How to position your hands for greater influence...

Allan Pease - TEDx talk on how to position your hands to encourage people to work with you... It.s worth watching the whole video.

 


Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

SP Tip # 79: Distance yourself from a bad idea...

Distance Yourself From a Bad Idea

Bad ideas in the past

There might be times when you want to persuade your audience to change. You can use logic, stories, charts and success stories to move them. Here is a subtle technique that can help you.
You physically position the good from the bad.

How do you do that?
You move from left to right. Be sure to move left to right as your audience sees it - not your left to right. You will have to rehearse this to get it right.

Good ideas in the future

Why does this work?
European based languages, including English, reads from left to right. Therefore we have been conditioned since we first started to read to assume that progress moves from left to right.
We read text from left to right to discover more, to learn what happens next and are rewarded with the answers to our questions. Hence the simple act of moving our eyes from left to right tends to build our expectations of progress and good things.

When presenting, you can use this to your advantage by placing bad ideas, the status quo or the past on your right side. That is the left side for the audience.

You can also do this by holding your right hand out or taking a step to your right when you talk about the bad ideas. That visually places the bad idea in the past to acknowledge it while guiding the audience to move on to better things.

Then you show progress by taking a step to your left or holding out your left hand when you talk about good ideas. You place the idea you are selling in the future to encourage acceptance.
You can use this technique to place objections, past failings or criticism's on your right (the audience's left) and hence in the position of bad ideas.

You can use this technique to position a question or idea as bad or good just by your physical movement without saying a word.

Of course, when you speak in the Middle East you need to remember that they read from right to left.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

SP Tip # 78: Four Ways to Transform Your Presentation into a Conversation

 

Four Ways to Transform your Presentation into a Conversation

 



Which feels more inviting to you - "Let's talk" or "I'm going to deliver a speech"?

Most of us don't want to hear another lecture or a pitch. But we are more inclined to participate in a conversation.

Deliver your presentation like a conversation and your audience will feel more engaged and less like prisoners. Hence they will trust you more and listen better. Therefore they are more likely to remember and act on your message.

What are the critical elements of a good conversation that you can use in your presentation?

Language
Imagine that you are talking to one person. Use the word "you" which is both singular and plural. Use "you" more often than the word "I" so your message is about them not you.
Avoid these phrases: "Welcome everyone", "Does anybody have a question?" and "You guys". Those mob words distance you from the audience by placing a barrier between you and them. You wouldn't use those words when talking to one person. Talk to one person.

Eye contact
Look at a single person when you speak. Move your glance from one person to another so that you are almost always talking to a single individual. You might need to glance at your notes, but don't waste time staring at the back wall, the floor or your slides. Talk to people. That individual eye contact will make them feel like they are part of an intimate conversation.

Questions
A good conversation includes good questions. Ask good questions of your audience and listen to their answers. Don't annoy them by repeatedly asking them to raise their hands. Invite questions from the audience and address their concerns. Be sure to pose rhetorical questions for the concerns that they might have - then answer them. That feels conversational.

Pause
A good conversation contains moments of silence. Allow the audience to absorb your message in silence. That demonstrates respect and allows them to internalize your message. Sprinkle pauses throughout your presentation.

The best experience for people in your audience is when they felt "the speaker was talking directly to me".

Don't deliver a lecture - engage in a conversation with each individual in your audience.

George Torok

 ps: 

Call to arrange for me to speak at your conference, corporate event or sales meeting.  
905-335-1997 

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations Tip #77: What’s the purpose of your presentation?

What’s the purpose of your presentation?

Presentations fail when the presenter doesn’t understand the real purpose.

Presenters have told me that their plan was to speak for 30 minutes, cover all the material or represent their company. Some confessed that their goal was to deliver their message, prove their point or receive a standing ovation. Executives and managers said that they needed to report the latest numbers, update the board or bring everyone up to date.

Each of those is a poor description of the presentation purpose. Why? Because those are speaker focused. And if you define success based on the speaker and not the audience the presentation will almost always fail.

You must define your presentation success in terms of the audience. The only valid reason to speak – especially in business – is to move your audience. Every presentation is a step in advancing the group.

Here is the critical question you must ask yourself before every presentation:

What do you want people to think, feel or do after your presentation?

Design, deliver and evaluate your presentation on the answer to that question.

