Episode #257: Presentations Fundamentals

Usually for most businesspeople we don’t really know what we are doing when it comes to presentations. We grow up in business concentrating on our tasks and getting the work done. As we rise through the ranks, we start to give updates on the results or project progress reports. As we rise a bit further we may start reporting what our Section or Division has been doing, or introducing the business strategy to senior leaders. In some cases, we may be presenting to shareholders, the media, chambers of commerce or industry groups.

Along this continuum we just bumble our way along, copying what our bosses are doing. They actually had the same presentation education we have been getting – none. So we have the blind leading the blind, generation after generation. Nobody inside the company thinks that people moving into leadership positions need to become powerful persuaders and influencers through their communication skillS. These are attributes that somehow those rising through the ranks have to pick up for themselves. If the company said, “You need to get presentation training and you will have to pay for it yourself, because we are not going to”, that would be one thing. Unfortunately, that conversation about need is never breached and there is no guidance whatsoever.

In the absence of any hints from senior leadership, on what we need to be doing around getting better at presenting, here are some starters:

1. Know your material so well, you feel you own it.
We should be an expert in the area we are talking about. That means we have gained experience, have read the relevant materials and have been active in this field. Whenever we present we should feel we have reserve power, to be able to add additional information, respond to questions during Q&A and demonstrate that we know our topic in great depth. We are limited by how much time we have to speak but we should always over prepare. There is nothing more embarrassing than being shown you don’t know much about your talk topic. You will see your credibility fall off the podium and shatter into a thousand shards before your very eyes.

2. Have a positive feeling about the subject you are about to present.
You may have experienced this at School or University, where some Teachers and Professors are just going through the materials in a very perfunctory, detached way. Others however were on fire with real passion for their subject. Naturally we all gravitate toward those with massive passion for their topic.

The audience won’t remember all of the detail of our talk, but they will remember our passion for the subject and therefore they will remember us. That is what we want in business isn’t it – to be differentiated, memorable, admired.

If you have to present on a topic which doesn’t particularly excite you then try and find some elements which are interesting and bring your passion to those parts. It is not great but better to have flashes of passion than a continual, consistent, humdrum, boring delivery.

3. Project to your audience the value and significance of your message.
If we don’t sound convinced about our message, then there is zero chance anyone listening will be convinced. In sales we say, “selling is the transfer of enthusiasm from the seller to the buyer”. Presenting is where we sell our information or our ideas.

We have done the hard work to master our subject area. We have worked on our delivery skills as a presenter. We have every right to be talking on the subject. We should also be excited by the topic and enthusiastic to share all of this wonderful knowledge and information with our audience.

Our listeners can feel whether we are positive about our content or not. They can tell if we are just going through the motions or not. We have all seen speakers like this. They have been told to give the talk and they have no interest in doing it and are just following orders. It is painful to be in that type of audience. We are trying to bring value to the audience and we have this uppermost in our mind.

If you become important in business then you will need to become an excellent presenter. You can become important in business and be a crap speaker, but you will always be eclipsed by those who have invested the time to gain the fundamental skills.