Last week we explored some of the benefits of using cartoons in your communications and presentations: cartoons grab your attention, reinforce your message, make it memorable, keep your audience engaged, and let your audience see your human side.
This week I’m going to show you some examples specific to improving your presentations. You can apply these same techniques to your email, newsletter, or blog—but probably not to your treatise on Hegelian dialectics. Well, you can’t have everything.
This nicely brings us back to how cartoons can enhance your presentations. The rule here is “three’s a charm.” Following are the three perfect spots for cartoons in your presentation:
1. The Icebreaker
Starting your presentation off with humor is a way to relax everyone—especially yourself. It’s like imagining everyone in your audience is naked but a lot less inappropriate.
After everyone has slowly filtered into the Zoom meeting and has burned your title slide into their retinas, you can offer some relief with a quick laugh to let them know that Death by PowerPoint is not on the agenda. Your icebreaker can be specific to your topic or simply about presentations overall:
2. Wake Up Call
You did a great job getting everyone to pay attention for the first five minutes. But now you’re noticing your audience check their phones, stare off into space, or catch up on their Hegelian dialectics. Get their attention back with another cartoon, this time on the topic. Reengage them with humor and insight, and they’ll be on high alert for more of both to come.
3. Mic Drop
Now that they’re expecting it, you’ve got to end on a laugh. Hit it out of the park with another cartoon tied to your topic. You want their final impression of your presentation to be a great one. Whether your subject is the latest Human Resources edict or something as dull as a dreaded mandatory update, there are thousands of on-target cartoons on CartoonStock.com to choose from on nearly every topic. However, if you want one on Hegelian dialectics, I’m afraid you’re out of luck.
Yours in Good Humor,
Bob