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Stand And Deliver
"Management Magazine" Presentations By Glenn Baker

How To Iron Out The Bumps On The Road To Better Business Presentations.

At a recent business seminar I attended, there was a wide variety of speakers. Some were very nervous and self-conscious, obviously new to the game. Not surprisingly, the keynote speakers were experienced and polished, and had everyone on the edge of their seat.

So what makes a stand-out speaker? How do you become a high-impact presenter?

Successful presenting comes from experience, and from being teachable. Despite what many technology enthusiasts might think, making an impact is not all about "wowing" the audience with state-of-the-art presentation equipment, it's all about getting back to the basics of being yourself, and enhancing your performance with tools that are appropriate.

Barbara Rocha, a California based presentations consultant, offers a simple three-step formula for successful presentations:

Rocha also makes another point to help smooth the road for presenters. "Ineffective speakers are invariably more focused on themselves than on you (the audience)."

Don't try to be perfect, focus on what the audience needs to hear and just be yourself. Don't worry about the "um's" and "ah's". Remember, the audience is on your side because they don't want to be made to feel uncomfortable either, and they want the presentation to be a positive experience.

Ask yourself, "If I was in this audience, what would I want to know?" Your number one priority should always be to connect with your audience.

Are you connecting?
Genevieve Westcott knows all about audience connection. After 20 years of television presenting, her communication mentoring services are in demand by corporate executives and business people. Westcott, managing director of Genevieve Westcott Communications Ltd, says even the heads of very large corporations, while very skilled at certain aspects of business, can struggle when it comes to communication, either one to one, or addressing many.

"Many of these people could be so much better if they just took some coaching. Even the best presenters have coaches."

Westcott remembers one senior executive who stood up to address a group of colleagues at a business breakfast and proceeded to read from a thick wad of notes for 40 minutes, while his assistant ran the accompanying PowerPoint presentation. "It was a classic example of not connecting with the audience."

Westcott prefers the minimalist "low-tech" approach when applying presentation technology and has seen technical glitches spoil many a potentially good presentation.

"Perhaps the biggest secret for success is simply to be human. Know your message so well that it's absolutely locked into your brain. Look people in the eye, and be prepared to ask questions to ensure greater audience participation. It's all about interaction," she says.

Having a fundamental competency to present is not enough to inspire an audience to take action, suggests Wilson Hull, senior consultant for Rogen New Zealand, a high level of confidence and persuasiveness is necessary.

"Senior executives and CEOs must go beyond a good rational argument to connect with their audiences. They must be able to persuade, reassure, motivate and inspire staff and customers on a more emotional level."

Interestingly, at leadership communication coaching clinics facilitated by Rogen following the New York terrorist attack, senior executives from affected companies acknowledged that they needed specialist help in how to communicate effectively in a crisis.

Maggie Eyre, senior manager training for Consultus, agrees that the basics are the key to effective presentations and advises clients to be spontaneous, keep it short and simple (never run over the allotted time), and ...practice!

"Never assume that the audience understands their particular industry jargon either, and when speaking overseas be careful with slang, diction and accent."

Eyre believes that producing a winning presentation requires a natural delivery, strong voice, interesting content with clear, well articulated messages, and interesting visual aids.

Interesting content is crucial, and this can often be spiced with relevant stories, analogies, or jokes. Westcott remembers one sensational speaker who was able to sell his message with lots of relevant and relatable stories, and this is the trick of many of the world's great communicators. "Although a word of caution, if you're not naturally funny, it may be better to avoid humour or jokes altogether. The ultimate test is whether they remember the message, even if they can't recall your name," adds Westcott. "And remember, it doesn't matter how knowledgeable you are, absolutely nobody has the right to bore their audience!"

How's your persuasive technique? It doesn't matter if your presentation is to the general public, a room-ful of sales reps, or a technical presentation, according to Alex Chan, CEO of Advantage Training & Consulting, you're "doing a sell". "Whichever way you look at it, you are persuading the audience to embark on a specific course of action," he says. "In order to do this, you need to understand your audience by carrying our prior research. Ask questions, establish the objectives, and propose a solution."

Chan says if the object of the presentation is to sell a product or service, then cost benefits should be proven. "There are usually ways to prove any ROI in a presentation and that should form a significant part of the presentation.

