I’ve been blogging recently about the abuse and misuse of PowerPoint and other slide software.  Today I’m sharing an example of a great business speech that succeeds without using PowerPoint at all.  It’s Simon Sinek’s TED talk, and it’s worthy of study.   Simon’s talk is about “How great leaders inspire action,” and it succeeds in spite of some flaws in Simon’s delivery because:

1.  He keeps it very simple.   Simon starts with a deceptively simple question – why do some people and companies succeed, and change the world, while others do not?  Martin Luther King, Jr, the Wright Brothers, Apple Computer – everyone else had access to the same information, or insights, or materials, and yet there was only one MLK, Jr, and so on.  Why?  His answer is also simple – great leaders and companies answer the question of motivation, or purpose, first, communicating inspiration, not technique.  The rest of us worry about what and how; great leaders worry about why. 

2.  He uses a flip chart.   The effect of a flip chart is that we feel like we’re getting to hear something for the first time – as if Simon were making it up on the spot.  Of course he isn’t, but that doesn’t matter.  PowerPoint looks canned; a flip chart talk looks customized. 

3.  He offers lots of clear examples, and only a smattering of data, to back up his assertions.   The human mind is constructed to remember stories, not data, and Simon plays beautifully to this predisposition by giving us examples, anecdotes, and stories, and very little data.  We get just enough data, in fact, to believe that he knows what he’s talking about.  No more. 

To be sure, Simon has his flaws.  He comes across as arrogant, but he softens the appearance of arrogance by tipping his head to one side – a classic listening gesture.  But that gesture gives up authority, so it’s not the best way to connect with an audience.  He also frequently looks down and away from his audience – a thinking gesture – which gives him a professorial air.  Again, arrogance mitigated by introversion.  But not a great way to connect with an audience. 

Those flaws don’t matter in the end, though, because Simon’s presentation is clear, empowering, and actionable.  It’s a great model for how to do a business talk.  Study it and be inspired.