“The objects we choose do more than serve a function. They often communicate who we are and the position we want to occupy.”
This idea came back to me while reading Jeremy Rifkin’s The Empathic Civilization and thinking about how the objects around us reflect changes in identity, social roles and status.
For centuries, seating itself communicated hierarchy. Benches and stools were common, while ceremonial chairs and thrones visibly marked authority and social position.
A famous example is the Strozzi chair, made in Florence around 1489–1491. It was not the invention of the individual chair, but it shows clearly how a functional object could also become a visible expression of prestige.
From an Ordinary Chair to a Personal “Throne”
A chair is made for sitting.
A throne is also made for sitting.
But no one would confuse what the two objects communicate.
The practical function may be similar, while the meaning is completely different.
And this is where the story connects with training, public speaking and professional visual communication.
A conventional flipchart and KING Flipchart both allow you to write in front of an audience.
But the most interesting question is not simply:
“Can I write on it?”
The better question is:
“What does the tool beside me communicate about the professional standard of my presentation?”
The Unspoken Need: When a Flipchart Becomes a Symbol of Status
A few months ago, during a coffee break at a training event, my business partner Tiziana and I met a young professional who approached us to compliment us on the KING Flipchart project.
At one point she told us:
“In a few months my first official training program will be ready, and I can’t wait to launch it so I can finally allow myself to use KING.”
I was intrigued by her choice of words, so I asked:
“Allow yourself? Do you mean financially?”
She replied:
“No. I know KING will help me communicate my message better, but first I need to feel ready for it.”
That answer made us think.
We pay close attention to the reasons professionals choose KING.
Some want the large writing surface. Some value stability and portability. Others need a professional visual tool for larger audiences, training rooms or stages.
But this woman was expressing something different.
She did not yet feel that she had reached the professional status she associated with KING.
In her mind, launching her first course would mark the moment when she could finally stand beside the panoramic board and feel that she belonged there.
KING was not only a tool she wanted to use.
It represented the professional level she wanted to reach.
Professional Status Is Also Communicated Through Your Tools
Professional expertise is demonstrated by what you know and what you can do.
But when you step on stage, your audience also perceives everything around you.
The venue.
The lighting.
The backdrop.
The slides.
The camera setup.
And the tools you use to communicate.
This is the same principle we explored when discussing stage authority and professional image for trainers.
Every element contributes to the consistency between the professional standard you claim and the professional standard your audience actually sees.
KING Flipchart: From Function to Meaning
A conventional flipchart performs a simple function: it holds sheets of paper so you can write on them.
KING performs the same basic function, but it was designed from a completely different starting point.
Not the office. The stage.
Not only a small meeting around a table, but training sessions, workshops, seminars, conventions and presentations in front of an audience.
That is why KING was developed around a large writing surface, panoramic proportions, stability and portability.
When a tool is designed specifically for a professional context, the way it is perceived also changes.
And that brings us back to the original metaphor.
A chair and a throne both allow someone to sit. But they do not tell the same story.
In the same way, a small office flipchart and KING both allow someone to write on paper.
But in front of an audience they do not occupy the same visual space, create the same stage presence or communicate the same professional intention.
When KING Becomes the “Throne” of Professional Visual Communication
KING does not create expertise.
It does something more relevant for an established professional:
when you have already built competence, experience and authority, you can choose tools that visually represent that level.
This is exactly what the young trainer had understood.
She was not waiting until she could afford KING.
She was waiting for the moment when she could look at it on her own stage and think:
“Now this is where I belong.”
At that point, a flipchart is no longer perceived as just another piece of equipment.
It becomes part of your professional identity.
From Chair to Throne: What Do You Want Your Stage to Communicate?
Before your next training session, seminar or video, look at your presentation tools from your audience’s point of view.
Are they simply functional?
Or are they consistent with the professional level you want to represent?
If you have already decided to raise your standards, KING was designed to accompany you there: on stage, in front of your audience, while turning your ideas into visual communication.
Explore KING Flipchart Configurations
To your success!
Sandro Rizzo
Co-founder & Inventor of KING Flipchart
