By Soleil Kelley

In my view, the inherit complexities of making animated videos is rewarding. Many elements need to come together to create meaningful impact: the story, the characters, the narrator, the tone, the design, the motion. It all adds up quickly. Did I forget something? Yes, the sounds! Bang.

Until our theaters or devices can waft relevant olfactory stimuli (buttery popcorn doesn’t count, sorry), animations stimulate just two senses: our sight and our hearing. Could you imagine Wile E. Coyote dropping from a desert cliff without a descending whistle then dusty thud? Could Star Wars be Star Wars without those epic music motifs? Nope. Music and sound design have that awesome ability to transcend the listener to a moment in time, into a virtual space with a desired mood and emotion, without even a word spoken. It’s the perfect complement to our first sense, sight, when what we see naturally aligns to what we hear.

Unlike videos captured in real environments with real sound emitted by real people or objects, animations start with a blank screen and utter silence. A story is carefully crafted with meaningful words. Characters are thoughtfully designed, then come to life in ways that bolster the story. What helps them come to life? Motion and sound. What do apps, databases and consistency models sound like when they come to life? Take a listen to our interpretation in this animation we recently created for the launch of Microsoft’s Azure Cosmos DB:

Now, if you just watched this on mute, turn up the volume and watch again. Hopefully you noticed how the music enhanced the narrative arc. When we set context in the beginning the music is softer. At the product hero moment, the song kicks in, adding impact. What about the earth fly-by at the end? Sound effects enhance the left to right motion and bring it closer to us. If only we could sprinkle some space dust for you to smell too, that’d really amplify the moment. I think some folks in AR/VR are working on that…that’ll be fun!

By Soleil Kelley

We at 2A create, modify and polish beaucoup business presentations—from crisp keynotes to 100-slide mega-technical decks. Throughout the process of arranging presentations, I’m always struck by a parallel to songwriting. Ponder the following for a moment. The musical building blocks of a song typically include things like verses, choruses, bridges, solos; all with a lyrical story woven over its top. In business presentations, building blocks might include an opportunity, a challenge, a solution, examples of success; all with a lyrical pitch over its top. The building blocks of both songs and presentations are organized, consciously or not, in common arrangements, so I asked the question; what’s the equivalent of that billboard-topping 2-minute pop song arrangement?

When formulas work, they work. Sports teams, politicians, businesses, artists—they all have them. If you analyze the arrangement of most hit pop songs, in terms of its building blocks, you’d likely find this:  Verse—Chorus—Verse—Chorus—Bridge—Chorus—Chorus. And it’s no secret. Ok, what about jazz? Head—Solo—Solo—Solo—Head. Now, if you were to analyze the arrangement of 100 business presentations you’d most commonly find: Setting—Challenge—Opportunity—Company—Solution—Success stories—Call to action.  That’s pretty much your twenty-minute pitch. I can’t possibly analyze all of these leadership keynotes, but my guess is most follow a similar arrangement, weaving in their mission statement somewhere toward the beginning.  Technical decks are headier, like jazz: Context—How to do 1—How to do 2—How to do 3—How to do N—Call to action.

Of course in reality, one needs more than a formula to create a hit song or compelling pitch in PowerPoint, but it can be a good way to get past the intimidating silence of a blank page. Best-selling author Austin Kleon captured many a quote from artists to executives that illustrate just how deliberately people borrow ideas from others. Whether for songs or keynotes, I’d argue that it’s the interpretation of your influences, or the art of how you pitch your case, that matters most.

By Soleil Kelley

What’s it like being in love and coping with the death of your spouse of 70 personalities, or, being an Afghan boy when a gun-wielding Talib enlists your help to win over the heart of a girl in your village? I recently took a storytelling class through CreativeLive, taught by Snap Judgment podcasters Julia DeWitt and Anna Sussman, who didn’t answer those questions, but instead shared how they went about crafting stories around them. Finding these stories seems daunting, but they exist in every corner of society across the globe. You just need curiosity, persistence and your human nature.

“How do you go about finding these stories, these people?” asked a class attendee. Their responses outlined what many creative professionals do every day—consume content they find personally interesting, with openness and curiosity.

Anna and Julia walk through the world and consume content with their antennae up—every waking moment. They’re curious people, and when coupled with their personal interests, they can readily find little gems, little seeds of something that could be their next story. Then they dig.

As a longtime musician and music producer, I can relate. If I listen to my favorite artists or songs intently, I might uncover a little melody or styling that could become the basis of an entire tune, just as a graphic designer might scroll through a magazine and pick up an element that influences a logo they’re working on. David Bowie, RIP, touched on this cycle of influence humbly. “Frankly, I mean, sometimes the interpretations I’ve seen on some of the songs that I’ve written are a lot more interesting than the input that I put in.” Interpretation is our human nature. We observe, discover, interpret, and then share. Anna or Julia might pick up a little seed of a story, then tell it in a unique way, or from a different angle.

