Be Inspired By The Flying Ostrich

 

With the early election campaign underway in Britain and the French presidential contest moving into its climactic second round, you might expect to spot flying pigs as political candidates parade their promises.

 
But on screen you’re more likely to see a flying ostrich than a flying pig.
 
This is thanks to an attention-grabbing TV and on-line commercial from Samsung seeking to inspire us to “Do What You Can’t”.
 
It follows an earlier flying ostrich advertisement brought out by Cadburys and pictured here.

 

 
 
The Samsung version features an ostrich which, with the help of the company’s new Virtual Reality device, appears to defy gravity.

 

 

Coming from Australia – home of that other big flightless bird, the Emu – I have a soft spot for long-legged traditionally earthbound birds which, while they may be short on brain-power, are strong on attitude.

 

 

The Samsung commercial shows an ostrich breaking away from his fellow flightless birds and miraculously ending up wearing a virtual reality headset.
 
This, accompanied by Elton John’s “Rocket Man” song, prompts the ambitious ostrich to seek to fly.

 

 

After an early crash, some night-time training and admirable persistence, the commercial depicts the ostrich succeeding – to the admiration of his fellow ostriches who run along with him as he takes off and soars.

 

 
 
“Do what you can’t” is a fitting slogan for the expanding world of Virtual Reality.
 
The storyline may be far-fetched, but the message underpinning it nonetheless inspires.
 
The message is one that the Wright brothers embraced.

 

 

Orville and Wilbur weren’t put off by those who thought a machine heavier than air would never fly when they managed to prove the skeptics wrong in North Carolina in 1903.

 

 

They didn’t allow themselves to be put off by thinking the challenge couldn’t be met.
 
You can check out the beautifully-crafted Samsung commercial here and add to the 23-million-plus on-line viewings it’s had so far:

 

 

YOUR COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS:

DO WHAT (YOU MIGHT THINK) YOU CAN’T

 
 
There’s much to be said for this “Do what you can’t” approach in the field of improving your communication skills.
 
When it comes to becoming an inspirational business communicator, there are many who think they can’t become one.
 
Yet when they give it a try – as they regularly do in my one-to-one communications-boosting programmes, in master classes and in on-stage in demonstrations during my conference keynotes – they surprise themselves about what’s possible.
 
The thing that I’ve observed is that becoming an inspirational business communicator is a learnable skill.
 
When people throw themselves into the challenge of boosting their content, their structuring and their delivery style they can amaze themselves and others.
 
This is especially so with numbers-orientated people and technical types – finance directors, accountants, engineers, surveyors, computer experts, actuaries etc.
 
They have strong analytical skills but often start with the view that connecting more effectively with people is something they’re just not cut out to do.
 
The tipping point is often when they realise that their technical skills will only get them so far in the business world.
 
They often come to a point where they figure that if they are to play a bigger role in running the entire company – possibly as a team leader, chief executive officer, managing director or chairman – that communication skills will be an important necessary ingredient to their success.
 
They particularly realise that in order to go higher and achieve more , they need to enhance their ability to influence, inspire and persuade.
 
The co-founder of Apple, the late Steve Jobs, came to realise this as he set about going beyond selling clever devices and effectively sold dreams.

 

 
 
What such clever technical people often discover is that they can, and need to, utilise their analytical strengths to learn and apply techniques for effective communication.
 
And as Steve Jobs showed, this can be done with bedazzling results.
 
This was the case with an actuary who once took part in a training course that I ran with a colleague.
 
Despite his initial concern that he wouldn’t become very good, he started writing headline messages that he held aloft on make-shift posters as the session progressed.
 
These encapsulated in punchy, witty ways his take on the points that my colleague and I were making.
 
He ended up being a star improver.
 
What clever analytical people need to understand is that there are:
 
+ Ways of working out the right content for any particular audience
 
+ Methods of structuring captivating presentations, short business introductions and great answers to tough questions which are learnable
 
+ Things you can do to instantly improve your delivery style with adjustments to your body language and facial expressions
 
+ Ways of engaging your audiences more effectively with better use of your voice – with variations in your pitch, pausing and pace.
 
All these things can help you take your communications game to a new level – which can be further enhanced with proper planning, preparation and practice.
 
The biggest challenge is often to convince yourself that you can do it.
 
Ostriches were once believed to stick their heads in the sand to avoid things they feared.
 
Now, with the help of computer generated images, Virtual Reality and clever production techniques, they can appear to fly.
 
“Do what you can’t” is not a great motto if you think you can fly and want to jump out of a high window to prove it (please don’t try this at home!)
 
But “Do what you can’t” is a splendid motto for putting eminently learnable communications guidance into action.
 
If you’d like to have a chat on the phone or Skype about doing what you might otherwise think can’t be done in the communications zone – for yourself, your team or your conference audience – email
potential times that work for you and we can discuss it:
michael@michaeldoddcommunications.com
 
“Do what you can’t” can be remarkably achievable in the communications sphere.

 

 

After their horrendous publicity over their Galaxy mobile phones that burst into flames because of a design flaw, could Samsung design an advertisement so imaginative that it would shift the focus attention on their success in other places such as developing Virtual Reality?
 
If the company ever though it couldn’t, it’s now shown that it can.
 
It’s amazing what a focused positive approach can do to make things happen – with or without Virtual Reality.
 
 

 
 
And it’s better to fly than stick your head in the sand.