Ms the Word: Pressure testing presentations

How working under pressure brings out the best in us

By Malcolm Allison on Apr 18, 2011

 





There are evenings when I just do not want to go to bed. I guess tonight is one of them.

I was waching Mr and Mrs Smith, with the wooden Pitt and the pneumatic Jolie. I took about two minutes of that, before channel hopping.

Finding The Bourne Identity, with the altogether more entertaining Matt Damon, I was just about to turn off the computer when I received the next version of the presentation.

I am in Oxford, he is in Berlin, so I am not surprised his family is getting a little irritated.

There is a cameraderie about working together on a presentation, particularly at 1 in the morning on a Sunday night.

There is some sort of forming storming norming stuff and I suppose, if I could remember it, I would be able to apply that bit of cod psychology, but I cannot remember.

Anyway, we have between us logged about 30 hours over the weekend. I am halucinating, and I think he is, too.

We have come a long way, hopefuly in the right direction. We will know on Wedesday.

Neither one of us really knew the objective for the presentation, so hopefully between us we have built a comprehensive yet precise deck.

This is not all a waste of time, because we will use the same slides at least twice in the next four weeks.

Somehow, the act of writing it has consolidated our thoughts, given us more confidence that we have thought of everything, in our desire to get to market.

So while a part of me begrudges the commitment we have made, and the time away from loved ones, secretly I am quite pleased.

There is another stupid expression, to pressure test' an idea. I think, in this case, we have done just that, which set me thinking about my nephew.

I visited him on Friday. He was not there, so instead I spent a pleasant hour with his housemate, someone who has shared a house with him for four years, until a recent overseas posting.

Chris told me that the most memorable thing about Dan is his thoughtfulness.

He works right to the heart of a problem, he researches all the adjacent areas, until he is an expert.

I guess, what my colleague and I have done, is use the pressure on us to research in great detail the purpose, strengths, and weaknesses of the asset.

So right now, we are really looking forward to making the presentation. Bring it on.