3-12-10 Yea, there is a presentation for that.

Unless you are a hermit and work alone, you have probably made at least one presentation in your career. And if you work for a large corporation, it is likely that very little gets done without a presentation attached to it. If you are an executive or aspiring executive, you’ve made countless presentations. How’d that go? Are you any good at it? If you don’t think that you are very good at it, then it is highly likely that others hold this same opinion. Perhaps it is time to do something about that.

One of the skills in the model I created pertains directly to presentations (1-4-10 Let’s Talk). Public speaking is a critical skill for the executive. As I indicated in this earlier post, many times the new executive has been promoted because of (at least in part) his/her speaking skill.

Public speaking doesn’t just include your ability to get up in front of a group of people and give a pitch, although that IS a critical piece. It also includes your ability to craft the content of the pitch such that it fits with the topic and the audience. It includes your ability to monitor the room and alter your presentation on the fly so that you don’t lose your audience. And it is also your ability to “close the deal” when your pitch is over.

So what about that content? In my opinion, less is more. How many times have you endured a meeting that was nothing but “death by presentation”? Did you get anything out of it -- except a nap with your eyes open?? A very wise mentor once told me that my presentations should never take more than 5 slides, and never have more than 5 bullet points on each slide. In fact, one slide with 5 bullets for the entire pitch is ideal. If you can’t talk for 30 minutes off of 5 bullet points, then you don’t know your topic well enough. Try again. And remember, you don’t have to put every darned thing that you are going to say on the page. When you do, people read ahead and you lose your audience. Put the salient points on the slide and then TALK the details.

Yea, I know that there are exceptions to the “content rule” that I’ve lived by. Technical presentations, by nature, tend to be longer and have more information on the slides. But as an executive, your job is to pare this down to the pertinent information for the audience.

Don’t know your audience? Again, err on the side of “less is more”. If you aren’t giving them the information they need, you will see it during the presentation.

Which brings me to “reading the audience” during a presentation. You absolutely must pay attention to what your audience is telling you, either with their questions or with their body language. Notice that I did not say, “reading to the audience”. Do not, and I really mean this, DO NOT read every bullet point on every one of your slides. This is insulting. The people you are presenting to very likely know how to read. They don’t need you to do that for them.

Part of reading your audience includes checking to see if they are paying attention. Is everyone doing the “blackberry prayer”? You know, where they hold their blackberry below the table, looking down to read and type….. If so, you really need to get their attention back. Silent pauses are a very good tool. If there is silence, people reflexively look up to see what is going on.

What about your presentation habits? Have you checked lately to see if you have developed any bad habits --- like jingling your change in your pocket (a real pet peeve of mine), or saying “um” or “like” every other sentence? How about your tone of voice --- is it grating? Patronizing? Do you move around the front of the room or are you glued to a podium? You really need a trusted friend or advisor watch you give a presentation occasionally and then give you honest feedback. Not always easy to hear, but helpful nonetheless.

And finally, you need to be able to “close the deal”. There must be a purpose to your presentation, right? You need approval, you need action, you need something. One of the very first things that you should tell your audience is “I’m here because I need this approval” or “I’m just sharing information” or “I need your help with this”. Tell them up front why they are there.

And then at the end of your presentation, go back to this slide. Do you know who the decision maker(s) in the room are? Look directly at them as ask for the approval or action or whatever. People don’t often say yes unless someone takes the time to ask. Most times you will get what you need at this point. And even if you don’t, you have started the conversation that will get you one step closer to what you need.

Cheers!