Nintendo of America President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Reggie Fils-Aime has a reputation for being pretty calm and deliberate in his presenting style. It goes with the job. But his charm and poise were disturbed when he started a recent Nintendo presentation in New York. His aim was to launch the new Nintendo 3DS and announce its critical price point and sales date to watching industry hacks.
Nintendo Presentation Suffers
But his teleprompter was dead. Yes, it had worked earlier, but now it was dead.
His reaction seemed graceless. It was as if he didn’t know what to do. We wondered whether his stage presence was simply about reading the prompter.
Because without it he had no plan B. With hands clasped, then unclasped he gave the impression of just keeping it together. An appeal to an aide didn’t work, so he aimed a semi-joking accusation at a financial analyst from Wedbush. It was bizarre. You can compare this rather weak approach to that of Sarah Palin when she experienced a teleprompter freeze. Or, of course, the reaction of Elon Musk at the Tesla Cybertruck product launch presentation.
Of course, he recovered the situation when the technology re-started. But this graceless introduction to an important product announcement overshadowed this Nintendo presentation.
Comparing Styles For Presentation Problems
We also reported how there was a stage problem with a President Obama speech. The President’s response? Charm and courteousness combined. That’s the way to do it.
Note to industry Presidents and COOs. When you present with teleprompters and autocue, make sure that you rehearse with them…and without them. Have a plan, a script or some cue cards. So, be prepared for public speaking problems. It makes for a more graceful presentation when everything else goes pear-shaped.
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I doubt that the success or failure of the 3DS would be affected by this
presentation. He did fine once the teleprompter got working again. But his
response to the technical hitch with the presentation…that’s something else.
The US President had a more graceful response when his
presentation was interrupted.
Righto. But do you think this will seriously do long-term damage to the prospects of the 3DS? It’s just an embarrassing gaffe, after all.
It is really a shame that the COO of such an important company cannot speak about the product without a prompter.