How Not to Give a Conference Talk
January 22nd, 2007 by Dan GillmorAt the generally fantastic DLD Conference in Munich, where the future of media and communications are the major subjects, the first speaker of the morning gave a demonstration on how not to make a good impression.
Andy Wood, CEO of a company called Image Metrics, gave what can only be called a sales pitch for his company. Image Metrics has some extremely cool technology, no doubt about it — especially the real-time facial animation that is scarily accurate and opens many possibilities for creative folks.
Had Wood shown the technology and then discussed its implications, he’d have had this high-brainpower audience listening and learning. Instead, he relentlessly threw commercial and branding messages at the crowd.
I did hear several people talking in the hallway about the interesting technology he showed. I also heard wisecracks about his misguided pitch. Whoops…
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Overt self-promotion on panels is usually high on the taboo list for conference presenters, so I’m surprised that Wood broke such a cardinal rule. Either the organizers didn’t set the ground rules for Wood or his staff didn’t properly prep him.