Ep. 82 Prop-ology

Hey there, Mark Brown. Propology. Oh, yeah, Study of props. What to do and not do. We've seen so many people do it right, but we've seen a multitude do it improperly.

Ooh, Darren, I'm gonna give you your props for saying that.

Oh, man, it's gonna be one of those shows. So, Mark, if we look up on dictionary.com prop the definition of prop, there's a verb to support, to prevent from falling.

There's a.

There's also the noun a stick, a rod, a pole, a beam, or other rigid support. Support a person or a thing serving as support or a stay. That is how to use a prop.

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Your life tells a story, and there's someone out there who needs to hear it.

And Darren Lacroix. And Darren Lacroix.

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Mark, one of the definitions, the words in that definition is a prop, support or a stay, which I love that because that's the reason you use a prop, to get attention, to be unforgettable, and to get your message or your premise to stay in the hearts and the minds of your audience.

Yes. And it's important for us to understand that when a prop is used, well, not only will the message and the premise stay in the minds of the audience, when a prop, prop is used poorly, the attention of the audience gets shifted away from your premise, away from your message, and to whatever prop you have chosen to use. So we need to be very careful how we use props. And I'd like very much, Darren, for you to help me and our listeners to figure out not only what the prop is, but why to use it, when to use it, and how to use it. And maybe along the way, we'll uncover a couple of mistakes that we can correct and hopefully everybody will now use props more efficiently and more effectively going forward.

Yeah. When we're focusing on helping people be unforgettable, I think people see the idea of a prop, they see a master like Tim Guard used them, and then they just take the idea and they just plug it in and don't understand the what, the why, the how and the when behind it. They're just like, oh, he used a prop. I have an idea for a prop. And then they just use the prop. But they're not using it properly.

I love that. Use the prop properly. And it's so true. Darren, we have seen that not only with props, we've seen people appreciate a certain style or methodology, and they appreciate it so much, they choose to use it. But we always come back to, well, when you did that, you reminded me off. You fell on your face that the Darren Lacroix move. So you want to think about why you use a prop and how to use it effectively. So we want to drill down a little more deeply today on some of these simple but very, very important concepts. Why do you use a prop? And Darren, you said if we understand the purpose behind the prop that someone used effectively, it becomes less of. I want to do that too. It becomes more of. I could do that too, because it will help me in this way. But I need to make it my own and be very purposeful, intentional about why I use that particular prop.

Yeah, it's almost like when we talk about humor. Like people who go on the Internet, find a great joke and just band aid it on top of their speech, and they're band aiding the prop. And here's the dangerous point. Is that a prop? Because most presenters don't necessarily use props or they use them sparingly. So any proposal is then attention grabber. And that can be good and that can be bad. And the bad use is when it overrides the premise. When we are so distracted, it takes us off track. Or sometimes it's so unique. Oh, gee, I wonder where they found that. I need to get one of those. And we encourage people, if you're listening to this, go back and listen to episode 30 where we sat down with Tim propped up.

Tim props.

Tim Guard, who uses props masterfully. In fact, I'm gonna show a short little clip right now, Mark, just to kind of set a little bit of the context from one of Tim's TED talks. Again, Tim Guard, who has been one of our awesome, funny, humorous episodes. And we just are just gonna show just a couple of seconds so you understand. So this is one of his TED talks. And in his TED Talk, he was setting it up, and you just see a simple standard black suitcase on a table here. And it just looks like any other suitcase. So obviously create some curiosity. Why is that there? But check this out. So he's not brought attention to it yet. And here we go. I found as I went through my day that what I needed to do was to use humor to lighten up. Now, a lot of you have black roller bags. Like I Do I'm probably the only one that has black orange chicken feet sticking out. I'm just going to stop right there because I want to focus on his use mark. I had not even noticed this before, but someone was cued and the light on the bag actually got turned on as he was walking over there, which I think is just. That's a master. That's a master in action.

Well, you know, Darren, very quickly, that was a TEDX talk, and I have heard for years during your TEDX talk, be sure to stay in the red circle. And what Tim also did was he had the bag on that small table just large enough for the bag. It wasn't a huge table and a small bag or a small table and a huge bag overflowing. He had a small table and a bag proportionately, and they were placed to the side, almost outside the circle, so they were not in a prominent place to sort of say, here we are. Turn your eyes upon me. Give me your attention. So just the placement of the bag on the table is a key, I believe, to the topology. And we're kind of into how to use it. But the way he did that, that caught my attention. That was one of the details. So please continue with your thought about how he had the bag and the light came on. That was really cool, too.