The real purpose of speaking is to move people. If you moved them in the direction you intended your presentation was successful. The level of success is determined by how many moved and how far they moved.

If all you did was cover the material, the presentation was for you and not the audience. That makes it a failure.

Perhaps you want:

Front line staff to adopt a different approach with customers

Association members to volunteer for committees
Investors to contribute more funds
Shoppers to buy
Voters to support you

Be clear about your purpose and be able to state it clearly so everything you do contributes to your success.

The purpose of speaking is not to speak; it’s to move people.

Design, deliver and measure the success of your presentation based on what you want people to think, feel or do.

 

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations 75: The Most Striking PowerPoint Slide to Include in Every PowerPoint Presentation

If you use PowerPoint slides to accompany your presentation, you might like this powerful technique to distinguish your talk from the ocean of PowerPoint presentations. You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create this slide.

This is such a simple technique that many presenters overlook it. That’s one reason you will stand out when you use it.

Use a blank (blacked-out) slide at critical moments.

Here are three ways to use this technique

Start your presentation with a blank screen

Set up your computer and projector before your presentation.  Check your slides for size and focus on the screen then blank the screen. 

You start your presentation standing in the middle of the stage talking to your audience. That is most powerful position and often that is dominated by the screen which forces the presenter off to the side in a less significant position.

With the screen blank there is no distracting slide stealing attention from your opening words.

This means that the first impression that people have of your presentation is you. This gives you the opportunity to connect directly with your audience. This first impression helps to establish rapport and trust. A title slide will never do that.

After your opening you move to the side and click for your first real slide.

Blank the screen during your presentation

During your presentation there will be points when you want to reconnect with your audience by removing the distraction of the slides. You simply blank the screen and move to center stage to talk with them. This will often feel like an intimate moment to your audience.

Do this when reinforcing an important point or answering questions. This technique allows the audience to focus on you and your words.

End with a blank screen

The close to your presentation is important because it’s the last thing they hear. It’s your opportunity to reinforce your key message. It’s your last chance to build on the human connection. The best way to do that is with you speaking to them from center stage while delivering your closing words.

Before you close tell the audience that you are wrapping up with your closing message. Blank the screen and move to center stage. Then deliver your close.

How do you blank the screen?

Here are three ways

Click the “B” key. This is a PowerPoint shortcut. It’s a toggle so you simply hit it again to display the slide.

Use the blackout button on the remote. Most remotes have this feature. Hit it again to display the slide.

Insert a black slide in your PowerPoint presentation so it becomes part of your slide sequence. If you provide copies of your slides to the audience you probably want to exclude this slide from those handouts.

The words that you deliver with the screen blank will tend to have more credibility because you will appear to be more intimate with your audience.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations 74: Tell Colorful Stories Because...

Tell Colorful Stories

Stories in your presentation can paint pictures in the minds of your audience and connect emotionally.

Notice the visuals in this story and feel the emotional connection.

At the age of seven my son, Chris, started playing mini soccer. The field was tiny to accommodate the youngsters' short legs, stamina and attention span. The goal posts were fluorescent orange pylons set about five feet apart. The kids hadn't grasped teamwork so they clustered around the ball like bees around a flower as the ball rolled aimlessly around the field. You almost never saw the ball but you knew it was inside that moving cluster.

At one game you can imagine my pride and excitement when I noticed my son, Chris standing downfield in position to shoot on goal. Incredibly the ball escaped the cluster and rolled lazily towards Chris. I excitedly jumped up and down on the sidelines yelling, "Chris, get the ball! Chris, shoot the ball!" He moved awkwardly towards the ball then stopped. He ignored the ball and my sideline antics. Instead he stared up in the sky in a catatonic state. Incredibly, every player on the field also stopped running and did the same. My curiosity overcame my frustration and I looked up along with every parent on the sidelines. I half expected to see the alien mother ship hovering over the field. Instead there was the most perfect rainbow I've ever seen. It curved from one horizon to the other. The bands were vibrant in all their colors from red through to violet.

The referee knew when to admit a losing battle. He blew his whistle and announced, "Time out. One minute to look at the rainbow." A minute later he blew the whistle again and called, "Play on." The game resumed. I don't remember if Chris scored a goal that game or who won. That seemed unimportant after the rainbow.

What did you see while reading that story? Notice how the words in the story can plant vivid images in your mind.

Did you see the rainbow?

Did you see me jumping on the sidelines?

