We recently held a Lunch & Learn event at our London office – with a magical twist. We kicked off with one of our current #IamSocial grads, Nick Cavanagh, who provided us with the low-down on the latest edition of our Curiosity Stop, followed by Jenni Smit and Kristina Matovic from our design team, who gave the whole agency an insight into the importance of craft work. We closed the event with guest speakers DNA Official, who kindly came along to show us how skills from magic tricks can help create more effective presentation skills (disclaimer: no rabbits were harmed in this presentation).
I’m going to share the learnings that I took away from the session. Because I’m nice like that…
To innovate, stay curious
Our latest Curiosity Stop report features a roundup of social innovations from Nattr, Uber on Messenger, Netflix Party, and many more. Nick talked through some his favourite innovations from the report, particularly highlighting those that tackled a complicated task with a simple application. Check it out now to find out more about trends like the ‘Conscious Community’ and ‘Social Status Seekers’, and keep an eye out for the report’s 9th edition, which will be released in the next week. To get feedback from the agency on the innovations featured in his presentation, Nick used our now-regular twist on hot or not… luckily, smiley faces ruled the hour.
Keep craft simple
First-rate craft can turn a good campaign into a great one. To illustrate this, Kristina and Jenni showed us this social campaign by Adot.com, to highlight the issue of homelessness at Christmas as an example of amazing craft work. It’s heart-wrenching and very creative, highlighting homelessness with Christmas lights to make sure those who are often ignored are unmissable. The imagery emphasises the key message the company is trying to get across to its audience – simple and effective.
Add some magic to your presentations DNA Official showed us how to use the skills and tricks that are usually the preserve of magicians to connect with an audience on a different level – whether that’s a pitch, speaking slot or just presenting to your peers. They showed us how to focus on nonverbal communication as well as verbal, as it’s often nonverbal that leaves a lasting impression – think the pitch room equivalent of the distracting sleight of hand and resulting ‘wow’ moment. They also taught us that we shouldn’t be afraid of silence – if used correctly, pauses can pull in your audience more than constant babble. Oh and they also managed to complete a rubik’s cube without even looking… life goals, right there.
If you’d like to be part of an agency who does things a bit differently, check out the latest job vacancies on our Careers Page. We’re currently looking for an Editorial Director, Video Editor and Senior Strategist/Strategy Director. For any questions, you can contact our recruitment manager Lauren Tibbetts.
