August 27, 2008
The Emotional Connection
Posted by Kevin | Print This Article
Suffice to say that I am not a Democrat, however, I watched the first part of Hillary Clinton’s speech at the convention last night, including the tribute video that they played as her introduction, narrated by her daughter. I have to say it was a very effective introduction, and I can only imagine that, at the event, on the big screen, it must have made a powerful connection.
It was an excellent example for associations of an effective “opening” — of a conference, of a general session, of a chairman’s term, of a speech — because of the way it combined substance (the video leaves no doubt as to what Hillary believes about several issues) with humor and emotion to make a genuine connection with the audience and put them in the right mood for what’s coming next. Since many of us witnessed a not-so-good example recently, I thought perhaps it would be nice to emphasize a good example.
You don’t have to use video in your conference intros, of course; there are any number of ways to set the stage for a good experience, as long as you remember the point is to excite, to make people laugh, to make that emotional connection. Walking up to the podium and saying, “Good morning,” is definitely not one of those ways.
Great post, Kevin–I always like to hear your perspective on great meetings and presentations.
(I think my favorite quote from Clinton’s speech was when she said “My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for president.” It’s so easy to forget how much has changed in the world in the last century [not just relating to women, but relating to all kinds of people who would have been less than equal 100+ years ago]. Quotes like that always remind me to be grateful for when and where I was born …)
The bar continues to be raised everyday in the association world in the way we communicate with our audiences. At ASAE’s Annual Meeting Joe Greeny made terrific use of “home movies” and a pre-apology for the quality of two film vignettes purportedly made by his kids to illustrate ways to influence human behavior. Whether they were actually done by his kids was besides the point. They clearly captured the imagination and attention of the audience in a very non-threatening way. Was it theatre? Yes! Was it art? Yes! Did it work? You bet!
Kerry, I’m sorry I missed it — and I think you are right. Associations should recognize that we are in the theatre and art business as much as anything else.