Did you see the cluster of children following the soccer ball?

You don't need slides to convey images. You can do it with colorful stories.

What did you feel?

Did you feel both my excitement and frustration as a parent?

Did you feel the beauty of the rainbow moment?

Did you feel as if you were there?

An effective story conveys images and emotion. Those are the two most important senses to reach your audience. They also make it easier for people to remember your message.

Inject more color and emotion to your stories.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

What does your audience want and need?

What does your audience want and need?

It was the Humor Conference. The speaker was a well known humor writer. He was scheduled to deliver a 45 minute presentation about writing humor. At least that’s what the program guide stated.  I attended this workshop because I wanted to learn HOW to write funnier stories.

Anyone who registers for a Humor Conference is already convinced of the need to use humor in their work. The attendees at this conference included teachers, health care workers, consultants, writers, trainers and even business managers. I don’t recall meeting any bankers or government bureaucrats. Several people had a generous supply of red noses to share with new acquaintances.

The humor writer started his presentation by addressing the question about “why humor was important”.

These thoughts went through my mind. Yeah, we get it. That’s why we’re here. Please move on to explain the techniques about HOW to write humor.

While he continued to speak about the WHY I perused the handout materials and it looked like good tips about the HOW were planned.

At 20 minutes into his presentation I lost my patience at listening to the WHY of humor and raised my hand. When he acknowledged me, I stood up and suggested that we were there because we already embraced the WHY. We really wanted the HOW and I was concerned that he might not have enough time to adequately cover the techniques indicated in his program materials. Please skip to the HOW portion of the presentation so we won’t miss out.

Clearly this presenter was unwilling or unable to adapt because he failed to address my question and request. He simply carried on with his (poorly) planned presentation which included another 10 minutes talking about the WHY.

When the time was up - much to his apparent surprise - there were still a few pages of tips to cover and he cut his presentation short.

I left that presentation feeling cheated because I didn’t hear what I really wanted. In addition when I expressed my feelings to the presenter he ignored me and my message.

I understand that he was a writer – not a presenter. Many writers are asked to speak because of their profound writing, but what some conference organizers don’t realize is that writing and speaking are related but two very different skill sets.

There are three key points to this post:

Understand and address the real needs and wants of your audience.

Be prepared to adapt if your audience indicates that you need to change tactics. (He didn’t need to accept my opinion. He could have polled the audience about their interest.)

Just because a person is an expert on their topic doesn’t mean that they can present it well.

 

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations 73: While presenting, the most important real estate...

The most important real estate is in the minds of your listeners

To be successful with your presentation you need to get your message into the minds of your audience. You can't force your way into a person's mind. You must present your message in a way that encourages them to invite you in.

Have you ever witnessed a parent lecturing their child while posing this silly question, "How many times do I have to tell you?"

In this case the reason for failure for the message to stick is because the child didn't accept the message. The parent was attempting to force the message in.

Some presenters commit the same crime then blame the audience for not listening.

If you try to force-feed your message to your audience you will fail. Your message and information might be important but if the audience doesn't see it that way your message won't stick.

What can you do to encourage your audience to willingly accept your message into their mind like a welcome guest?

Do some research and thinking to gain a better understanding about your audience.

• Why are they attending this meeting?
• Why might they be interested in your message?
• What perspectives, beliefs and information might they already have about this topic?
• How might their priorities, mindset and emotions block your message?

Examine your message from their point of view.

• What aspects should you emphasize?
• What misconception should you clarify early?
• What experiences or emotion can you leverage?
• How is this relevant to them?

Speak to your audience as a welcome guest.

• Speak in their language using terms and phrases that they fully understand.
• Relate your message to their issues and priorities.
• Find common ground to establish rapport.
• Admit a flaw or potential concern.

The success of your presentation will be determined by the thoughts triggered inside the minds of your listeners because that will determine how they think and feel and most importantly how they act.

To be more successful with your presentations think about that prime real estate and deliver your message as a welcomed guest.


Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Words and Phrases you use when Speaking to Groups

The words and phrases you use when speaking to groups can build rapport or trigger disconnects. That could be based on different cultural, age, or sex perspectives.

Sometimes the gaff can seem cute. Other times the misspoken phrase might send your audience off on a tangent. They might be wondering what that phrase means. They might be wondering about your credibility if you used such an out-of-date phrase. The point is that they might be wondering many things other than accepting your intended message.

