How many of us have read a book, seen the film, and hated it, thinking the book was better? Any literature, whether as a novel, your research project or the 3rd quarter business plan, works only in the written medium. The delivery of that piece in another medium- the movie, research presentation or committee meeting requires more than recitation. They are different media.
I loved the book Sideways. The humour and pathos captured me. I was intrigued by the relationships and ultimately learned what pairs best with the finest Pinot Noir. I hated the film. A research paper is designed to be read, references checked to detail the processing and even calculations carried out to verify data. None of that can happen in a scientific presentation. Data heavy business plans requiring buy in from a team will never convert simply by being read to the committee. The book is always better.
The important point, however, is that whilst sending the data in a document will work, there is value, requirement and opportunity in a live presentation that the document cannot deliver. To achieve this the presenter must do more than simply to recite the written word. It is a performance. Think of those days as a youth, forced to listen to other youths reading from Shakespeare. that moved us only to boredom.
This Shakespearian quote describes the audience experience at the majority of presentations.
“Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing.”
In the delivery of a script, a scientific presentation or a business plan, there must be more than simply the document. You really don’t want your audience thinking, “The book was better”.