Why I like using props in my talk and workshops

When I was given a globe as a present as a kid I’d never have imagined it would feature in my working life over 40 years later.

During a session I ran for a global brand team on Tuesday, I held the globe up to the camera. I pointed to a small town in Wales. The purpose? To give the participants, many of whom were based in Sweden, a visual sense of the denim brand I was talking about. Later I showed the team a piece of ¼” audio tape. On it was stored the very first story I ever created, when I was a teenager working for BBC radio.

In organisations we tend to live in a slide-driven world. So I like to avoid slide overload and bring stories to life with props and artefacts. These are tangible, gettable objects that help focus the mind. It feels a natural and human thing to do, just as we would in a social situation, relating stories of a trip or about something from the past. We might dig out the beautifully crafted penknife we bought on holiday or grab a book off the shelf we’d read and enjoyed. Just because we’re doing something in our business life doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat our audience for who they are - as human beings.

Whether you’re running an online workshop or presenting to your colleagues in a meeting - is there something real and human you can bring out to grab their attention?