The Little Red Cup

A few days ago I watched a news report on the current food crisis around the world. At one point, the reporter interviewed a representative of a food aid agency who sought to illustrate the current problem. In less than fifteen seconds, with few words, she made a lasting impact on me. Here's how.

She raised a small red cup and said: "This is a child's most precious possession. Once a day she comes by to get her daily food ration. Last year we could fill it completely. Today, we put 40% less rice in the cup."

I still can see the little red cup and I still wonder how I would survive on such a measly portion every day. That is the mark of a truly useful prop.

I have seen many presentations where props are used, it seems, only because the speaker felt that there needed to be a prop. Usefulness or appropriateness did not seem to be a consideration. The speaker didn't realize that an inappropriate prop does not add to the speech: it distracts from it. In some of the speeches I attended, I remember the prop, but I cannot recall what point was made with the prop.

Props, or presentation aids, are a useful and effective method to make your point, provided you do so strategically. What makes a good prop? Let's take the little red cup as an example.

• Stimulates the senses: Studies have show that human beings learn and process information using three main senses: visually, auditorily or kinesthetically (sense of touch or feeling). The more senses a prop can stimulate, the better. The little red cup stimulates the visual sense, of course. For some people, it may have stimulated the sense of touch because they may have "felt" the hunger associated with it. It also could have stimulated hearing if it was hit with another object.
• Does not seem contrived: Have you ever seem someone show a PowerPoint slide, or display an object, or do a magic trick during a presentation and your reaction was: "What was that all about?" This is typical of a bad prop. It seems there is no other reason for its presence than for "being there." Before choosing to use a prop in your speech, ask yourself this question: "How will it benefit the audience?" If you do not use the prop, will your message have less impact? The little red cup is essential to the hunger message. It would not have been nearly as effective if the aid worker had said, "Last year, we could give one cup of rice per person every day. This year, we can only give 2/3 of a cup." Showing the cup works.
• Timely: a good prop has an element of surprise in it. I am currently reading a book called "Predictably Irrational" by author Dan Ariely. It's an excellent book that breaks down the irrationality of our decision-making process. On the page of the first chapter, the author displays an Internet ad to subscribe to the Economist magazine. It was surprising to see it there and it appeared exactly at the right time. Why? Because in many books, the reading process is interrupted by asking the reader to refer to a different place in the book, only to have her return to the original location to keep reading (e.g. "See figure 4.3 on the following page"). In Ariely's book, the image appeared where and when it was needed in the text, without interrupting the reading process.

  In the news report, the aid worker showed the little red cup at the same time as she began to explain the effect of current food prices on daily eating habits. The cup was not sitting on the table; it wasn't anywhere in sight. It appeared when it was time to make a point, and disappeared afterward. Don't let props linger longer than they should.

• Emotional: as in any type of public speaking, an effective prop gets an emotional response from the audience. Here I am discussing the merits of a small red cup with you. Evidently, it got an emotional response from me. Whether it is the emotional response that the aid worker wanted me to have, or not, I am not sure. But at least, there is a response. Your best props will have that effect on your audience. If you get laughter, gasps, silence from what previously was a raucous crowd, then you've likely had an emotional reaction.

Props are amazing tools to possess as a speaker. As with all tools, you need to use them well to keep them from turning against you. Before you deliver your next speech, take a look at all the props (objects, PowerPoint slides, magic tricks, etc.) you plan on using. See if they fit at least two of the above elements. If they do, use them; if they don't, discard them. Don't let your speech be devalued by improperly propelling a prop!