Scott Stratten Sets High Presentation Standard
A few weeks ago, I attended the annual conference of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) at the beautiful Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta.
The keynote speaker during the college of fellows luncheon was Scott Stratten, president of Un-Marketing. And I must say it was one of the best presentations I’ve attended in a long, long time.
Scott was witty, funny and interesting. He made points that were directly relevant to the people in the audience.
More importantly, he used his visuals as an aid, not a crutch.
Prior to Scott’s presentation, while I was talking to one of the people at my table, the conversation invariably turned to the use of slides during presentations (we were, after all, at a conference and I do, after all, specialize in presentation skills training).
When we talked the title of my book, 5 Steps to Conquer ‘Death by PowerPoint’, she was intrigued. She asked whether the software program is the problem, or the people using it. “If people know how to use the software effectively,” she said, “wouldn’t that solve the problem?”
I pointed out that if the solution was that simple, my book wouldn’t be necessary. However, at the end of Scott’s presentation, it was easy to say: “That’s how it should be done.”
Scott didn’t rely on PowerPoint. He told stories to engage the minds and hearts of his audience. I have no doubt that some of those stories will be remembered years—if not decades—from now.
He broke my four-slide guideline, but every visual he showed added value.
For example, at one point he told a story of getting frustrated in the security line at JFK airport in New York. First, people who were late for their flights were brought to the front of the line. Then the flight crews got shuffled to the front.
A Delta flight attendant bumped into him and said nothing. Under his breath, he suggested that she should at least apologize. Apparently, she responded by saying something like: “I did apologize. Maybe you should open your ears.”
“Now I’m on the 15th stage of Canadian anger,” Scott told us. “At that point, I thought there was nothing the company could do to make it better.”
So, while he was waiting to board his flight, he tweeted his frustration. During his presentation, he showed the tweet on-screen.
Yes, he seemed quite upset. But after we viewed the tweet, he pointed something out: “I spelled ‘Delta’ as ‘Detla’ I was so mad.”
But, alas, there was something the company could do. He showed us Delta’s reply tweet, which arrived a scant few minutes later, in which the company delivered a sincere apology that made no excuses for the flight attendant’s behaviour. It was so sincere that poor Scott went from Canadian angry to Canadian humble in a heartbeat.
His points? If you want a better brand, hire better people. When you’re under attack in social media, respond immediately. When you’re wrong, make a sincere apology that is completely devoid of excuses.
This was just one small part of his highly entertaining one-hour presentation. Yes, he used slides. But, like all good presenters, he told interesting and relevant stories that supported his points.
And that is what good presentations are all about.