Without exception, astute business people in your audience will want to know the effect that product or service has on the bottom line."

Of course the primary objective of any sales presentation is to get a decision, preferably while you're still there, and standard closing techniques often just don't cut it.

Chan suggests the walk-out technique. "At the end of the presentation, pass around the sales pack (he recommends suitably labelled CDs) and then leave the room so they can talk it over for five to ten minutes. This way you retain control and you have the right of reply to any questions or concerns when you come back." Chan says the worst that can happen are the questions come earlier. The most common outcome is a mutually satisfactory agreement signed a week or so later.

Technology: enhancer or distraction?
It's very important that presentation technology is chosen carefully so it doesn't alienate the audience or get in the road of the message. Gavin Millynn (title), at presentation technology consultants ProVision, recommends that presenters use appropriate technology in terms of hardware, software and multimedia content. "This is often an underestimated factor in effective communication. Just as you would tailor-make a presentation for a particular audience, one must have the appropriate technology infrastructure in place to communicate well. This decision should be based on the audience and the environment."

Millynn says a good example is a young audience that requires a visually and dynamically oriented, multimedia presentation. "You can add value to your presentation with tasteful multimedia, such as video and pictures," he adds.

"An often overlooked way of applying technology in many speaking situations, especially with visiting presenters, is to record the presentation using a video camera and electronic whiteboard. This provides a resource that can be used again and again, and gives presenters unbiased feedback."

Millynn advises more "mature" presenters to meet the expectations of younger audiences and realise that experience does not equate to knowledge when applying presentation technology and style. "Remember, nothing turns an audience off more than someone who does not know how to use the technology and techniques. Such ignorance paints the presenter in a less than professional light. Mastering PowerPoint, for example, is not enough. The timing and delivery of this material is a different skill entirely."

Perhaps the most important message for executives who've been around a while is that technology should be regarded as a means to improve their performance, not an imposition. "There should be a desire to learn the technologies employed, overcome self-imposed barriers, and see this learning process not so much as a game of catch up, but an opportunity to further develop already formidable skills," says Millynn.

Some of the most powerful presentations use minimal visual aids, according to Rogen's Wilson Hull. "Keeping it simple can be harder than producing a complicated message, and it is true that a picture can paint a thousand words. In a recent pitch presentation, one of our clients was told that a key reason they won the account was their ability to simplify the issues and communicate their solution in a succinct manner. They used just six PowerPoint slides in their one hour presentation."

Alex Chan believes that PowerPoint presentations have now become somewhat humdrum, and they lack the impact of say five years ago.

"Everybody's seen the standard templates a million times. If you want to regain the competitive advantage, you need to learn how to customise them."

Chan advises presenters to invest in a serious audio system to do justice to any sound effects or music, and always have a back-up ready. "But remember, at the end of the day, no amount of technical wizardry is going to replace the required human skills and techniques, so always work on those first."

Tomorrow's technology
New technology has had a major impact on presentation tools. For example, computers and projectors are rapidly merging. Networked projectors with assignable IP addresses and onboard diagnostics that email the network administrator when parts fail are becoming popular as IT and AV departments merge.

Laptops and projectors continue to down-size, with micro-portable projectors now down to less than 1.5 kilos, thanks to improved lamp technology. At the same time resolution and brightness have soared.

According to ProVision's Millynn, the use of multimedia is also on the rise. "Today's cynical audiences want stimulation and visual impact, plain PowerPoint bullet points won't cut the mustard."

Projected images are also being enhanced by better image algorithms. sRGB colour-matching, for instance, matches colours across all media, so what you see on your PC monitor is represented with true fidelity when projected on a screen.

Sony's E-conferencing is an example of innovative new end-user software, allowing presentations to be dragged and dropped to projectors across a network, and offering improved communication facilities like real-time text chat.

Video and web conferencing is also catching on fast as many companies realise the benefits of remote conferencing.

And for presenters who really want to impress an audience using state of the art technology, there is no shortage of suggestions. Presentation materials can now be stored on a palmtop, memory stick or network projector, eliminating the need for a laptop. Document cameras can project anything from hardcopy notes to 3D objects, and interactive CD-ROM business cards containing interactive multimedia presentations make great after-function hand outs.

Transparent Holopro screens are another innovation. Images appear suspended in mid-air, much like a hologram.

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