Yeah. I just love what you said about the size of the table because it was just the right size. It was proportional.

Oh, man, David, you've stolen my puns today. That was in the right proportion. That was brilliant. I was wondering why.

You have to ask.

Smile while I was talking.

We're gonna have to ask for forgiveness.

No, it was actually appropriate or appropriate. I'm gonna stop.

We need a prop counter.

Probably up to five right now. But as the hu. As the old comedians would say. But seriously, folks, you'll notice that Tim did a couple of things Darren said. One, the lighting to bring attention to the prop was done at the right time. And so timing is really, really important when you choose to use a prop. In his case, the light came on at the right time. And Darren, you mentioned the placement also. Care to expound upon that, how he laid the bag out?

Well, the bag was laid in a manner which it just looked like any other bag. And then to the back, he had his chicken feet sticking out. Now, this is a routine that he does. What I also love about Tim and his use of props, it's who he is.

Yeah.

And that can be the danger that if all of a sudden we're uncomfortable using a prop in our presentation, then we're gonna feel awkward. This is just Tim being Tim, how Tim is. And he uses his luggage in the airport. And then he also had the big sign that says, this is not your bag. But it was down, it was face down. The feet were to the back until that right moment. Until the proper moment.

Very good. I won't even say anything more. Yeah. And that is also not to be taken lightly because he had a prop. He chose where to place the prop on the stage. He chose when to have the prop lit to draw attention to it. And he chose to lay the prop out in such a manner that the distinguishable features were not evident until it was time for them to be revealed. Those of you who are Toastmasters, we're recording this during Toastmasters contest scene. And there's some people who are contest junkies. They go back and they watch videos from years and years ago. And I remember 10 years ago in 2011, one of the finalists, her name is Olivia Schofield, a Britisher, a friend of mine, living in Berlin, Germany. And in her speech she talked about a stuffed bear named Rodwick. Not Roderick, but Wodwick. You want to find out why? Watch the video. But you'll notice it's a short speech, under eight minutes long. She talks about Roderick being instrumental in her speech therapy. And she had Rodwick on stage, a little teddy bear, however. And please go watch the video. Olivia Schofield, Wadwick Toastmasters 2011. She had Wodwick under a black sheet on a high back chair off to the side, much like Tim Guard did. So he was fairly inconspicuous against a black backdrop with wonderful flags in the background. She said, this is Wodwick. And she walked over, lifted the black sheet and there was teddy bear in her hand, very emotional. She expl what he meant to her and she put him back on his chair, off to the side. And within a minute her speech was over. Now this is important. She had to have the prop on stage because Toastmaster says, you need a prop. Get it set up before the speech begins. But he was shrouded under a black sheet on a high backed chair, inconspicuously. And she revealed him when it was necessary to reveal him. And she realized, once I reveal him, he's going to sit there and people will look at him. She timed it close to her conclusion. So it was a use of a prop that was perfect. It was well timed, it was well planned. Do not take lightly the preparation you need to use in order to make the use of your Prop to maximize the use of your prop for the impact. Remember, you want it to support or be a stay to your presentation, not a distraction from it should support your message, not detract from your message.

And let us be the first to say we're going to point out a couple other examples that we've seen. Now, these are people who've given presentations on a big stage. It's not like we're revealing a secret. But Mark and I also made a lot of mistakes as well. Sometimes it's easy to be that critic and sit back and, well, that was a bad use of a prop. Well, we just want to give you some rock solid examples from what we've seen. But again, Mark and I have made plenty of mistakes ourselves. And Mark, before you, there was a man named Morgan MacArthur and he had first. He came in second to Otis Williams Jr. Correct. Was a veterinarian. And the reason I want to bring this up too, is because he used a full size cardboard Clydesdale.

Yes.

On the stage.

A horse. Yeah.

Tell us about that.

