Wired Presentations

There are some presentation coaches who say that you shouldn’t reduce presentations to a set of rules. Since I am not a presentation coach that doesn’t apply to me. Oh, this advice isn’t just for speaking pros, it is for you, the person delivering your first or second presentation.

Here is one of Jeff’s rules.

Take risks during your presentation!

I am not talking about ridiculous risks. Here is an example of a ridiculous risk that many people don’t mind taking, “I know this pretty well, I am just going to wing-it!” Winging-it, or just going up there and speaking without any preparation, is not the kind of risk I am talking about. When you think about it, it’s more stupid than risky. Actually, it is usually a sign of fear but that is a subject for another day.

Here are some ways to be risky during your next presentation:

1) Make meaningful eye contact. This one is soooooo important. When you are delivering a presentation a second can feel like an eternity. I consider this risky because you, like most people, feel so uncomfortable doing it. Make eye contact often and hold it longer than you think you should. You should practice this, often, during normal conversation with friends and family. Strangers too!

Eating in Asia is risky! But worth it!

2) Tell personal stories. Many people are unwilling to do this. I guess they see it as a sign of weakness. It isn’t. Your audience will find your story (if it is told well) interesting. The trick is to ensure that the story highlights the point you are trying to make. Stories are a great way to connect with your audience. Plus, people will remember you.

3) Don’t be a statue. You are a human, not a statue. Move! Sure, that junction box on the floor may knock you to the ground. No problem. Handle it well and people will talk about how awesome you are under pressure. Move, connect, influence!

4) Show some emotion. President Obama was recently interviewed about the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. He stated that he had to find someones “ass” to kick. The President of the United States shouldn’t use language like that on TV. That being said, he looked strange because he was using a very emotional word but was acting like Spock on Star Trek. No emotion at all.

I know what you are thinking. I give technical presentations. There’s no need for emotion. Nonsense! Technical presentations are all I deliver and I use emotion every single time. Emotion shows you care and you must care to connect and get your message across.

The speaking pros know these things and work on them. Fortunately, you can too. A willingness to take some risks will set you apart from your peers and possibly take your life, and career, in directions you never thought possible.

by someone who has never entered one!

What can someone who has never competed in a speech contest teach you, the competitor, about winning? I think that the answer to that question is, “A LOT!”

I have a couple of friends that have entered contests and I helped coach them. As part of this “coaching” I attended every contest I could easily drive to. Here are the lessons that I learned.

Do your homework

You should know how you will be judged. Read the judging sheet (you can find them here). Read the words of those who have gone far (Rich Hopkins). Read  Internet groups.

Your speech has to have a point

This is very important. During the humorous speech season I saw at least 10 presentations. I don’t remember any of them having a point. When a speech has a point you know it. There simply must be a reason that you are telling the story. At the end of your speech I should remember the story and the specific reason that you shared it with me. If your audience doesn’t know why you told it chances are you will lose.

Don’t bury the headline

Your point must be obvious. Many folks in your audience, including some of the judges, won’t “get” that subtle, clever, introduction where you let us in on why you are sharing your speech. You need to have the subtlety of breaking glass. If you don’t tell them EXACTLY why you are sharing your presentation, chances are they won’t get it. Face it, most of us are barely paying attention under the best of circumstances. Make it easy for us.

Have a compelling opening

All of the contest speeches that I saw had very weak openings. I don’t remember one that really reached-out and grabbed me. You need an introduction that says, “what I am about to share with you is going to make your life better — listen to me!”

I think that the compelling opening is the most important part of the speech. If you don’t have them at the start, you won’t have them at the end. I noticed this when teaching. People need a reason to listen. Give them one — be exciting.

Have a gripping end and ask them to do something

If you have them with you at the end congratulations. If you don’t a compelling end isn’t likely to help much.

The end of your speech should include two things:

• an OBVIOUS restatement of the point you are trying to make
• a call to action (something for them to do).

You need to make sure they remember the reason that you shared your speech with them. Restate it in a new, different, way.

You need to have a call to action. It can be something as simple as ask them to consider what you have said (pause for them to do it). It can be as specific as calling a charity and donating money (take their money). It could be that you want them to try a new computer programming technique (not likely to win a contest with that one). Ask them to do something; your speech will stick in their mind.

Here is the quickest way to lose a contest

Don’t practice and don’t rehearse. For heaven’s sake, if you are going to do something gimmicky like use a cute video, or fall down, rehearse it. Hopefully one of you friends will tell you “it sucks, don’t do it?”

Alan Hoffler and I spend a lot of time talking about ideas and presentation skills. That is why I am so thankful that our paths crossed. I honestly don’t know where I would be without him. And I know he feels the same way about me.

We met for lunch at our usual place today and discussed what it means to learn. Today was about how to learn presentation skills. But it really applies to lots of areas.

As I walked back to my office, it hit me. Never in human history has it been so easy to learn. You can literally get on the Internet and find an expert in practically any field who will help you. Photography? Yep, I got help one time from a photographer at National Geographic. Have a question about a presentation? Speech coaches all over the world will help you. In general, people love to help others. You just have to ask.

I taught SAS courses over the web and it always amazed me that we could effectively teach people who are half a world a way. I was able to find hundreds of hours of videos to analyze. In short, I found the resources necessary to teach myself. Teaching yourself is not a bad thing. Learning how to learn is a great skill to have.

Back to presentations… To learn to deliver effective presentations you need an audience. Ideally this audience will be sophisticated, and honest, enough to provide you with feedback. Make that “GREAT FEEDBACK.” You don’t want the feedback to be superficial. “You said ‘um’ and ‘ah’ is not what I would call deeply profound.” You want the feedback to be meaningful. Although you can go improve by presenting to a video camera, adding an audience into the mix helps a lot.

A knowledgeable audience who won’t tell you the truth isn’t much use, either. You need honest feedback.

I am reasonably certain that this audience (group) I am describing does not exist as an organized club. It must be created. Fortunately, Keith Ferrazzi has provided a general blueprint for us. His most recent book, “Who’s Got Your Back,” describes accountability groups. He doesn’t talk about presentations, per se, but his concept applies.

If you are interested in something like I am describing. Let me know. If you live in the Triangle area of North Carolina that’s great. If you don’t, still contact me. With so much great technology at our disposal we can probably make the distance irrelevant.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter and we can discuss this.