to create a real connection - proximity and intimacy. But unlike the movie star, our connection goes both ways. If you use this correctly, this can be very powerful in business. Understandably this has created a bit of nervousness in people. All of a sudden, people are expected to perform with the gravitas and confidence of the movie star, but most haven't been to acting school.
So I've put together a program that will help those wanting to lift their performance on Zoom. It's a home study program that you can progress through at your own pace. It will show you how to:
Make the tech work for you - even if up are pitching for a million dollar contract
Create an influential message
Deliver online and how it is different to face-to-face
Tell stories
Control nervousness and
Much much more
It's a program that combines my popular Position | Engage | Influence presentation skills course and how that adopts to online presenting.
It's structured as a home-study program meaning you can up-skill when it suits you. Study after hours, or on the way to work.
If this sound like something you'd like to look at, you can check it out here.
As always, I'd love your thoughts on this here.
Cheers,
Darren
#UnblockingPerformance
