The following is an exclusive, translated pre-release of an article called “The New Reality” that will publish in the 11/11/2016 issue of Germany’s DUB Unternehmer Magazine, and was posted with their permission.
THE NEW REALITY
Technological Revolution: The way we present in the corporate world has hardly changed for decades, even though the technology of today offers many exciting solutions. Dominic Spaeth, the CEO of INSCALE, presents his vision of the future of presentations.
Are you familiar with the term: “Death by PowerPoint?” This phrase has been thrown around in corporate situations for over ten years, speaking to the slow death of audience members’ attention as they sit through yet another extremely uninspired presentation. This phrase is still well and alive today, even though common sense tells us that a short, precise, even unexpected portrayal of ideas or concepts, products or services decide their fate, whether within a business or for a client.
“The presentations in conference rooms are often lacking in quality and unsuccessful in reaching their audience,” says Dominic Spaeth, founder of the LEBEMAN group and CEO of INSCALE, a presentation agency. “Many factors play into this issue, one of them being a question of talent: is your speaker exciting enough to capture his audience? Apart from that, the tools for a successful and innovative presentation available to us are hardly being put to use.”
NEW REALITIES
“With the new technologies, Augmented and Virtual Reality, available to the public, presentations can become gripping, interactive experiences like you’ve never seen them before,” Spaeth explains. “Augmented Reality, or “AR,” can be best explained as a digitally enhanced perception of reality. For example: you are presenting on a car model with a new interior design. As an audience member, you can scan the photo of the vehicle in the presentation with the designated app to see the interior in 3D on your device. As you move your phone, the perspective of the interior changes in kind. This way, the audience can interact with the presentation.”
“Virtual Reality, on the other hand, refers to the computer-generated simulations of a virtual world, like a 3D Simulation in which you can move freely and interact with your surroundings. These moments are made possible through the necessary hardware; if you have a VR headset and the corresponding computer set-up, you could now take the new car for a virtual test drive.”
LASTING IMPRESSIONS
“There are many benefits of the consumption of AR and VR content compared to a passive intake of two-dimensional information,” says Spaeth. “It’s all about letting the audience have control over their consumption. AR and VR presentations allow individuals to actively engage with the information and to forge the connection between the physical and digital worlds. All of a sudden, two-dimensional objects come to life! You automatically spend more time engaging with and critically examining the content. While classic 2D presentations are in constant competition with the surrounding visual environment, VR presentations make the audience member an active participant. Through flawless virtual immersion, the individual has an emotional experience, which increases dopamine levels and leads to a stronger pattern of memory.”
Spaeth recognized this opportunity for creating lasting memories and communicating more effectively than seen in the presentation techniques used today.
PRE-SMARTPHONE ERA
On saying “no,” and the future of presenting.
DUB UNTERNEHMER Magazine: Why do we need presentations agencies?
Dominic Spaeth: Classic presentations as we know them are slowly dying out. Many of our international clients are already making use of the new technological opportunities of AR and VR in their workplace. However, they continue to look for support and advice on how to effectively use this technology to get their message across or further their brand. A considered Virtual and Augmented Reality strategy is necessary to get the desired results. We’re not afraid to offer an alternative, or to suggest waiting 6-months if we believe the product will achieve stronger results. Our clients appreciate the honesty.
UB UNTERNEHMER Magazine: Will these technological developments lead to a future without PowerPoint?
Spaeth: PowerPoint is one platform among many, and I don’t expect it to last forever. I like to compare this moment in digital progress to the revolution of the internet, or the very first smartphone. Microsoft and Nokia, both top dogs in their field, missed these advances in technology. Microsoft managed a comeback, but only with great financial efforts. Nokia had a harder time playing catch-up. The future of presentations definitely depends up on these new technologies.
DUB UNTERNEHMER Magazine: What is your assessment of the presentation industry?
Spaeth: I recently returned from the US where I exhibited at a presentation conference, the Presentation Summit. I spoke about the future of the presentation industry, which is strong at the moment, all things considered. The market for classic PowerPoint presentations, however, is declining rapidly. At the moment, about 30 Million PowerPoint presentations are being created worldwide every day. That’s about 350 presentations per second. That may sound like a lot, but if you consider that a billion computers around the world have PowerPoint installed, the number isn’t as impressive anymore. An entire industry is changing.
THE FUTURE IS HERE
Presentations Like You Have Never Seen Them Before: The way we present in the corporate world has hardly changed for decades, even though the technology of today offers many exciting solutions.
“The presentations in conference rooms are often lacking in quality and unsuccessful in reaching their audience,” says Dominic Spaeth, founder of the LEBEMAN group and CEO of INSCALE, a presentation agency.
“It’s all about letting the audience have control over their consumption. AR and VR presentations allow individuals to actively engage with the information and to forge the connection between the physical and digital worlds. All of a sudden, two-dimensional objects come to life!”
“You automatically spend more time engaging with and critically examining the content. While classic 2D presentations are in constant competition with the surrounding visual environment, AR and VR presentations make the audience member an active participant. Through flawless virtual immersion, the individual has an emotional experience, which increases dopamine levels and leads to a stronger pattern of memory.”
Spaeth recognized this opportunity for creating lasting memories and communicating more effectively than has been previously seen in the presentation techniques used today.
Many of INSCALEs international clients are already making use of the new technological opportunities of AR and VR in their workplace. However, they continue to look for support and advice on how to effectively use this technology to get their message across or further their brand. This is where INSCALE offers a considered Virtual and Augmented Reality strategy to get the desired results.
Classic presentations as we know them are slowly dying out; PowerPoint is one platform among many, and we don’t expect it to last forever. Don’t be the company who has to play catch-up in a few years. Getting an early start, and doing it well, is the key to being successful in this ever-changing digital world.
BIO
Dominic Späth was no model student. Instead, his heart was in the business world, where he started his first online business, Palm Tree Design, at the young age of 16. Getting early business experience proved to be valuable, as Späth founded LEBEMAN GmbH in 2014 and acquired the brand INSCALE in the same year. Recently, his company Palmtree Ventures began investing in AR/VR start-ups to encourage young business owners to make their ideas a reality.