Having listened to songs with open ears for so long, I’ll never know what it’s like to listen with untrained ears. I can certainly turn off my radar, but then the music becomes, well, background music. If I focus, if I listen, the antennae go up.  Am I alone in this? Doubtful, but how is it different for musicians vs. storytellers vs. designers vs. photographers? Perhaps that’s just the very seed of a story worth exploring.

By Soleil Kelley

If querying the internet for “presentation tips” you’ll most often find reference to the 10/20/30 rule, introduced by Guy Kawasaki or the famed KISS principle (keep it simple stupid). Both are excellent rules to keep in mind, but sometimes you want to dive deep into your slide content, not just how you deliver it. For just that reason, I’ve created the following list, so you might avoid “worst slide” honors.

9 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR PRESENTATION NOT SUCK
— answer these questions before you consider your presentation “ready” —

1. STORY – In one or two sentences, what is the storyline of your presentation?
   Perhaps a challenge is solved, a business anecdote is told, or an idea is shared. Whichever it may be, neuroscientists agree that humans are more likely to be engaged by a story, than facts and figures. Ironically I’m convincing you with a fact, but that’s also the point. Tell a story, support with facts.  What makes a good story, we’ll save for another time.
2. DESIGN – Is your story supported by the graphics or images on screen?
   Our brains process visual content super, super-fast. We’re then anchored by it. The fonts and color you use, the layout and the graphic elements­—they matter more than you think. Make sure your slides are designed well. Like #1 above, what makes design great deserves its own post.
3. AUDIENCE – Are your slide contents consistently directed to the right (target) audience, and are they business or technically oriented?
   Know your audience and how the presentation will be used. Whether you’re presenting to 1, few or many people, consistently address them through the same point of view. If you have multiple targets, be sure each slide addresses each target without becoming awkward. Otherwise, make two presentations.
4. TONE – Does the tone of voice change within or across slides?
   Be sure the words on screen don’t jump from casual to formal, or sassy to serious, otherwise presenting them is difficult. Be consistent within each slide and across the entire deck.

5. ALTITUDE – Do the slides include the appropriate level of details for the audience?
   Naturally, a CTO is concerned with different things than an app developer. Know the audience and include only relevant details they connect with.
6. STRUCTURE – Does the audience know where they are in the storyline?
   Your story has a structure, so keep the audience oriented. Looking at the headlines and subheadings apart from the rest of the slide content is a good method for ensuring the structure flows well. Each slide should be necessary and fit in your desired structure. Use orienting slides, like an agenda, section headers, or breadcrumbs if the presentation is long.
7. QUANTITY – Are you trying to land too many ideas on each slide?
   Remove the unnecessary by condensing your content to only the most salient points that support the slide takeaway. If you feel some audience members will desire more detail, create additional slides for the appendix.
8. PARALLELISM– Is your slide content parallel in structure?
   Mixing facts with directives with benefits with questions is hard to follow. Use the same pattern of words or clauses to show how each piece of content is related. Note how I’m organizing this list with a category, followed by a question, followed by notes or advice – that’s being parallel.
9. ACTION – Does the audience know what they need to do next?
   Great presentations move people toward action, even if that action is feeling something. So, ensure that you weave in your desired outcome into the structure of the story.

2A tells business and brand stories all day, every day. Reach out to us anytime—we’d love to tell yours, too (see, that was my #9)!

By Soleil Kelley

Admit it, you’ve probably had a version of the following ‘Ah, I’m naked! dream’ when you were young; you show up late to class and realize as you walk in front of your teacher and peers that you’re in your underwear, or worse, nothing at all. Frozen. While you probably don’t have that dream anymore, maybe you’ve had a similar experience as a professional. That is, standing before your colleagues presenting a slide you didn’t adequately prepare for, reading the bullets right off the screen. Close your eyes for a second…  Have you been there? Did you feel like people could read through you, right down to your underwear? Polka dots, of course.

Which brings me to my point about bullets. In all their facility, in all their brevity, bullets are pretty much the underwear of your presentation. Except they’ll never be sexy. Think about it. Underwear. Your trusty standby. The first thing you put on in the morning. They are (ahem) brief, and serve many a purpose, from comfort to support. They’re with you all day long, underneath it all, as you present yourself to the world. There are even those folks who skip the underwear and go straight to slinky shirts or skinny jeans, who must be either very self-confident, or don’t mind exposing themselves a little. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

Now, before you don a bullet on a slide, ask yourself: do I want the audience to see my underwear?  Unless you’re the Naked Cowboy, or model for Fruit of the Loom for a living, that answer is probably no. Instead, use bullets when outlining your slides to ensure you have your details straight, then dress your slides with meaningful images or visuals that capture an important concept or tell a compelling story. Ultimately, what’s great is that you’ll know your bullets are there if you do have to strip down to the supporting facts.