Want to step up your game and win over that important audience? Here are four “lessons learned” as a result of reviewing the evaluation from attendees at 20,000+ industry trade show. Practice these strategies to help ensure your next presentation is a home run.
A presentation is nothing more than a conversation on a larger scale — perhaps with more purpose, more clarity, and some preparation, but a conversation nonetheless.
I’m often surprised that many speakers still fall prey to the fallacy that preparation means memorization — and that bringing notes to the podium might make you appear ill-prepared in the eyes of your audience. To the contrary, top presenters know it’s not what you bring to the podium but how you use it that sets apart good and great speakers.
A colleague recently auditioned to become a certified trainer for a well-known sales guru, delivering customized versions of his popular seminars under a licensing arrangement. Definitely a high-stakes scenario, as a successful audition would catapult Ernie’s career to the next level.
After three coaching sessions, I asked Ernie to share his thoughts on key takeaways before he headed off to the big audition. These are his lessons learned.
Imagine facing a room full of skittish investors and analysts to present your company’s management plan for the next quarter. Talk about high stakes presentation! In this type of meeting — one that’s likely to be packed with detailed data and statistics — it’s also likely that audience members will be focused on note taking or reviewing handouts rather than keeping their eyes on the presenters. And it’s natural to wonder — does my delivery style matter? The truth is that delivery always matters.
So, what does a game show have to do with effective presentation skills? Almost everything.
Notice I said almost, because rather than battling a mysterious entity known only as “the Banker” as in the show Deal or No Deal, chances are most speakers will be presenting to a room full of advocates. That’s right: your listeners want you to succeed.
But Deal or No Deal, is a perfect speaking metaphor in every other way. To win over an audience, game show contestants must be confident they have the knowledge to win; be strategic in their approach, and have enough passion to inspire listeners.
When you are invited to speak, it’s important to understand exactly what you are being asked to do. Understanding your client’s expectation is the first step to understanding your role and expectations. Cathy was meeting resistance from her fellow presenters, possibly because they each had differing views of the event — was this to be a keynote, team presentation or a panel discussion? Such confusion could be easily cleared up by the client.
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