The speaker talked about Crisis Management and how to prepare. He suggested that it was similar to noticing the engine warning light on your car. When you see the trouble light warning you of a problem you should take your car to the gas station to get it checked.

If you don’t understand that last statement, you understand my point.

If you remember taking your car to the gas station for mechanical work then you are probably reminiscing about the 1970’s or earlier.

It was a good analogy. His mistake was in saying that people should take their car to the gas station. It would have worked better if he had said “take your car to a mechanic”.

This audience clearly included many people who would not understand this analogy because they were too young. These were people who go to a gas station to get gas, coffee, snacks and cigarettes. Those last three items weren’t available at the gas station when you took your car there for mechanical work.

Be aware of the analogies, phrases or jargon that you use because these words might alienate, distance or confuse your audience.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations 72: Build your presentation argument on...

Build on what they already know

When you are introducing a new idea or concept to an audience you will have better success if you build on what they already know.

Teachers often review the key points from the last class to start on familiar ground and build upon it.

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone he related to objects that people are already familiar with. He even showed an image of a mobile phone with a dial. He did that for two reasons: to get a laugh and to demonstrate that the iPhone was simply the advancement of a familiar tool.

Albert Einstein explained his theory about relativity by using the analogy of a man walking on a moving train. People were familiar with train travel so they felt comfortable listening to the rest of his analogy. That analogy clearly explains the relationship between the speed of light, time and space. (It's worth reading)

When molecular scientist Neils Bohr first described the structure of atoms he used the structure of the solar system as a model. The sun represented the nucleus while the planets symbolized orbiting electrons.

The retention of old skills is often likened to "like riding a bicycle".

This is not about talking down to people. It's about connecting with them by starting with familiar territory and mindset then bridging to where you want to take them.

This technique also helps when persuading people to accept a different way of doing things, especially if you want them to abandon the established norm.

You might start your argument by confessing your past belief in the status quo until an accident provoked you to investigate other possibilities. You fought change but finally accepted the new reality. This approach allows the audience to follow your path of discovery without feeling foolish or defensive.

Introducing new ideas? You can't stand on the other side of the chasm and tell people to jump. If you want to move your audience to new ground you must first go to them and lead them across the bridge.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations 71: How many times should you repeat...

 Repeat your key message

If you want your audience to remember your key message, you’ll need to say it at least three times during your presentation.

Your key message is likely summed up in about three to ten words. Average speaking speed is between 110 and 150 words per minute. That means in a five minute presentation about 500 to 700 words were spoken but only ten were critical. Your key message could be lost in that sea of words.

If you only stated your key message once and all your words were equally weighed, there would be at best a 2 percent chance of anyone remembering your key message.

Yes, there are other techniques to emphasize your key message which you should also use. Repeating your key words is the simplest way.

By repeating your key message at least once, you’ve doubled the emphasis and increased the memorability. State your key message three to five times and people will tend to hear it and remember it.

Most of us need to hear a phrase, message or name several times before we remember it. Perhaps you’ve met someone at a meeting and then forgotten their name before the end of the meeting. When you want to commit important information to memory you should probably repeat it several times.

Marketers know this principle. That’s why a 30-second radio or TV ad will mention the product or company name a few times. That’s also why one promotion never seems enough.

You probably remember the key phrase from the famous speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. – I have a dream. It would be difficult to forget because he stated it 11 times during that speech.

Here are three ways for you to use this technique:

Repeat your key message like a refrain, as in “I have a dream”.

Capture the key message within a rhetorical question and then answer using the key words, e.g. why is it important to exercise? It’s important to exercise because…

Use slight variations in the wording so the phrase doesn’t appear overdone. e.g. In this tip,  message, words and phrase have been interchanged.

If there’s one thing for you to remember from this tip, it is: “repeat your key message”.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations: Listen to this interview with George Torok

George Torok interviewed on Biz Radio Canada about How to Deliver Superior Presentations.

What can you learn from this shy, introverted kid who became a professsional speaker and executive speech coach?


Superor Presentations: George Torok Interview on Biz Radio Canda from George Torok on Vimeo.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations 70: The top three reasons are...

Build your presentation on three

How can you simplify the structure of your message and make it more powerful?
 

Build your presentation on a foundation of three.

