July 2005 -- This is the third installment in a series on professional speaking skills.
Question: I am aware that you and your business partner, Jim Loehr, have made professional presentations for many years throughout the world. As a person who wants to improve his speaking skills and present at conventions like our USPTA World Conference, what tips do you have?
Answer: The success of speakers depends on how well they “connect” with their audiences. Way too many speakers become so concerned about their content and explaining “their” ideas that the audience becomes a passive participant. This will
not lead to a successful presentation. Rule No. 1 is to become totally “other-focused” in your delivery. If it’s about
them and not about what you’ve done or who you are as an expert, you are immediately on the road to success. Now, please understand that you must set expectations and, in doing so, you may have to discuss your background/expertise. The point is to get through that part quickly and move on to discussing their needs and how your information will affect them. Think of yourself as the assist leader on a basketball team. They get tremendous recognition for helping their teammates score and be successful.
Your job becomes to influence, inspire, educate and motivate people in how they think and act. To do this, you must engage your spirit with the purpose of engaging the spirit of your audience. It
is possible for them to learn when you just give an information dump, but this form of learning will occur only in their brains. If you want them to
“actively” learn at all levels of who they are (mind, body, spirit), they will become engaged and connect with you at a much deeper level. This means that they must be involved with you in your presentation. To do this, you must reach them at their heart. If your audience feels you care about them, if you want to make a difference in their lives, and that you have passion about what you are presenting, they will connect with you. This is the level at which change occurs. If you do not engage their hearts, they will likely not buy into what you are presenting. So, how do you get a “Yes!” response from your listeners? In this column, let’s discuss several points you should consider.
You should begin by asking yourself the following questions: Can you identify with your audience? What’s the average age and what is the ratio between the genders? Can you speak in terms of what interests them? Do you have credibility with them or, if they don’t know you, can you get credibility right away at the start of your presentation? Is there a way you can “partner” with your audience (take them on the journey with you)? Can you use benefits-oriented language to help them understand and connect? Can you connect with humor, activities or stories to create an experience for them? And, finally, are you passionate about the message you are presenting?
Not only must you research your message (something I discussed in a previous column), but you must also research your audience. Do you understand their “pain”? For example, some companies in the selling process will ask a potential buyer, “What is it about your business that keeps you awake at night?” Then, you can associate your presentation with their needs. Once you really know them and their needs, you can create identity with them and “partner” with them. You now will speak in terms of, “I understand what you need,” versus, “You really should buy my service/product.” For example, a teacher might know that his prospects are interested in health and well-being. The teacher will take them “on a journey into the world of better health and fitness.” And, the destination would be that “you can make this change happen.”
Can you leverage the position you have? Do you have a vision for your audience and their take-away points from your presentation? What secrets or “nuggets” of information will you share? Then, you must ask whether your audience will believe you and why. In the selling process, trust with the person in front of you rates higher than return-on-investment. Prospects buy into the relationship first, not how the product/service sounds.
Focus! Don’t try to be all things to all people. Be specific in your presentation and always give at least one good reason
why. At one point in their corporate history, Sears tried to be everything and almost failed. Focus
wins!
Then, build your case. Don’t just say how great your ideas are. Accentuate the positive and the trivial. Enunciate clearly! Stay positive and you will be associated with good thoughts. You do not want to come off as harsh or give a fire-breathing, in-your-face kind of speech. If you speak negatively, that is how you will be associated.
Relative to the stories you tell, use real-life examples whenever possible. Your details could follow the lines of a reporter: Who, what, when, where, how and why? Visual detail will make the illustration more memorable. For example, some people see an animal at the zoo and describe it like this: It was a big wild boar. Get a visual image of that animal. Now, create this image in your mind. It’s a 400-pound wild boar, bigger than any football player I have ever seen, with razor-sharp tusks, and it will attack you unprovoked. What’s that image like? Here are two descriptions of the same animal that will give different perceptions in the mind of the listener.
Be very careful with statistics. Avoid technical terms, get to the point quickly and make your meaning clear. And watch the questions when you start getting technical. You must control the flow of your presentation. Don’t let someone else sidetrack you by asking a question that will take you off course. It’s your presentation and it’s your job to control the speed of its flow and direction. Yes, it’s the audience’s journey but you’re the skipper of the voyage.
In my next and final column on this topic, I will discuss how to practice your presentation skills.
Send questions to jgroppel@LGEPerformance.com.
