Fratelli Bologna

An Offer You Can't Refuse

2008-10-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

I got a call on Friday to appear in Las Vegas on Wednesday at a CFO conference as The God Father.

What are the questions going through your mind right now?

Here are the questions I had: How can the 'fair haired' guy next door look like Marlon Brando?
And
Why do they want Marlon Brando at a CFO conference?

Drop me a note...and I"ll tell you the rest of the story.

william@fratellibologna.com

There you are!

2008-09-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

I knew there was a reason I still read the morning paper!

Today Dear Abby had some advice about charm. She said:

My mother used to say there are two kinds of people in this world: those who walk into a room and their attitude says, “Here I am!” And those who walk into a room and their attitude says, “There you are!” The there-you-are type is always the most popular.

Could we take out the word ‘room’ and replace it with ‘scene’?

If we do, it starts to sound a little like endowment to me.

She goes on to suggest:

If you walk into a room and don’t know anyone, don’t wait for someone to approach you. Select someone who looks lost, approach him – or her- and say, “Hi, my name is ‘Emma’.

And how does translate when run through the improv filter?

To me it suggest that if you feel lost in a scene, instead of endowing others, define yourself.

Okay...maybe I’ve been spending way to much time with my mind in an improv-state...but here is more that she has to say...which seems to talk directly to our fundamental belief that you’re on the right track if people enjoy playing with you (Are you fun to play with? Only those you play with can answer.).

Charm..is putting the other person at ease and making her (or him) feel comfortable and important. The charming person makes the effort to make others feel good about themselves. Forming the habit of making others feel good will make YOU popular to be around.

What do you think? Is it improv or do we just see improv everywhere?

Want to Engage the Audience? It takes character.

2008-09-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

When business needs to make a presentation [tell a story] they turn to an in-house subject matter expert [SME] and PowerPoint [PPT].

This is the norm....the status quo [that's Latin for same as everyone else].

If you want to engage the audience sometimes a little drama is what you need. In this case a large silicon valley company wanted to demonstrate how their technology worked...so they brought me in to create a fun character for the interaction.

We had some fun by creating an overzealous employee. Funny. Engaging. Memorable. Not Staus Quo.

Two weeks after the event employees were still talking about how the technology worked. And isn't that what we're after?

Got A Minute

2008-07-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Watch the award winning Trade Show Presentation
Concept that we created for DAC 2008.

Then give us a call and let us create the right kind of DRAMA for you!

Best of DAC Award!

2008-06-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Got a minute?

Our trade show presentation design for HP at DAC this year took a radical approach to the stayed world of trade show theater demos.

Instead of going into depth about HP, we challenged ourselves to tell the whole story in 60 seconds. Just to prove it was exactly one minute, we placed a large LED count-down clock next to the stage.

Attendees stopped to hear the story and see if it could be done.

The results?

Lots of presentations (approximately 43 per day)
lots of customer information cards
the Best of DAC 'Trendsetter' award

Have a trade show presentation coming up?

The Playbook: Improv Games for Performers

2008-05-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

The Playbook:
Improv Games for Performers

Tradeshow: Attract with flair AND credibiltiy

2008-05-13T21:44:00.001-07:00

The challenge was this show was that the client wanted Subject Matter Experts to present content, along with the Fratelli Bologna presenter.

The solution was to have the presenter attract the audience and, in the role of a technology reporter, focus their attention on the subject of security.

He would then bring an SME to the stage and put him/her in the Hot Seat. In the style of a hard-hitting television reporter and often standing in the audience with a hand mike, the presenter would pose (pre-arranged) questions to the SME.

After the SME gave an insightful answer, the presenter would have a follow-up question or two. The presenter would then excuse the SME and wrap-up with suggested actions.

What I've been thinking about....

2008-05-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

Do you blog? Lots of people do.....and it's an interesting way to share information and keep the control in the hands of the viewer.

We'll give it a try and see how it works.

This photo was taken by my friend Corey Rosen. It was taken at BATS Improv in San Francisco. It's my 'pleasant but not too enthusiastic look'.

It's my favorite look for photos. What do your photos look like? What label would you give them?

Lives depend on Improv!

2008-05-13T21:28:00.001-07:00