Here are three ways to do that in your presentation:

3 Options

This is an effective way to offer a set of options to your audience. In a sales presentation you might offer the client a choice of Standard, Enhanced and Comprehensive. Some stores offer products that vary in quality - Good, Better and Best.

Three options are enough to allow your listeners to feel in control while not overwhelming them with too many choices. Just imagine how difficult it is to decide when you face a menu of 37 flavors of ice cream.

Give clients three options and they aren't trapped within a yes or no decision. They get to choose a matter of degrees.

3 Steps

When explaining a process or project diagram it into three stages or phases. Each might have several activities within them. By explaining the process in three steps you make it easier for your listeners to grasp the big picture and visualize the direction. Often, they don't need to understand all the details.

Three steps won't feel intimidating to your listener. Describing your plan in three steps will force you to gain a clearer perspective on things.

Top 3 Reasons

This is an effective way to respond to a question. Imagine that you are asked, "Why should I hire you?" "What makes your product so expensive?" "How is your company different from the rest?"

To any of those questions you can respond with, "The top three reasons are..."

Naturally, you respond with your strongest points. That should make a compelling case for you. Three strong points beat five or more mediocre points. This approach demonstrates that you respect your listener's time and that you can prioritize. It also allows you to add more information if needed.

To have more success with your presentation build it on sets of three.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations 69: Don't Speak at the Audience, Instead...

Speak to One Person at a Time

 

 

If you want to connect with the people in your audience you need to talk to each person one at a time. Each person needs to feel, "The speaker is talking to me!"

How do you accomplish that?

With direct eye contact and the right language.

 

Eye Contact

 

Imagine having lunch with a colleague who is sitting directly across the table from you. Throughout the 45-minute lunch that person never looks at you - not while you are talking or even while that person is talking to you. That person looks at the meal, out the window or at other people in the restaurant. Apparently you don't deserve even a sideways glance. How would you feel?

Now imagine how your audience might feel if you don't look at them. It's not enough to look at them as a group. Instead you must look a person directly in the eyes. As you deliver your presentation don't deliver a speech to the crowd. Instead make it appear that you are having many one-on-one conversations. Deliver a sentence or phrase to one person then connect with another, then another - until each person in the room feels that "The speaker spoke to me." You can enhance the feeling by occasionally smiling at an individual.

You might need to check your notes or your slides occasionally but make it a point to be looking at an individual 80% of the time.

 

Conversational Language

Use language that talks to an individual.

The most important word that helps you establish the one-to-one connection is the word "you". Say, "I'm happy to see you today." "Here's how this will help you." "You might be wondering how this works."

Don't say "you guys". That's trailer trash talk. It's okay when chatting with buddies at the bar but not for a business presentation. In addition it's treating your audience as a mob not individuals.

Construct and deliver every sentence as if you were talking to one person. When you look at a person, imagine that person is the only one you are talking to.

Avoid using these mob words: anybody, everybody and crowd.

How is everybody today? That's bad for two reasons. It lumps the people into a mob. It's also a dumb question because no one can speak for everybody.

Does anybody have a question? That's similar to everybody. It's a mob word and it's a dumb question.

What might you say instead? How are you today? Do you have a question?

Notice the difference.

Don't deliver a speech at your audience. Instead connect with each person by engaging in many one-on-one conversations.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

3 Ways to Have a Real Conversation with your Audience

How can you converse with your audience? In the same way that you have a good conversation with a friend or colleague.

Use these three techniques to converse with your audience:

1. Look at an individual while you are speaking. Move your eyes about the audience so that you speak directly to every individual during your presentation.

2. Talk in a converstional style. Vary your pitch, pace and tone just as you would while conversing with a friend. Reading your speech will kill the conversational tone.

3. Tell short stories and anecdotes - just as you would in a normal conversation.

Do these three things and your presentations will feel fuller, more connected and more convincing.

Stop lecturing. Start having more conversations with your listeners.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations 67: Don't Say Sorry

Don't say sorry.

It happens. You're speaking to a group and you stumble on a word or make a mistake. The temptation is to immediately blurt out "Sorry" or some variation of that word.

Don't say sorry when you make mistakes during your presentation. Instead, collect your thoughts as quickly as you can, restate the point correctly and move on.

There are three reasons why you shouldn't say sorry:

1. Often many of the people in your audience weren't listening closely and they missed the error. But when you say "sorry" you unnecessarily draw attention to the fact that you made a mistake.

