The Why #66: Why does it always feel like my presentation was a disaster?
By Dan Monheit 30.6.23
Question submitted by Laura, Thornbury
Because Laura, it was. In fact, straight after the presentation I heard that everyone piled into a group chat just to talk about how you stumbled on that one word and couldn’t get the clicker working properly. Ha!
Okay sorry, the jokes aren’t helpful. Sure you may have made a little mistake or two, but outside of Obama and those super polished TED-talkers, who doesn’t?
The thing is Laura, it’s not just you. Without even meeting them, I can almost guarantee that your fellow presenters walked out of the same meeting feeling just as disappointed, critical and lackluster about their own performances as you did.
The question is, was it really THAT bad, or is there something bigger at play?
The Spotlight Effect
The Spotlight Effect refers to the way we consistently and considerably overestimate how much attention other people are paying to us.
The term Spotlight Effect was first coined by Medvec and Savitsky in 2000, after completing an experiment designed to destroy the street cred of any self respecting college student. The experiment involved a simple set up:
1. Create a situation where a subject would do something to make them feel embarrassed in front of a crowd.
2. Ask them how many people they think will notice.
3. Compare this to the number of people who actually did.
To create embarrassment, the research participants were instructed to walk into a crowded classroom wearing bright yellow t-shirts featuring the enlarged face of Barry ‘Copacabana’ Manilow.
On average, the subjects predicted that 50% of people in the room would see the shirt and take notice of them. In reality, only 25% of their classmates actually noticed what they were wearing — a full half of what they’d expected. What this tells us is that we overestimate — in fact we double — how much attention we think people are paying to us.
Laura, I know what you’re thinking right now; ‘But in a presentation they are all looking at me!’ And to that I say yes, all eyes are on you. But behind those eyes are brains — just like yours and mine — wondering if anyone has noticed the coffee stain on their shirt, if their tummy grumble was really that loud and if they included too many smiley faces in their last email. In other words, people are way too worried about what’s happening in their own world to pay all that much attention to what’s happening in yours.
Frustrating? Yes. Disastrous? Definitely not.
For brands, the lesson is simple but packs a punch. If everyone believes that they’re the star of the show (relegating the rest of us to supporting cast and crew), who are we to convince them otherwise? Play into the idea that our product, service or brand will help them stand out (or fit in) when all eyes are on them — which is pretty much all the time.
Behaviourally Yours,
PS If you missed the last edition, you can see why people leave their valuables on the beach when they swim here.
Bad Decisions Podcast
Learn more about the Spotlight Effect in episode 20 of the Bad Decisions podcast.
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