Professionally Speaking...

Presentation Tip: First Impressions Matter

According to bestselling author, Malcolm Gladwell, in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, "Snap judgments are...enormously quick: they rely on the thinnest slices of experience."

In our personal worlds, decisions are made in the blink of an eye: when house hunting, the assessment we make as soon as we walk through the door; the assumptions we make when we see someone dressed radically different from the norm; the impression we have as someone arrives for an interview.

If snap judgments are part of our modus operandi, what implications does this have for presenters?

It means that in the first few moments the audience sees you, you are being judged, assessed, evaluated. Long before you open your mouth. Long before you get to the main message of your presentation.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO CREATE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION?

• Be prepared, with AV equipment checked, handouts sorted and slides ready. If you seem disorganized and rattled over logistics, your audience may assume that your presentation will be equally disorganized.

• Look your best. One of the most common snap judgments is making assumptions based on how someone is dressed or groomed. Be sure your appearance is suitable for the particular audience. The mad scientist look may be acceptable at a conference of peers but not work so well in the venture capitalist's boardroom.

• Be friendly. Don't bury you head in your notes for that one last review as the audience is coming into the room. Go greet them at the door, as if you were welcoming them to your home. Interact with individuals prior to commencing your presentation. This can help greatly to create an impression that you're personable and worth listening to.

• Smile. Establish a connection on a human level and let people know you're glad they've come to hear you speak.

You have a fleeting opportunity at the outset of your presentation to shape the lens through which the audience initially sees you...before you speak, before they start to experience your message. Do your utmost to make this "thinnest slice of experience" as positive as you can.

Photo Credit:
flickr/LadyDragonfly  C.C. 2.0

 

Presentation Lessons from a Cooking Demonstration

What do a cooking demonstration and a business presentation have in common? More than you might think.

In my volunteer role at the U.S. Botanic Garden I occasionally assist at cooking demonstrations which we put on to showcase herbs or edible plants from a particular region. These events are always extremely popular with our visitors and I can see why.

Here are some ingredients we business presenters can adapt from a good cooking demonstration:

• Prepare Your Space Before the Presentation :: Well before visitors entered the room, the cooking demo host set out all her pans, foodstuffs and utensils. She pre-planned the flow of traffic [visitors were going to stations around the room to mix their own spices] and organized her handouts.

Too often in business presentations we rush into the presentation space at the last minute and then fiddle with AV equipment and handouts while the audience is in the room. Not only is this a waste of the audience's time [they sit around waiting for you to get ready] but it makes you look disorganized and perhaps suggests to your audience that you had more important things to do than be ready to speak to them.

• Know Your Subject Matter So Well That You Can Focus on the Audience :: The cooking demo host was so familiar with her material and her cooking techniques that she didn't have to put a lot of focus on what she was doing but instead could be totally present with the audience -- anticipating and answering their questions, realizing when she needed to re-explain information and frequently asking for their opinions and experiences.

Although business presenters are often subject matter experts, they still hide behind their material, reading from a script or PowerPoint slides, perhaps due to nervousness or lack of preparation. This greatly minimizes the opportunity for audience interaction: the presenter doesn't fully connect with the audience; the presentation is more of a data dump than a conversation; and the audience shuts down rather than getting engaged.

• Give Samples :: Of course the cooking demo lends itself to handing out samples of the food that's being prepared. But the skilled host went beyond just passing food around while she moved on to the next thing. She highlighted the learning point in that sample, related to the overall theme of the demonstration ["see how good this tastes even though I didn't use any oil in cooking it?"].

You may think that, as business presenters, we don't usually have cool samples to give out. And while you may not have a delightfully herby pesto to offer, your sample is the prop that lets your audience experience your message. Be creative -- perhaps it's a chart or a graph or perhaps it's something tactile that helps illustrate your point. Recognize the power of giving your audience something that heightens their involvement.

So, all you foodies out there, what other ingredients can we borrow from a cooking demonstration presenter to enhance our business presentations?

Photo Credit:
flickr/2008 Metropolitan Cooking Festival, Washington DC  C.C. 2.0

 

 

Enchanting Your Audience

I have just finished reading Guy Kawasaki's new book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. And as with all of Guy's books, this one is filled with easy-to-understand concepts and immediately applicable suggestions made all the more memorable by intriguing stories and examples of both everyday people and celebrities like Sir Richard Branson, Al Gore and Steve Jobs.

Kawasaki's main premise is that enchantment "...causes a voluntary change of hearts and minds and therefore actions. It is more than manipulating people to help you get your way. Enchantment transforms situations and relationships....It changes skeptics and cynics into believers."

And isn't that exactly what we set out to do as presenters? Change hearts and minds and actions. Change skeptics and cynics into believers.

Here, then, are some key enchantment principles, as they relate to business presentations:

• "One must understand what people are thinking, feeling, and believing in order to enchant them...Enchantment requires understanding why people are reluctant to support your cause."
  APPLICATION: Do your homework and uncover the needs of your audience before you even start creating your presentation. This will make it easier to include the appropriate level of detail and examples. Knowing what points are likely to be contentious allows you to prepare extra backup in these areas, anticipate questions and rehearse answers that will satisfy the skeptics.

