Case Study Palooza 2008
Let’s just start with this: I was dreading the thought of having to present a case study in front of all of the Senior Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents and the CEO of Access. I haven’t spoken in front of a group since college public speaking 101, and honestly, I got a B- in that class.
The Case:
2K Sports’ ‘Urban Hour’ – An event held in New York’s hottest club that reached the urban media, an untapped resource for 2K Sports and NBA 2K8.
Prep Time:
Some of my fears were lessened when I sat down with my CSP team, Clint and Ami, two seasoned presenters and patient teachers. We got started right away, having the skeleton of our presentation done before the holiday break.
In checking the versions of our PowerPoint presentation there are more than 15 versions – needless to say there was a lot of refining and rearranging over the next month.
About two weeks before D-Day, January, 16, the 2K Sports Team started running through the presentation – we’d rehearse in front of any staff member that would listen and eagerly await their constructive criticism. We made a conscious decision to not rehearse scripts as we wanted to present the cast study as a story.
D-Day:
An hour before our presentation we decided to practice two more times – expecting to hone our skills – to our surprise we butchered the entire presentation, complete with mid-slide emotional breakdowns and cursing. We were nervous heading into the boardroom, still shaking from the botched rehearsal.
To our delight – we presented seamlessly, tip-ins and all. And then it was time for the Q & A, none of us were actually at the event or even on the account at the time so we didn’t know whether or not we’d be able to answer the questions convincingly. After 11 painful questions we exited the boardroom to await our evaluation. While waiting we were still reeling from the Q & A but feeling really confident about the presentation portion.
The evaluation was less scary than I had anticipated: it only lasted about 10 minutes and we all received great compliments on out public speaking and were given some areas to work on. I still need to work on my fidgeting and my ‘likes’ and ‘ums’ while in front of a crowd.
As if this wasn’t enough – we still had the award ceremony! Team 2K Sports ended up winning Best Q & A! We were shocked!
Looking Back:
I’m already looking forward to next year’s CSP – although “Rookie of the Year” isn’t possible anymore there’s always that elusive first place! I also learned that although CSP was incredibly difficult, even painful at times – I got through it, I didn’t freeze and die. I’d tell CSP first timers to enjoy it – there’s nothing like presenting to all of your bosses and then partying with them mere hours later.
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