Quick Thought

To have an effective delivery, you must know your presentation through and through.

From Technical to Wonderful

Yesterday I attended a very interesting meeting. It was a monthly luncheon held for entrepreneurial businesses that focus on technological advancements. The audience was full of fellow entrepreneurs and potential investors. I attended because one of my clients was a presenter.

This first speaker talked about a new medical technology being developed to detect a certain type of cancer. I was always an "A" student in all of my science classes in school, but this stuff just went right over my head. The presenter, who had a Ph.d. in engineering, talked about.... it was so technical I couldn't even try to describe the technology to you. And what a shame that is. 

Here is this brilliant man who is working diligently on developing a technology that can detect cancer easier and faster, but no one understood what he was talking about. He is in front of a room full of investors and isn't able to get his message across effectively. I thought it was a missed opportunity.

How could this man have made this terribly technical information more understandable so that he could take advantage of the opportunity to get funding? He need to develop his CASE.  A CASE is very important for any presentation, but it is critical when giving a presentation about a technical issue.

Every presentation needs some part of a CASE: Comparison, Analogy, Story and/or Example. When discussing any technical information, you need to have one of these 4 elements. For us to be able to process the technical information we need to be able to compare it to something we already do understand. For example, if we're talking about light waves and how a certain type of focused light will detect cancer better, then we might want to compare the process to knives. A sharp knife will cut faster, smother, and more accurately than a dull knife, which is similar to how light waves work in detecting cancer. With a more focused (or sharp) light we are able to hone in on the cancer more effectively; in a sense, we're cutting away the bad from the good with out new "sharp knife".

There might be better analogies, but the point is that you no longer have to go into any great depth about the exact process and science behind the project. We are now able to easily understand the basic fundamentals of the process because we can compare it to something. 

In the future, see how you might be able to develop your CASE for your presentations.

Promotion to Manager? What You May Not Know

It's a common problem. You've been working for a company for years. You started at the bottom and have earned your way up.  You've been doing so well that you finally get a managerial position. Congratulations! Now what?

Companies often make the mistake of promoting their top employees to managerial positions without giving them managerial training. One of the biggest complaints is about managerial communications. A new manager, in general, hasn't had the chance to develop the skill of communicating effectively to their team.

Recently I heard about a problem at a hotel near where I live. The assistant manager, recently promoted, was called in by the manager.  She had been working at the hotel for years, and the manager had only been there for a few months. He brought her in and gave her a pretty harsh critique on her communication skills with the other employees. He said that it is an area she will have to improve on if she wants to stay in that position. 

She walked away upset, but acknowledged that her manager was right. She didn't know how to delegate, advise, or critique her team in a clear effective way that wouldn't upset anyone. Then she realized that she had no training in that area. She got promoted to her position for doing a great job. But no one taught her the necessary skill set for being a manager.

80% of problems at work are related to a breakdown in communication. Is your company providing the tools necessary to avoid those problems? 

What They Need vs. What They Want

It's something all presenters need to figure out: what is it the audience needs to hear, and what is it they want to hear?

Most presenters miss the mark when they decide to focus on what the audience needs to hear. This is not the most effective way to make your presentation memorable and successful. Now, of course business presentations have to contain information that the "big boss" thinks the team needs to know. There's no getting around that. However, having the right ratio of "need" information versus "want" information is crucial. Always have a high ratio of "want" information.

To Joke, or Not to Joke....

It's an easy trap to fall into. We try so hard as presenters to be pleasing to the audience. So we throw in a few jokes here and there, just to keep the mood light. But then, something happens. They laugh....and we like it!

So the next time we run a meeting or give a presentation, we try to fit in a few more jokes. And, oh my gosh, they laugh again! It's like a sweet nectar, an energy races through our body, and we get jazzed! So the next presentation we think, "Where can a fit in a joke here? Where can this cute story I just heard fit in? Oh, they'll think this is funny. I'll get a few laughs from that." And next thing you know, your 20 minute meeting is pushing 50 minutes. And your audience is tired of the jokes.

Sometimes a joke is just a joke. Of course it can be useful to tell a story here and there that gets a few chuckles and smiles, but it is your job as the presenter and the person running the meeting to always ask yourself, "Does this serve the point of the meeting?" When you are giving a presentation, everything you say should support the theme of your presentation.

It can become a hard battle to fight. Get a few laughs here and there feels great! But thinking in a business perspective, will the few laughs produce the results you're wanting from your team, your employees, your audience?

There's nothing wrong with a little interaction

In many businesses there are many meetings. And in these many meetings, there are many people have attended these meetings many times. Since these many people have attended these many meetings many times, they begin to lose their attention span. They've seen it all before. They know the format, they know the rhetoric, they know they're just waiting for their next cup of coffee.

A presentation is pointless if it doesn't grab the attention of its audience. Effective presentations have become a time management issue in businesses. They want the most effective outcome in the shortest amount of time, which is not an unreasonable request. But if the meetings are being rushed through the assembly line with no thought put into it, then the audience (your employees) will just sit back and wait for the end and continue with their day.

One good way to break the mold of boring, ineffective presentations is to add a little bit of interaction. Think of spots in your presentation when you can call on a few people to the front to help demonstrate your topic. Or, an activity that I love, is get a Nerf ball and when you're looking for ideas, feedback, or questions, you throw the ball around the room and anyone who catches it has to respond. There are many areas in which a little bit of interaction will catch the attention of the listeners and set the tone for something new and interesting.

Campfire Stories for Your Business

One of my favorite books is The Bard by Morgan Llywelyn. It is a historical fiction book that is about the life of a Bard in ancient Ireland. Long ago this book opened my eyes to the power of storytelling. Bards, in many cultures, played an important role in preserving the history of a culture. These individuals practiced their craft of storytelling. They told the tales of their heroes, their victories, their rulers, and their people.

These Bards and other storytellers were the only resource for learning about a people's history. So many stories were not put to paper for centuries and these people had the honorable role to remembering, preserving, and sharing these stories. If it weren't for powerful storytelling, many myths and historical occurrences would have been lost to time.

Imagine if your company had its own bard and powerful stories that are shared throughout the company, influencing the culture. So often companies struggle because they forget where they began, they forget their history, and therefore forget their vision. Stories can be used to ensure that the employees and executives don't get lost.

Wal-Mart has a culture of storytellers. Many times they share the stories of Sam Walton, his vision, his struggle, his success. His stories have influenced that culture to become one of the most successful businesses.

So who could be a bard in your company? You. In your next presentation, see if there is a story about the company that you can share. Every company has its heroes, struggles, and victories. It would be shame if those were lost.