In a perfect world, you would have several weeks notice to prepare for an important presentation. You would have time to do research to collect important data. You would have time to build a creative PowerPoint program. You would certainly have time to carefully write out your outline and develop a manuscript that you could rehearse over and over again and then commit to note cards. Yes, wouldn’t we all like to live in a perfect world?
But we don’t, and that means that there will be days when your manager puts you on the spot by handing off to you in the middle of an important customer conversation and expecting you to carry the ball all the way. Also, there are certain to be times when you unexpectedly encounter an important contact you have been trying to reach for weeks, and you have 15 minutes to say something that will open a door and create an important new opportunity.
On days like this, what can you do when you don’t really have time to do much of anything except start talking? Remember the following tips and you will do just fine:
Tailor your approach to match the style of your audience. A Doer/CEO type wants the facts in bullet points with quick recommendations. A Thinker/engineer type wants credible facts and important details. A Guardian/HR type wants to not feel pressured and needs to feel a connection involving a sense of trust. A Talker/salesperson type wants a little high energy banter with a challenging opportunity thrown in.
Emphasize the benefit your listener will receive. Don’t try to remember and recite pages of details and arguments. Most of the time they are not necessary. People are only listening for WIIFM (what’s in it for me?). All you really need to tell them is the part about how your solution will help them achieve an important goal or meet an urgent need in their own lives, and they will be glad to listen.
Let your body language do the talking. Strange but true: most people will decide to trust you – or not – based on the way you handle things like eye contact, gestures, posture and nervous fidgeting. If your body language looks confident (and not stiff or faked) your audience will have more confidence in you. Maintain casual consistent eye contact with your audience (don’t stare them down), and let your gestures flow with the rhythm and tone of your voice. Don’t tap your fingers, jingle change in your pockets (keep your hands out of your pockets) or rock back and forth on the balls of your feet. People who act nervous do not inspire trust!
Leave a little time at the end for questions. This is one of the best ways to address the real needs of the audience. If you do a good job of matching their style, speaking to their needs and eliciting their trust through your body language, you WILL have their attention. When you have finished your quick, impromptu delivery, all you have to do is listen to their questions in order to know what they want to hear next.
If you can remember this simple four-step strategy, you can turn even a last minute presentation into a big time opportunity.
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July Presentations Quick Tip of the Month -- Are You Grounded?
Even the most effective and professional presenters and public speakers struggle to some degree with presentation anxiety. Our bodies naturally adopt a defensive posture when we stand up in front of a group of people who all have their eyes trained on us. This “fight or flight” response creates sweaty palms, shallow breathing, increased heart rate, queasy stomach and muscle tension. It also makes it very hard to give a smooth relaxed program! One way to fight this is to do what psychologists call getting grounded. While you are sitting quietly waiting for your introduction, take an inventory of what you see and hear around you – the table cloth is white, the china has a silver rim, my shoes are shiny, the lady next to me is wearing a wig, etc. Breathe slowly and deeply as you do this. By focusing on the little details around you, even the sound of your breathing, you are no longer focusing on your nervous symptoms and they will gradually melt away. Now you are ready to get up and knock ‘em dead.
