Inspire for Action
Online TED presentation for NEOM
“I’m having this TED talk for our corporate online event. I really need it to be inspiring.
It also should lead to a specific action we want people take.
It’s really important for our department. The catch is, we have just one week.”
About NEOM
NEOM is one of the most ambitious projects in the world. It’s a planned city in Saudi Arabia as the 170 km(!) line with a million residents. We helped one of the departments of the NEOM project to create a presentation for a corporate event to inspire an online audience and lead them to a specific action.
Disclaimer
Data, text and some visuals have been changed for confidentiality purposes.
Start with conversation
What do you do when you need to create a presentation?
Most people start with what they have: documents, other presentations, ideas and requirements. They try to cobble it all together somehow, then see what sticks, and then potentially ask for feedback. And then hate their presentation.
The first thing that we do is put aside all the materials.
Why are we doing this? Who is the audience? Why should they care? Why do you personally care?
This is a simple starting point, but most people overlook it.
Finding “Wow!” moments
To inspire, we wanted to create a sense of wonder and insight for the audience.
We researched the topic and read materials that the client had kindly provided.
BUT the most important part was having a series of discussions with our client. We wanted to get a handle on their perspective. Starting with simple questions, we went into various aspects of the topic, looking for “Wow!” moments. These things are never on the surface. Together with the client, we were able to dig out a story that would touch people’s hearts and minds.
Storyline
After a few discussions, we developed three storylines. Storylines are a great way to discuss the key points of a story and its general flow. They give you a high-level view of your story, so you can see if it has enough contrast and a good flow as a story.
Call to Action
The presentation needed not just to inspire but to lead the audience to a specific action, which was important for the NEOM team we worked with. We developed an organic way, combining “inspiration” with the “action” part of presentation.
Content for story
After finalizing the storyline, we developed the content of the presentation. It included content that we would put on slides and notes for the presenter.
Conversation, not a presentation
We believe that presentation should sound as natural as possible. This means avoiding overused phrases and too-scripted talks, while sounding conversational and, where appropriate, spontaneous. It should also be organic with the character of the presenter. Together with the presenter, we practiced the delivery of the presentation to make it smooth and natural.
Design Theme
NEOM had a presentation template that they use, but we found two problems with it. First, it was too familiar for the audience. And second, we saw an opportunity for the NEOM brand to be presented in a better way.
Process
- Interviews
- Topic research
- Storyline dev
- Content dev
- Design theme dev
- Communication design
- Animation
- Practice
Result
60-slide presentation for a live event in two formats.