Yeah. Morgan became a dear friend of mine. He whipped my tail pretty good in 94 when he won the title. But in 93, he had someone build him a life size collapsible Clydesdale horse. I mean, full size, it was 15 hands high, he said. And he had to get this thing engineered and shipped to Toronto for the finals. And you think, oh, my goodness, how can you use a life size horse? Now, Morgan came second in the world championship with this massive prop, but he used the like Olivia did towards the end, if I recall correctly. I'm going back now 93, this is like 28 years ago. And he said, you need to see what Yasmin has become. And he went over to the side where this cardboard cutout was and he says, come on, girl, come on. Out of this fax machine. A fax machine. And he unraveled this life sized collapsible horse on the stage. And it was wonderful because the idea of a life size Clydesdale, one of the hugest horses in the world, being on stage, how's that gonna work? One, he made it collapsible, like accordion style, and he pulled it out. Two, it was off to the side until he needed it. And three, he revealed Yasmin towards the end of the presentation. So no one sat there going, what is that thing doing there for five or 10 minutes. His timing was important. And even the construction of this life size horse, making it collapsible, was just absolutely brilliant. So what Morgan taught me was if you're going to use a prop, especially a large prop like that. You need to be a bit more creative in order to serve your audience well. And he revealed her as what she had become in the story, not that she was there to begin with. His timing was brilliant. And he just. He came in second in the world with that speech called you have horsepower, if I remember correctly. Yeah.

I also remember in his winning speech, one of the greatest uses and endings was when he did his stuck to a bucket. A bucket used an analogy about how he was a veterinarian. He wasn't thinking and he had a cold, wet hand and he just helping birth a calf, I think, and grab the bucket and how he was stuck to the bucket and made an analogy about how we are stuck in life. But, Mark, my favorite part of the use of that bucket was right at the end when he held it up.

Yes.

And then he let it drop and it just went gung, like throughout the audience. It was wow. So it was amazing.

Before the mic drop. It was a bucket drop.

It was a bucket drop. Nice.

But, you know, you're. Darren, you're right. Thank you. You're right. So, I mean, these are tim guard, Morgan MacArthur, Olivia Schofield, actually, very, very good use. And as you said, Darren, sometimes we make mistakes ourselves. And I did work in schools, junior high school, senior high school, secondary schools in America for many, many years, doing talks to kids. And I ended up using a pack of pocket tissues as a prop. I was also using a letter that a child sent to me as a prop. Now you have an audience of 800 middle school kids in a gymnasium, and I pull out a letter with a drawing on it, and I'm showing it to these kids. They all can't see that prop in my hand. I'm saying, look at this kid's face. She drew herself with tears down her face, saying, this is how I feel. I know what the letter said. I could see it. But you know what? The kids in the bleachers, up in the rafters, they couldn't see the prop. And when I became into the 21st century, I began using PowerPoint and big screens in the auditorium and gymnasium. Then they could go, ah. And respond to the picture. It was so funny. I never told you this, Darren. I got booked to do a program for a group of schools, an entire district in Tennessee, and they booked the event in a Tennessee walking horse arena. Now, I am not a Tennessee horse person. You know, I gotta avoid what the horse leaves behind right where the horse did it. And I'm in the middle of this arena, and I want to show these, I don't know, 2000 kids this picture. And I end up getting off the stage, and I'm jogging around the arena like I'm the horse. I'm trotting around the arena trying to show these kids this picture that this child drew me. And I think back to myself. I said, what was I thinking? It was inappropriate use of a prop. It was ineffective. I'd left because it was an arena. Literally, they were all around me. I'm in the center of the arena. I come off the stage, I go to the edge, and I'm trotting around this thing like I am the Tennessee walking horse. I became the trotting horse. It was ridiculous. At the time, I didn't see that my intent was, I gotta show the kids it's a cool picture. So I got caught in the value of the prop, but I didn't realize the value of the prop has to be commensurate and appropriate for the audience to get it. So that was a big error on my part, but I didn't understand at the time what I was doing. So we're going to ask you, whatever prop you use, think about how it would be received. View it from the eyes of your audience. Will they receive this? Well, is my intent clear, or will I simply cause a distraction? Because no doubt, when kids are 14 years old and some big old guy is trotting around a walking horse arena getting their shoes all messed up because he wants to show a picture to a kid, to 2,000 kids, it was absolutely ridiculous. And that was a real poor use of a prop on my part, so.

