Kramer's Arrogance

Kramer’s Arrogance

Remember Kramer’s meltdown at the comedy club? What surprised me about this incident is that a seasoned pro like Kramer, (Michael Richards), succumbed to fear. When you let the fear of rejection defeat you, you will say stupid things. Every presenter must be willing to deal with rejection. That is the number one rule about selling, presenting and comedy acts.

What ever you do some people might not like you. Or you might wrongly think they don’t like you because of what they do or say. Ignore it. That’s life.

As a business presenter you often are under a lot of pressure. It is normal to be nervous when presenting to your clients. And it is normal for things to go wrong. You would be foolish if you destroy yourself. You might be bidding on a $20m project, presenting your idea to the management team or selling your $50,000 proposal.

If it appears that your presentation is not going well – what should you do?

Pause

Smile

Restate the last thing you said.

Then, pause and smile.

If you said something stupid, correct and move on. If you were distracted by a question, comment or interruption, pause, smile and move on.

Never attack your audience or any members of your audience. Always give them the benefit of the doubt. They might have misheard you and you might have misheard them.

When things go wrong in your presentation: pause, smile and move on.

Never attack your audience. Never! Because you will lose everytime.


George Torok
Speech Coach for Executives
Presentation Skills Training