Category: Presentation Skills

STRIVE FOR A CONNECTION…NOT PERFECTION

When you are standing in front of an audience giving a giving a talk, I know you don’t want to make a mistake. You don’t want to experience stumbling over words, forgetting what you were going to say, or blurting out something you didn’t intend to say.

But, if any of those situations happen, I say to you….. so what? Is that really what the audience wants from you….to be perfect? To never make a mistake?

Not in my experience. Audiences want relevant information that will help them do their jobs better. Or, they want to be entertained.

When you make a mistake, depending upon your audience and the topic, you have choices on how to deal with it.

Since my seminars are not formal, I call out my mistake, poke fun at myself, and then move on. I don’t belabor it; I don’t let it throw me off.

If I forget where I was going with a point, I call it out. “Gosh..I was going somewhere with this point, but my mind went blank.”

Someone in the audience will always help me get back on track. “You were talking about X.”

If you are in a more serious or formal setting, you may say, “I misspoke. Let me go back and give you the correct information.”

If you forget where you are, look back at your PPT to remind yourself or, look down at your notes. You can do this in silence.

I can’t imagine your audiences holding that against you. And, in fact, you may be setting an example for them as to how to handle a mistake when they are presenting.

We speakers always want to be fluid, articulate and laser-sharp. But, we are human and make mistakes.

I have found that perfection is a lofty goal. It is far more important to be human and connect with your audience.

So, remember, strive for connection….not perfection.

WHAT TV NEWS TAUGHT ME ABOUT PPT

 

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I was a TV news talent coach for many years.  Some of what I have learned has become valuable for clients who are not in broadcast news.

Recently, I worked with two people on a speech for a trade show. They were having troubles winnowing information from their busy slides into something meaningful. My insight into helping them came from TV.

We called it Audio – Video referencing.

When you are watching the news, and you see the various video shots, we know that the audience’s understanding and retention of information is enhanced when the following occurs: what the audience SEES and what the audience HEARS….match.  

In other words, if the anchors are talking about a warehouse fire in San Francisco, the audience sees the warehouse fire.

However, in business presentations, slide creators dump as much information onto the slide as they can (to prove they have done their homework, or to impress the engineers who love data), and then begin talking. Meanwhile, the audience is trying to decide whether to read all of the bulletin points, look at all of the diagrams, or listen to the speaker.

This is not a good way to present.

If you don’t want to confuse your audience and if you really want your ideas to resonate, what you are saying, and what the audience sees…should be one in the same.

Just take a look at any of Steve Jobs’ presentations at MacWorld; they are a perfect example of exquisite audio-video referencing.

Ok….so your slides have already been approved.  Or, you have sent them ahead of time and you can’t change them. What do you do?

As you are preparing and practicing, go through each slide and ask yourself this: what is the most important piece of information your audience needs to know on this slide?   What is the key message or the critical takeaway?

State it. Briefly explain why it is important. Conclude.

Don’t try to address everything that is on the slide; you will lose your audience.

In the future, as you and your team are creating slides for an upcoming meeting or presentation, focus on one idea per slide.

Insert a picture/graph/chart that best supports your idea.

If you can’t come up with a visual that illustrates your point, don’t have a slide.

 

Are you sure you truly understand the question?

 

A portion of my training is devoted to Q & A, both how to formulate your answer, but also how to make sure you truly answer the question.

What I am discovering is presenters answer the question they think they hear.

Why not be respectful of the questioner and find out what s/he truly means, rather than assuming?

In a recent training, a fellow participant asked the presenter at the end of his (mock) presentation, “Tell me your process.”

The presenter launched into an explanation that didn’t answer the question.

Instead, he should have done some investigative work. Here is an example of how you can get to the true intent.

“We have several processes in place for both budgeting and scheduling. Is there one that you wanted me to focus on?”

Here is another example.

Q: “Tell us about Project A?”

A: “I am happy to. Is there a particular phase you are interested in?”

Reach clarity before you answer.

Clarification not only helps you narrow your response (generally, answers should be around 1 minute or less), but more importantly, the questioner will feel listened to, and you will answer the question s/he asked.

Some people might over use this as a stalling technique, and it is true…this does buy you time. However, my suggestion is always to be authentic and to only use this when you genuinely need clarity.

CRISPNESS AND CLARITY IN Q&A

If you want to sound succinct, prepared and clear in
Question-and-Answer sessions, try the H-E-C-K formula.

H = HEADLINE

What is the overarching statement that sets the context for E.

E = EXPLANATION

What is the story….or what are the facts….that support the headline?

C = CONCLUSION

End by summarizing.

K – Keep quiet.

If you ramble, you risk saying something you don’t want to, or diluting the clarity and strength of the message.

Let me step you through a simple example.

You are asked the question, “Why are you choosing Proposal A?”

HEADLINE

“There are two compelling reasons why we are supporting this proposal.”

EXPLANATION

“Our customers will experience a seamless transition, and, in the long-run, it will save our division money.”

CONCLUSION

“Considering these facts, you can see why Proposal A would be the right choice for our organization.”

If there is a follow-up question, you start all over again with a new Headline.

While I teach this primarily for Q&A, you might find that this formula helps you organize your thoughts for any presentation.

FLEXING YOUR SPEAKING STRENGTHS

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We all have appealing qualities when we speak that make us engaging communicators. Yet, very few of us are aware of what those natural qualities are and which ones we have …let alone how to leverage them when we communicate.

What qualities am I talking about?

Here are a few: approachability, humility, humor, command, confidence, charisma, sincerity, authenticity, energetic, enthusiastic, organized, knowledgeable, or passionate.

Which ones do you think you manifest?

How do these relate to presentations?

Given the audience and subject matter, you will want certain assets to emerge.

For instance, you may want to exhibit excitement during your open or introduction. You may want to shift to passion as you are talking about a new idea. Then, you may want to conclude with confidence as you state the action step.

Or, if you or your organization has made a mistake or not delivered on a promise, humility would be appropriate.

Consider your topic and audience. What strengths will you want to project?

The next step is to identify the body language skill that will help these strengths emerge. Barack Obama uses the pause to enhance his command and charisma. This was evident in his 2008 speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnvUUauFJ98.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a “60 Minutes” interview, displayed passion and sincerity with his tone of voice and facial expressions. Here’s a sample of that interview. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/apple-60-minutes-ceo-tim-cook/.

Tony Robbins uses movement to energize and engage his audience in his TED talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x1jJvp1ERs.

No matter what the presentation or the circumstances, it is important for you to know that your assets are your foundation. They are always present and will help support you in every instance.

Confidence! Presence! Enthusiasm! It starts with your posture

Something is happening to our posture.  We are certainly slouching a lot more.  Why is this?  Perhaps it is because every task we do is in front of us:  computer work, cooking, driving, lifting, etc.

How does poor posture relate to presentation skills?

We all know non-verbals (body language) can influence what people think about us.  I have witnessed in my trainings how poor posture makes a presenter look bored, dismissive, detached, scared, uncertain.

Is it possible to ward off these negative perceptions?

YES.  And, all it takes is to make a series of small, simple adjustments:

  • Pull your shoulders back; shoulder blades should be down
  • Lift up from your waist
  • Your chin should be parallel to the ground
  • Your weight should be evenly distributed
  • Don’t lock your legs; there is a slight bend in your knees
  • Feet should be hip-bone-distant apart
  • Toes pointed forward
  • Arms/hands should be relaxed in a neutral position

The more you assume this proud stance, the more natural it will feel to you.

The payoff is huge.  What the audience will see is a confident, commanding, engaged and enthusiastic presenter.