Presentation Profiling® – Expert, Interpreter, or Catalyst?

Developing an effective presentation is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Think about the differences among these presentations:

• Main-stage keynote address
• Internal strategy session
• Analyst summit
• Executive-level progress report
• New-business pitch
• Public policy forums

Beyond the message itself, each case is unique in its requirements, from purpose to preparation, skills to style. You couldn’t apply one template to all those situations and expect a successful outcome. To be effective, each presentation demands you take a different approach. Only then will you achieve your endgame—the business results you need.

So how do you determine the right approach for a specific situation?

Presentation Profiling® gives you the framework to choose from three profiles—Expert, Interpreter, or Catalyst. Once you choose the profile that best aligns with your presentation purpose, Presentation Profiling helps you understand the specific skills you need to activate to be successful.

The Expert

When using the Expert profile, your intent is to INFORM. Experts want to efficiently communicate facts and share information about a given subject. Their stake in the game is the completeness and quality of information they provide, but they aren’t necessarily invested in what listeners do with the information they receive. Experts often live and breathe their subject, and their vast knowledge and experience is of great value, but they can easily overwhelm their audience. They often must learn to curate the information shared and simplify it into everyday language.

If you need to present information in a straightforward way, then you need to deliver a presentation as an Expert. To learn how to effectively use the Expert profile, read Presentation Profiling—The Expert.

The Interpreter

When using the Interpreter profile, your focus is to INFLUENCE, translating information into a specific call for action. To be effective, Interpreters must be attuned to their audience’s wants, needs, and concerns so they can convey their message in a way that creates meaning and significance. And they can’t forget that the game isn’t done until the action is taken.

If you want your message to resonate with your audience so that they take action, then the Interpreter profile is right for you. To learn how to effectively use the Interpreter profile, read Presentation Profiling—The Interpreter.

The Catalyst

When using the Catalyst profile, your purpose is to IGNITE—ignite change by igniting your audience. Catalysts are often introducing an all-new vision of the future, one that’s surprising and even electrifyingly disruptive. Rather than requesting a specific action, they are challenging the status quo, creating a vision of what could be, and mobilizing their audience to embrace their own power to make things happen.

If you strive to share your big idea in a way that energizes your audience to believe in change, then the Catalyst profile makes an impact. To learn how to effectively use the Catalyst profile, read Presentation Profiling—The Catalyst.

The Presentation Profiling continuum

Think of Presentation Profiling as a continuum of options and skill sets that you can slide up and down as your goals change. Presentation Profiling gives you the framework to choose the right profile for each presentation, but note that it’s not a personality test and one profile is not better than the other. You may use one profile; you may use all three. The idea is to choose the best fit for the task at hand.

When you use the Presentation Profiling assessment to choose the right profile—Expert, Interpreter, or Catalyst—it helps you better connect with yourself, your message, and your audience so that you get results. As a bonus, Presentation Profiling also creates a new internal language, a code to describe the presentation you need from others or that others expect from you. “You need an Interpreter presentation? You got it!”

When you apply Presentation Profiling and activate the needed skills, you can ensure your presentation hits the mark—in each and every situation.