Under no circumstances are you to rap during your presentation. I think it’s worth stating that right now. Now that’s said, let’s continue.
I’ve learnt a lot from hip hop culture (see also my post ‘Hip Hop You Don’t Stop‘), and one of the most compelling forms for me is battle rap. The best battles feature truly remarkable skill, which you can learn from for your presentations. Specifically:
- Confidence – sometimes aggressive, sometimes humorous, but always powerful.
- Wit – observations of the opponent’s appearance, or reversing the opponent’s insult from the previous round, causing it to backfire (the bigger the original insult, the greater the effect).
- Language – wordplay, puns, alliterations, and naturally, stacks of complicated rhyme schemes.
And here’s how you can use those elements:
- Confidence – you have to throw yourself at your delivery, because you’re going to be at your best if you fully commit. Go in at anything less than full power and you’re likely to falter.
- Wit – this is really only something you can learn with experience, but you can do it. Try going to an improv class, or go to an open mic night at a comedy club and having a go. Terrifying? Yes. Risky? Check. Massive increase in confidence and creativity? You can count on it.
- Language – start enjoying your words, and try to develop a rich vocabulary. Use it to paint pictures in your audience’s minds.
It may not be your thing, but if you appreciate the form, then observe how MCs bust the mad tight science, and learn from their example.