What makes a presentation really connect with an audience?
When you make a sales presentation – how can you make sure you’ve given it your best shot to get your point across?
Groucho Marx once said that “the key to life is sincerity – and once you can fake that – you’ve got it made!”
And so it is with our presentations – we need to be sincere and authentic if we want to connect well with our audience. But beware – the audience can pick it if we try to fake it.
Many of us have had training in how to present – how to hold our arms and use our body; how to move around the stage or room; how to use our voice – and lots of other tips and techniques. And while these methods are useful – they often lack that “something” to give power and a “real” feel to what we’re saying – even if we believe it with passion.
Nick Morgan is one of America’s most respected communication theorists and coaches. He’s helped some of the top corporations in the US craft effective messages, and has also worked with politicians and educators. He’s been an editor with Harvard Management Communication, and has authored numerous books and publications on the topic of communication.
Nick’s most recent work – “Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma” – has been on the subject of authenticity and communicating with authenticity. In this piece I’ll share Nick’s key points on delivering a presentation that really connects with your audience, and list some things you can do to sell more effectively by presenting authentically.
To create a bond, Nick suggests working on these four intentions:
1. The intention to be open with your audience.
This is the most critical factor. Whilst there are ways to demonstrate this with gestures, tone and carefully selected text – if you don’t want to be open, it’s difficult to simply pretend. (There are some tips on this below.)
2. The intention to connect with your audience.
Again, this is something that you must want to do. If you genuinely want to connect, you must keep constantly thinking about what your audience is interested in – and deliver meaningful content in a manner that engages them. Continue Reading…
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President Barack Obama has recently celebrated 100 days in office. It seems timely to review the skills that helped bring him to the world’s most powerful office. Obama combines the dual skills of an accomplished orator – he commands with his presentation skills whilst conveying thoughtful and well-constructed content.