But I learned you should have asked Morgan if he could borrow his horse.

Well, there you go. Boom, boom. Nice connection point. Nice.

Yeah. Mark, we've seen some different uses of props. Jay Gmech, in the world championship, he used a chair. Now. Now, a chair is one of the most used props in the speech contest. But he used it brilliantly and flawlessly in. I think it was three or four different ways that he used a chair.

Yes. Yes, he did.

That was magnificent. Magnificent. I've also seen someone at a. I think it was a semifinal or a district level where they actually set up a dinner scene with candlelit dinner and chairs and glasses and silverware and a tablecloth, and it was like a stage play. It was a distraction in my mind. So we've got to make sure, again, the prop, the literal definition is the support or the stay. So what is it in our premise that we are trying to reinforce. If it's to help tell a story, I'm going to invite you to consider maybe not using a prop, but if it ties into the message to your premise, it makes your premise stickier. Like Wadwick. It was the essence of her message. It was the principle. And I also love Mark in that speech. She says that, you know, Wodwick may seem small to you, but he was big to me. Like, just great writing around it. So we can't use the prop for, ooh, I'm gonna use a prop, and this will make it more noticeable or bring more attention. We've got to go deeper with the use of the prop or it's gonna be a distraction.

Yes. I've heard speakers use terms like what's in your backpack? And they use the backpack as a prop, and that's fine. You have to always be very careful, though. I think it's wise to ask yourself the question, okay, what could be the downside of using the prop? Because we like our props. They speak to us. It's our experience. We want to share our experience with our audience. But ask yourself, is there a downside to this? Is this something that has been done before? Am I doing it because someone else did it and it worked for them and I thought it might work for me as well? You ask yourselves these questions in terms of how can I best serve my audience, regardless of the props size or the value? And you mentioned Darren, the scene of the dining table and the flowers and all that. If it becomes a distraction, then you've lost the focus you want to place upon it. So the question is this. Am I getting the audience to focus on the prop or the purpose of the prop? Say it again. Am I getting the audience to focus on the prop or on the purpose of the prop? If you can marry those two very, very well, then bingo, you'll do what Tim Gard did. He talk about being funny, but also being able to spot his bag a mile away. And the cool thing with Tim Guard's prop is that's dual purpose. One, it creates a laugh, and two, he's almost guaranteed or guaranteed nobody's gonna take his bag because only his bag has chicken feet sticking out of the end. So really think about how you can use your props, whatever they may be, most effectively. As Darren says, to tie back to your premise and not distract the audience or detract from your message or have all their attention focused on the prop. Because I'll tell you this, the one question you don't Want your audience asking is, why is that there? Why is that there? What's that for? Why is that there? I don't get it. Once they start thinking like that, their brains have left the building and you're droning on and they are not hearing a word.

Yeah, it's dangerous territory if you don't take the time to think about it. And again, test, test, test, test, test. Especially if we're doing virtual meetings. If you're a toastmaster, go test it at a few meetings, but ask them, what are you thinking? When did you see the prop? Did you. Did it overwhelm my message? Was it a distraction? You got to ask strategic questions based on how you use it. Mark, We've seen in the world Championship, even someone that actually was a stagetime member who did a dance and he was wearing, like, a pink thong, and it was humorous. And again, easy to be the critic after the fact. But then he threw it on the stage, and because it was a pink thong on a black stage, even though what he was saying was interesting, your brain kept seeing that. Because now had he put it in his pocket after, I think, you know, even if he threw it to make the point about throwing it and moving past that, then go, like, pick it up or kick it off to the side or whatever. Because if a prop is just there for no apparent reason, we just tend to focus on that. And remember, the most important part of a presentation is the thought process in the listener's mind. So it's not the prop, it's how it affects the thinking of the audience. So if you're listening right now, I put Tigger, a stuffed animal, Tigger, on my shoulder to try and distract Mark.

If you're watching, why Tigger, though? I mean, we haven't mentioned Tigger at all. Just kind of sitting there doing nothing. So exactly why is Tigger on your shoulder, Darren?

Well, Tigger usually sits behind my camera so the audience can't see Tigger. But sometimes I get so intense that I forget to just smile and have fun. So, Tigger.