2. When you say sorry your brain tends to fixate on the mistakes instead of your message. That might cause you to become anxious and feel more nervous about your presentation. Instead focus on your destination, not the bumps along the way.

3. The more times that your audience hears the word "sorry" the less they will feel confident about your credibility. This means that every time you say sorry you are working against yourself. Just imagine if the pilot of your plane announced every course correction with a "sorry". How might you feel about the pilot and the flight?

Here are some of the transition phrases that you might use:

• Let me correct that.
• What I really mean is...
• Correction...
• That didn't come out right.
• Let's try again.

Or you could simply pause, smile, and then start that last sentence again.

What if you didn't notice a factual error when you stated it but recalled it later? You could say, "I want to correct something that I misstated earlier."

Naturally there are exceptions to this rule. If you did or said something that could have offended the audience then you would issue a sincere apology.

My youngest daughter used to say "oopsies" when she made a mistake. It sounded cute. When you are the speaker you don't look or sound cute when you litter your presentation with "oopsies".

Your audience will ignore or pardon simple presentation errors. The key for you is to look and sound competent so you can deliver your intended message.


Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

Superior Presentations 65: Omit Your Hard Luck Story

From George Torok

The audience doesn't care about your hard luck story - unless it's funny. Even if it is funny, don't tell a story unless it makes a point that supports your message.

The speaker began his presentation by telling us that he had crossed three time zones to speak to us this morning. I'm not sure if he was bragging or complaining. There seemed no point to his tale. It didn't relate to his topic. Perhaps he was explaining why his presentation might be substandard. Perhaps he simply wanted a little sympathy.

Curious, he was there to sell his product and he seemed to be groveling.

He continued to relate his travel story by admitting that he instructed the taxi to take him to the wrong hotel. Clearly he had not checked and confirmed details.

There was no point to this story so why did he tell it. Did he believe that this was a good opening? Did he think that he was establishing rapport with this story that illustrated his ineptitude?

It wasn't funny. Instead, it lowered his credibility while boring us right from the start.

Fortunately for him his product was way more interesting than he or his presentation. Yes, sometimes the audience is astute enough to see past the ineptitude of the presenter. But you can never count on that luck.

Recently I experienced my own travel frustrations on the way to a morning presentation. I planned to take the commuter train and arrive about 45 minutes before the start of my presentation.

Because of Murphy (what can go wrong will go wrong) my train was taken out of service and the next train was delayed by a medical emergency. I walked into the packed meeting room as the MC started to read my introduction and began my presentation at the scheduled time.

The audience didn't need to know about my journey. That wasn't why they were there. So I didn't mention the delay to them. I quietly talked with the organizer to dispel his anxiety.

The presentation went well. Part of the reason was that I focused on the audience and my intended message and not on the frustrations of the morning journey.

Sometimes a story from your journey might help your presentation but be sure it does before you tell it.

George Torok

PS: This incident also served as a reminder to have the phone number and email of the contact in my BlackBerry.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives

PowerPoint Does Not Equal Presentation

You Don’t have a Presentation?

The audio-video guy at the conference asked me for my deck. I told him that I would not use PowerPoint for my presentation.

His incredulous response was, “You don’t have a presentation?”

I laughed and responded, “Of course I do and it’s all in here” pointing to my head, “and it’s never broken down yet.”

His response illustrates that many people equate presentation with PowerPoint. Congratulations to Microsoft on their massive brainwashing. PowerPoint is an easy-to-use software that has seduced hordes of presenters into thinking that PowerPoint is their presentation.

Should you use PowerPoint in your presentation?

That’s a good question to ask. More presenters need to ask that question.

The answer is, “Only if it helps your audience understand and act on your message.”

If you are using PowerPoint as your notes – don’t use it. You’ve probably seen speakers who look at each slide in surprise as they try to stay on track. You might even have suffered through speakers who read the bullet points to you from the slides. Did they think you couldn’t read?

What should you put on your PowerPoint slides?

Images

That means – photos, charts, sketches.

Not text and numbers.

PowerPoint is best used as a visual medium. Text and numbers are not visual. They are processed in a different part of the brain than images.

Before your next presentation consider these questions:

What's the best way to convey your message to your audience?
Would PowerPoint help your audience understand your message?  

Are you using PowerPoint as your crutch?

If the answer to the last question is yes, consider this: your audience will recognize your struggle.

PowerPoint does not equal presentation.

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook
Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives