Bill Cosby and why the Presentation is so Important

One of my all-time favorite sitcoms is/was the Cosby Show.  I'm a child of the 80's, so I grew up on the parenting of Cliff and Claire Huxtable. 

While there were 200 episodes, a few moments stick out in my mind: Cliff getting pelted with snowballs on the front stoop, Cliff and Theo learning economics with monopoly money where having a girlfriend takes all of Theo's remaining money [first episode], and of course, the Gordon Gartrell shirt.  I often find myself thinking of one particular episode where Vanessa introduces the family to her new boyfriend, Dabnis Brickey, who happens to be significantly older than her.  Not only that, but for the first time Vanessa divulges they've been engaged for six months.  You can watch the introduction here.  While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, Vanessa doesn't do that great of a job with the presentation of Dabnis, thus Cliff proclaims to Dabnis, "We just don't like you."

Watch this video to see how Cliff explains why the presentation is so important.  Click here to watch it on Youtube [embedding was disabled], but make sure you come back!.  If you want to go directly to the quote, fast forward to 1:15.

"You see, it's in the presentation.  That's the way she brought you here...on a garbage can lid"

Many people have messages or stories that they want to share.  They are passionate about their message and can't keep it inside anymore.  Like the porterhouse steak, they love it and know you'll love it too.  Unfortunately, too often these messages are presented on garbage can lids.  The presentation can change the viewpoint of the audience.  While Dabnis seemed like a great guy, the engagement didn't go over well because of Vanessa's presentation of their new found love.

Some presenters may spend countless hours crafting and developing their story (and rightfully so!).  Unfortunately, they leave the practice and the presentation design to the last minute.  They may feel that they can throw the slides together the morning of the presentation and "wing it" since they know the message inside and out.  This leads to poor presentations that lack anything interesting, fail to engage, and are quickly discarded by the audience.

It's tough to sell, educate, inspire, or spread your message if you're presenting it on a garbage can lid.  Even if you're as eloquent as Obama or as funny as Bill Cosby, poorly designed slides, minimal practice, and a general lack of concern for the actual delivery of the message can quickly sink your presentation.  Make sure you dedicate enough time on the presentation to ensure that your "porterhouse" is delivered on a silver platter, not a garbage can lid.  It could make all the difference.

Comments

[True Blind Faith]

This is great information to keep in mind. We should always be enthusiastic about our company/product and treat its promotion and marketing with respect if we expect others to do so as well.

[Jonathan Thomas]

Thank you so much for the comment! Passion is a vital part of not only a presentation, but life. If you aren't passionate about what you're doing or what you're selling, then you will never be able to convince anyone else that what you're doing or what you're selling is worth it. Passion is intangible, but it's one of those things that you know it when you see it. I don't have to explain why I'm passionate. If I am, you'll know.

[Beena]

This is so great! I teach presentation skills as well and this is the exact story I use to describe how/why delivery is so important! Great minds think alike, I guess!

[Jonathan Thomas]

Beena,

It's great, right? I love this example and use it in my presentations about effective presenting. It's the best metaphor for the importance of the presentation as I've ever heard. Thanks for the comment!

Jon

[Brumajor]

I stumbled upon this blog while looking for that clip from the Cosby show. So I owe you a "thanks" for that link. The reason I was looking for it was, I wanted to be sure of what I remembered from that scene. I remember the gist of it, "Presentation is key", but I knew there was something else about that clip that was just as telling.

There comes a point in that scene where Cliff says to Dabnis, "You could be a banker and we would not like you at all". Cliff goes on to explain his reasons by giving that excellent "Porterhouse/Garbage Lid" analogy (which I agree with, btw). Then Claire & Cliff tell Dabnis that despite all of that, they will always be fair...they have a lot of fairness but, not a lot of space. When Dabnis informs them that he owns his own house and has no need to live with them, everything changes. So what this shows me is that "Situations can override presentations" and the subsequent episodes with Dabnis go to show that. I say this because if Cliff & Claire had that house to themselves, Dabnis having a house of his own wouldn't have changed a thing about their feelings towards Dabnis and how Vanessa presented him to them. However, because space was such an issue, they had to respect Dabnis having his own.

This is true in life as well. Sometimes the information you need will not come on a bed of roses. However, if you're in a position where this information is vital, it wouldn't be wise to sit there and complain about how that information was given to you. You'd be better off using that information to make better moves. From that clip, I think that was just as important as the analogy Cliff gave....Again, thanks.

Bru

[Jonathan Thomas]

Bru,

I think you're right on point. It was only after Dabnis was given time to explain himself (and his house ownership!) that the Huxtables were able to forgive the way Vanessa presented him. But with that initial presentation, he could have been a banker and they would not have liked him because he was presented "on a garbage can lid."

The important relevance to presenting is that we often don't get that extra time like Dabnis did to warm the hearts of our audience (and I think they would have warmed up to him regardless of him owning a house or not). We often only have one chance - one job interview, one sales call, one serendipitous meeting with the Mr. or Mrs. Perfect. Perception is reality, and you have to be able to present yourself in the best manner possible because you probably won't get the "subsequent episodes" that Dabnis got.

- Jon

[d.]

The whole LeBron James decision made me immediately think of this scene. Glad I found your site! Nothing wrong with LeBron's decision, but the delivery was all wrong.

[Jonathan Thomas]

D - agreed. I wasn't able to see it but just the idea of it gives me the creeps.

- Jon