I'm sorry, that was my bad Tigger impersonation.

It was better than average.

I'll do it again.

So it serves a purpose for me as that reminder. But it's behind the camera. Have I have it in front of me or on the camera? It's gonna affect your thoughts. So I think the key depth of propology is to consider how it affects the thoughts in your audience's mind. So going back to Tim's example, again, the curiosity. So a little bit of curiosity. But it's not a huge distraction. It's a black bag. Like we've seen a thousand before. You know, something is in it. However, it's not even lit. And then when he starts to bring it into his presentation, then it's lit up. Then he walks over to it and then there's a big surprise. The chicken feet were always there, but you didn't see him. The sign, this is not your bag was always there, but you didn't see it. So it's quote, unquote, the reveal. The reveal that makes it amazing. Mark When I worked on my days in Bose Corporation, they had just introduced the lifestyle music system and it was part of my job. I don't even know if you know this story. Part of my job. I went to some trade shows and I demonstrated it. I was the sales guy. The sound was amazing. And we set it up. We had people sitting there and there were these large speakers in front of them and they were listening to it and impressed. And then halfway through the song, it was my job to take the fake cover of the stereo speakers and take them away to reveal there were tiny little cubes that were making that big sound. So it was a reveal, it was a prop, but they didn't know the speakers were a prop. And then once it's revealed, it almost gives that, ooh, that impact, that emotional impact. So I think if there's a way to tie emotional impact into what you're doing and why you're using the a prop, I think it helps. But again, premise thoughts of the audience. Premise thoughts of the audience.

And I'm glad you mentioned that because I know we have several listeners who are who serve as ministers and pastors and we actually had interviewed some pastors who have been very good with illustrations. And when you think about it, props are being used in every walk of life by all kinds of presenters. Even corporate presenters can use props. Well, the goal has always. One of the goals you need to have is a goal to make sure the process by which you use it is really effective. Darren mentioned the thoughts in the audience's mind. A question that does come to mind, we've kind of addressed it before is, well, how big must my prop be? I get asked, is this too small? Is it too big? And of course, Darren, one of your favorite answers is, well, well, that depends. Morgan MacArthur chose to use a life size Clydesdale horse in a speech contest. And it was effective for him. Tim, God had a rolling suitcase for a TED talk. It worked for him. Then Andrea Hetterachi took a TED Talk and made it for Toastmasters, used a bucket with a rose in it. The question becomes, it doesn't matter how large the prop is, as long as it serves as a meaningful purpose to support your premise and does not overtake your presentation or overtake your message. So ask yourself, if I use this prop, will it. Will it support, be a stay, or do I use it because I like it? If you can be effective without it, do you really need it? That is a decision you must make. I'm not going to tell you don't use the prop. I want to tell you to use the prop wisely. Use the prop carefully. Set up the reveal as Olivia Scofield did, as Tim Guard did. So when the audience walks away, the impact you intended is the impact that you achieved, and they get the message, the premise is strengthened, the message is supported, it is now stronger because you used it. And if you can't feel confident that the objective you have for the use of the prop is going to be obtained, you might want to rethink not only using it, but you might want to rethink how you plan to use it, when you plan to use it, in what way you choose to use it. Because even tweaking that can make it that much more effective. It's like having the punch word in a sentence. Our punch word or punch phrase comes at the end, and you can use the same French phrase in a different place in the sentence, but the impact is not as powerful. So think about. As you think about your prop, think about how well to use it. Is the reveal being done, and what's the best way to use it. And that way, when you do apply the prop, when you do bring the prop out, the audience walks away having had the benefit of the message being supported, strengthened because of the prop.

And my final thought is, Robert Fritz says you must master a skill in order to abandon it. So study the masters who use props if you're going to use a prop, study the masters. But not just that they're using it. That's too surface. You've got to go deeper. How are they using it? Study it just like a joke or a storytelling, study the use of props if you're going to use a prop, because there's a right way to do it, there's a wrong way to do it. But my reminder is, get some feedback. That's the only way you're gonna know how it affects the audience's thoughts. And in your study of how it affects their thinking, you may uncover a better line, a better phrase to know what they're thinking to tap into that. Mark, take us home.

My friends, that is propology. How to use a prop properly. You do that well, you will be unforgettable.

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