How To Do It - With Kevin Spacey

HOW KEVIN SPACEY DOES IT

   
     The digital age means there are more competing demands for our attention than ever before.

     And in my field of effective communications, this means there's a bigger challenge than ever to capture and hold your audience's attention....as you compete with evermore impressive mobile phones, ipads and even the new Samsung "smart watch" launched this week.

     So it's always nice to find someone who has the talent to fight back against the machines and grab audience attention.

     Hats off to American-actor-cum-British-theatre-manager, Kevin Spacey.
      

The Multi-Oscar Winning Kevin Spacey

     Mr Spacey - who works as the Artistic Director of London's Old Vic Theatre, along with his ongoing acting pursuits - has become the first thespian to deliver the prestigious keynote address at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

     On the basis of his performance, I would say bring on more actors to do it.

GROWING DEMAND FOR PRESENTING SKILLS      In recent times the number of master classes and one-to-one sessions I run to boost presentation skills has actually overtaken the number of media interview skills lessons.      This is because only a select group of people in an organisation is likely to appear before journalists, but anyone who wants to get on needs to be able to connect face-to-face with a live audience.      So as I work at boosting the presentation skills of business leaders and others, I've found myself on the constant look-out for examples where someone has made a highly effective presentation...without slides, without clinging to notes and without having their performance diminished by nerves.      Enter Kevin Spacey.      Now I know that actors who are practiced at learning lines and delivering them with aplomb have advantages over we mere mortals.      But Mr Spacey has provided an excellent example for us all on how a strong message, a crisply-worded and properly structured script and a superb delivery style can scintillate and persuade your audience.      You don't need too much background to get into what Kevin Spacey had to say in Edinburgh.      In hailing a new golden age of television - delivered through the computer screen - he urged television bosses to be more courageous and take more chances when it comes to giving viewers what they want.      He criticises the obsession by American TV networks for insisting on the creation of expensive pilot programmes before committing to a full series.      Mr Spacey maintains that this forces writers to establish characters and concoct arbitrary cliff-hangers in order to prove that their concept will work in just 45-minutes on screen.      He argues that in reality a much longer period of time can be required to set-up complex characters and storylines.      So he was full of praise for the internet video-streaming service Netflix which was prepared to back the American version of the BBC political thriller "House of Cards" without the need for a pilot.      Incidentally the star of the US-version turns out to be none other than Kevin Spacey himself....but this doesn't diminish the power and coherence of his case. Kevin Spacey starring in House of Cards          You can check out edited highlights of Mr Spacey's speech here:

HOW YOU CAN BE MORE LIKE KEVIN       I particularly like Kevin Spacey's dynamic-yet-conversational style which enables him to connect with his audience in the room and on-line with a complete sense of ease.             And I love the long pause fifteen seconds in which he uses to make a point about how surprised his team was that Netflix would prove to be so enlightened.          Note how he keeps his hands apart with palms open much of the time - which demonstrates mastery and an openness with nothing-to-hide.      It's also worth studying his use of numbers.      Too many numbers can over-clutter a speech and diminish its effect, but Kevin Spacey deploys his numbers with the right animation and emphasis to profoundly underpin his case.      And his key message is encapsulated with simple phrasing which is easy for him to say and easy for us to absorb:      "We have learned the lesson that the music industry didn't learn: give people what they want, when they want it, in the form they want it in, at a reasonable price, and they'll more likely pay for it rather than steal it."        This is a classic case of putting the principle "Keep It Simple Stupid" into action in a masterly way.        In my sessions on "Presenting with Confidence, Impact and Pizzazz", my aim is to make you more like Kevin Spacey...even if you're not an actor, even if you're not American, and even if you're not a man.       More details of "Presenting with Confidence, Impact and Pizzazz" are at:       http://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/presentation_training.php

HOW YOU CAN BE LESS LIKE ANTHONY            But not all Americans are as effective at communicating as Kevin Spacey.        Take for instance the controversial New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination.         Mr Weiner has been having a challenging time with the media after admitting to what Americans call "sexting" - sending sexually explicit material to people by mobile phone.         This is not a good idea if you want to reach and remain in high office.         Mr Weiner should know this, as it was a sexting scandal - inevitably dubbed "Weinergate" - which led to his resignation as a congressman two years ago.   Anthony Weiner - would-be New York Mayor        And during his attempt to return to politics as a mayoral candidate for New York City, Mr Weiner has admitted being involved in further sexting to three women.       But would-be Mayor Weiner is nothing but versatile when it comes to courting trouble.       Yesterday, while out campaigning, he walked into a Jewish bakery in New York to take issue with a critic and became embroiled in a volatile shouting match.        You can check out the clash at:        Afterwards Mr Weiner said on Twitter that he had "stood up to a heckler...that's what mayors have to do sometimes."       Getting involved in clashes like this is generally considered bad media practice.       It's the kind of situation where you cannot win.       But in particular, if you're going to do it, don't start the conversation with your mouth full of food.        There's further information about media interviewing guidance and master classes at:           www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/media_training.php         Oh and just for the record, I have not media coached Anthony Weiner.         And unless you have money you don't need, don't bet on him becoming the next New York mayor.         Keep smiling,         Michael