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If you’re involved in the Performance Management process at your organization, chances are that at some point you’ll be invited to deliver a presentation to your colleagues, your executive team, or maybe even your Board of Directors. Over the years I’ve sat in on numerous presentations at client locations and have witnessed a full spectrum of results; from passionate and inspiring oratories, to tongue-tied deliveries causing everyone in attendance to squirm.
For those of you who are called upon to present and may be reluctant to do so, I’ve put together some fundamental rules to consider before you give your next presentation. These basic tenets have been derived from my experience giving hundreds of lectures at venues around the world. Whenever I step to the front of the room I know I have a wonderful opportunity to influence people; to help them fully understand and embrace the power of strategy execution. It’s too big an opportunity to waste, and I believe that if you follow the simple rules below, you’ll be in a much stronger position to influence your teams and drive success in your company.
Have a clear purpose for your presentation
Before you greet your audience and begin speaking you need to consider exactly what it is you hope to accomplish with your presentation. Is the primary function to inform people of something? Is it to energize or inspire your team? Or is it to educate them on a specific new practice or idea?
Once you determine the core purpose you must decide what key point (or points) you want your audience to take with them after hearing your speech. In his book, “Presentation S.O.S.” author Mark Wiskup calls this the “Power Sound Bite.” It’s the core idea or concept you want people talking about when they leave the room, sharing with their own colleagues, and hopefully acting upon in the future. The more complex the topic you’re presenting, the more important it is to create a power sound bite, one that cuts through the confusion and creates a bias for action with the group you’re attempting to reach.
Don’t overload your slides with text
Many years ago I worked at a large consulting firm where the Partner I reported to was adamant about cramming slides with every possible point I was going to make in the presentation. “Fill it with text Paul, fill it!” He’d implore. If there was a square inch of white space on the slide he considered that a waste of real estate. His advice was ridiculous, and it’s just one of the many reasons I don’t work for that firm anymore.
When you load your slides up with text your audience will be drawn to the multitude of words and in the process of trying to absorb them, possibly in a room with less than ideal lighting, they will ignore you. If you’re going to fill the page with words, why bother even showing up in the first place, just leave a handout and be done with it.
You were invited to deliver the presentation for a reason. Whoever chose you believes you possess important skills and knowledge you can impart to your audience in a way that will transcend stale words on a page. Whether it’s a mix of stories, anecdotes, or maybe even a few statistics, you have the opportunity to share with the audience a compelling story. Don’t let them miss it because they’re focused on trying to read 10 point Arial font at a distance of fifty feet.
Make them laugh
From what I’ve read on this topic, experts appear to be mixed on the subject of whether or not you should begin your presentation with a joke. I feel you should definitely begin with something humorous, as it immediately puts the audience at ease, but the joke or story has to be relevant to your topic. If it’s not, you instantly lose credibility with your audience and you’ll spend the rest of the presentation trying to win it back, which is a significantly uphill battle.
Let me give you an example of how not to begin a presentation. A few years back I attended a Performance Management seminar featuring a widely anticipated presentation from a representative of a Fortune 50 company. At the appointed time he strolled to the podium, hesitated, and then said, “I’ve heard you’re supposed to start these things with a joke.” He then languidly delivered an old joke about two guys running from a bear in the woods. Two problems: his delivery was awful (had he ever told a joke before?) and more importantly; the joke was completely irrelevant to his topic, making the transition to his agenda awkward and stiff.
Again, if you’re going to open with a joke or story, make sure it relates to your subject matter. I begin some of my presentations with a humorous story about a little boy who wants to be a great home run hitter but learns he can’t hit at all and decides he’s a great pitcher instead. The story’s punch line never fails to get a laugh and I’m then able to instruct the audience about it’s applicability to my topic, in this case the importance of embracing change.
The laughs shouldn’t stop after the first two minutes of your talk. In fact, you should attempt to include a relevant joke or story for every three to four Power Point slides you’re presenting. They don’t have to be gut-busting efforts worthy of a comedian, just something to illustrate your point in a lighter tone. Doing so will keep your audience awake and in your corner, exactly where you want them.
Know your material!
This is by far the most important principle to keep in mind when developing and delivering a presentation. It is incumbent upon you, the presenter, to know your material inside and out, better than anyone else in the room. And there is only one way to do that – practice!
When I first began delivering lectures about the Balanced Scorecard back in the early 1990s I would write out literally every word of my presentation and memorize it completely. I still follow that rule today; when I create a new presentation featuring material I haven’t publicly shared in the past, I memorize it to ensure I know it completely and can deliver it flawlessly. Some people may recoil at this advice, suggesting that memorizing your ‘script’ will preclude you from sounding natural and spontaneous. Quite the contrary; I’m not suggesting you deliver your presentation like a robot, but preparing tenaciously allows you to create inflection points in your talk, add dramatic emphasis, and invite moments of audience participation. Finally, knowing your material will help you overcome any anxiety you may feel about speaking in public, since you can confidently deliver your talk in a smooth and easy cadence.
There is nothing worse than a presenter who is clearly unprepared and stammers his way through a presentation. Such a display demonstrates a clear lack of respect for both the audience and the topic at hand. An informed and prepared speaker on the other hand will win the audience’s trust and be in much better position to influence the results she desires.
Summing Up
Poet and Philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once noted: “Speech is power; speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.” Persuade, convert, and compel. All powerful aims for any of us who stand in front of others with a passion in our hearts, and an important message to convey. Don’t waste the opportunity to drive change at your organization because you’re unprepared and your presentation clearly demonstrates that lack of commitment and focus. Follow the simple rules above and you’re well on your way to winning the hearts and minds of your audience.
