The book “The Alter Ego Effect” by Todd Herman talks a lot about using an alter ego to get things done… that is, a “different version of you” that knows what it’s doing when you don’t etc.
Psychologists and so on refer to the related issues as having a ‘social self’. Essentially this is the mask that you wear in any given social situation. The idea that we’re always the same person, whatever and wherever we are, is pretty much nonsense. We are legion, as they say. I’m a slightly different version of myself with my wife than with my kids; I’m different again with close friend; and even more different with people I don’t know.
The core of me is the same, and my physical building blocks are the same, but the way I speak, they way I stand and my attitude to things varies.
It’s a tool I’ve often used in my presentation skills training. If people are anxious and confused about making presentations we can work together to create a ‘mask’ – a persona that knows what it’s doing and isn’t (overly) anxious. Before my client goes on stage they put on this mask, and the persona that’s thus created is who/what delivers the presentation. (Note: not a literal mask! Presentations in masks would be weird! 🙂 )
So far so good. It’s something I’ve written about a lot before.
Spoiler alert: I use this technique myself all the time.
How about we take this idea a little further and instead of having just one alter ego that goes on stage, we create that ‘default’ person as something as a newscaster or radio presenter. It’s their job to hold it all together, but they go to (lots of) other people for various bits of their programme.
By that model, we’ve got a ‘Narrator’ or host, whose job it is to guide the audience along a curated journey (default persona) and then a number of more short-lived ‘Reporters’ who are responsible for, say, telling a particular story; or explaining a particular graph; or… you name it.
The Narrator and the Reporters hand back to each other just like the do on TV, with a “back to the studio”.
The advantages of this model
It helps, obviously, for people who struggle with confidence. They don’t go on stage; their alter ego(s) go on stage. 🙂 I can’t stress how powerful that is as a helpful tool. Secondly, it helps to get rid of any unhelpful habits the presenter might have, too. The process of creating the Narrator helps to focus people’s minds.
Instead of saying “Where do I put my hands” the question instead is, “What would the perfect Narrator put their hands?”. It’s much easier to analyse “other people” than it is to think about yourself.
Thirdly, it helps keep audiences interested. If the Narrator and a Reporter are different enough in some ways, it’s almost as good as having a fresh presenter and hitting the ‘reset’ button for the audience. Audiences are now asking themselves questions about what the new presenter is going to say.
Fourthly, there’s the question of signposting. Signposting is how your audience can relax and allow themselves to concentrate on the content. Imagine the announcement on a train that you’ve rushed to board. You’re not 100% sure you’re on the right train – it was on the platform but you didn’t have time to check. The guard’s announcement of “Welcome to the 14:54 to Inverness” means you can relax and work (it’s where I’m writing this very piece!). That’s a signpost. It tells you you’re on the right route, so you can relax and enjoy the scenery or whatever.
Alternatively, imagine you’re driving through a foreign country. If you’re anxious that you’re lost, all you look for are signposts or other indicators that you’re going the right way… but if you’re sure you’re on the right road, you can spend time looking at the scenery as you drive.
Passing the baton from Narrator to Reporter and back again, with the right phrasing, is a form of signposting.
Essentially, you’re making it obvious to the audience:
- “Now I’m going to tell you a story to illustrate this point”
- then you tell the story
- and then say “Now I’m passing you back the Narrator to add context/move on”.
See what I mean? It’s a bit like the subtitles that people use to break down blog posts into more digestible sections. (And yes, I know I should do that more! 🙂 )
Can you go too far and mess up your presentation this way?
Yes.
Like every model, if you take it too far or look at it in too much detail the analogy breaks down. Use some common sense 😉
One thing I’d not worry about however, is the “you must be totally authentic and yourself onstage”. Frankly, practically no one is. They’re a version of themselves.
So how do you create multiple presenters
So glad you asked!
I can’t remember where I learned this tool but here we go… (I like to think it was from non-lead actors at the RSC but I can’t absolutely put my hand on my heart and promise that it’s soo!)
Ask yourself three questions, each one followed with the word ‘why’.
- Where does the persona I’m creating put his/her feet and how do they stand… and why do they stand that way?
- Where does the persona put his/her hands by default.. and why do they do that?
- How does the persona hold his/her head… and why is that?
For example, the persona I use on stage (mostly… I mentioned that I use this technique all the time, right?)
- stands with his feel shoulder width apart to look confident, and with all the weight forward onto the balls of his feet (rather than on the heels) so that he can move quickly and easily in any direction – he’s literally on the front foot
- hooks one hand (and only one!) into the top of his pocket, to balance between looking confident and informal against the ability to gesticulate freely with the other hand
- has his head tipped slightly forward to relax his throat – to make his voice the most powerful it can be.
See what I mean? Another alter ego might have his weight on the heels, to make him more solid and grounded, etc.
Are you going to try this in your presentations?
I use this all the time, and people think I’m one of the best presenters they’ve seen… but the real me? Almost no one sees the real me.