• Be likable, achieve trustworthiness and create memorable experiences for those you are trying to enchant.
  APPLICATION: Don't spend all your time creating the slide deck. Leave enough time to speak to people ahead of the presentation to get a sense of attitudes towards your topic. Rehearse adequately so you are comfortable with what you're going to say and can focus on interacting with the audience. Get to the presentation venue early so you can mingle with attendees before you start to speak.

• "Sell your dream. Enchanters don't sell products, services, or companies...Steve Jobs isn't thinking, How can I get people to buy $188 worth of parts with a two-year contract from AT&T? Enchanters sell their dreams for a better future...It makes them think of what could be, not what is."
  APPLICATION: Even if you don't think you're trying to change the world, most of our presentations are advocating a better or different way of doing or looking at things. Focus on the dream -- the benefits, solutions and opportunities -- rather than getting stuck in the weeds.

If you need a little extra help enchanting your next audience -- and who doesn't -- go get Kawasaki's book and take your enchantment quotient to a new level.

As a special bonus for a limited time, buy Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions in any form (paper, ebook, recording) and get a free copy of Garr Reynolds' classic book on presentations, Presentation Zen. Details here.

 

 

 

 

 

5 Steps to a Brilliant Keynote Presentation

It is a rare occasion where, when a presenter asks for feedback on a presentation, I have no constructive suggestions to offer. In fact, I don't think that has ever happened. I am usually full of ideas to tweak and massage a presentation to make it more logical, more engaging, more memorable.

But I recently heard a conference keynote where, if I had been asked, I would have had no improvements to suggest. This unusual situation occurred at the American Society for Training & Development's International Conference and Expo in Orlando last week. Marcus Buckingham, the leader of the "Strengths" movement, was the opening keynote and he delivered an absolutely stunning presentation.*

Yes, he's very well known, comfortable speaking in front of an audience of 8,000, speaks frequently and probably has had coaching. And you may not be able to identify with any of those things. But as I split my focus between listening to his message and dissecting his technique, I concluded that his behaviors are ones we can all easily embrace to improve our presentations.

Let's take a closer look at those behaviors.

• Buckingham was incredibly passionate about his message. He was talking about his life's work and his expertise and enthusiasm showed clearly. When the speaker is authentically excited about his message, it is almost impossible for the audience not to be caught up in that passion.
  WHAT YOU CAN DO: Record yourself speaking passionately. Play it back to see if you would actually be enthused if you were sitting in the audience. Look for aspects or sections of your message that you can speak enthusiastically about and practice those.

• Buckingham brought an appropriate level of "theatre" to his presentation -- his pacing, tonality and facial expressions were all completely congruent with what he was saying at any given moment, much like an actor's. Clearly he had practiced this presentation and internalized it so he could focus on these nuances.
  WHAT YOU CAN DO: While you may not think "theatre" is appropriate in your boardroom or staff meeting presentations, maximizing how you come across to your audience always pays dividends. It helps you look more polished and makes you easier to listen to. Watch stage plays, movies and excellent presenters and incorporate relevant techniques, personalized so they are authentic, into your presentations.

• Buckingham was very energetic and used his space confidently, which in this case was a huge stage with two screens on either side where he was being projected. He took advantage of the size of the stage by moving around the middle two-thirds and coming to the front when he was making a key point or letting the [8,000 person] audience in on a secret. He exaggerated any gestures so they were appropriate to the space.
  WHAT YOU CAN DO: While you may not be speaking to 8,000 people anytime soon, being conscious of your space and using it to your advantage helps the audience see you as credible and comfortable. Don't present from behind a podium; move around purposefully in your space; move closer to the audience when you are making a key point.

• Buckingham's presentation was filled with wonderful stories and personal examples, all crafted to underscore his key messages and engage the audience. Not only were the stories sharply illustrative but they were delivered with exquisite timing.
  WHAT YOU CAN DO: Develop and practice stories that will help the audience better understand and "see" what you're saying. If storytelling doesn't come naturally to you, start with one story in one presentation and hone it to perfection by practicing it over and over. Have colleagues critique your timing -- are you building tension, are you delivering credible dialogue, are you pausing for audience reaction.

• Buckingham clearly enjoyed himself throughout his presentation. He was connecting with the audience, feeding off their laughter, laughing at his own jokes and smiling. Sitting in the audience, it would have been hard not to be engaged when the presenter was so engaged himself.
  WHAT YOU CAN DO: Be well enough prepared and rehearsed that you can enjoy yourself once you start to speak. Finish off slides before the last minute, allocate enough time for verbal rehearsal and arrive at the presentation location early so you can check the equipment and room set up.

You may never inhabit the world of famous speakers and huge audiences [and you may be deliriously happy about that!]. But these techniques will help you to engage and enchant any audience and make you a brilliant presenter in your own world.

 

* This is not the 2011 ASTD presentation but it gives you an equally good example of Buckingham's skill.