What are the top 3 things that annoy you in PowerPoint presentations? Dave Paradi, author of The Visual Slide Revolution, asked people this question in his research study. Here’s what he found:
- Speaker reading slides – 73.8%
- Full sentences on the slides – 51.6%
- Text too small – 48.1%
If you want to use PowerPoint to your advantage then you need to:
- Learn how to design slides for maximum impact on the audience
- Learn how to speak about your slides and integrate them seamlessly into your presentation
Many people approach a presentation as though the slides are the presentation and they are there to support the slide deck. The reverse is true. As a presenter, YOU are the presentation and the slides are there to enhance your message and make you more persuasive. Continue reading “Presentations: Do Your PowerPoint Slides Annoy People?”
Last week I was delivering a presentations skills workshop and was observing “Nancy” (name changed) deliver her presentation. Her content and delivery overall were quite good except for one big problem: she sounded more like a recording than a real person. She was using a ‘presentation voice.’ Nancy was not being herself.
With a bit of coaching, she began using her ‘real voice’ and in doing so, revealed a much more authentic voice that was engaging, passionate and clear. Nancy went on to deliver one of the most persuasive presentations of the workshop.
Your voice is a killer persuasion tool. When delivering presentations, the tone of your voice and the vocal variety you use can have more impact than all other presentation skills combined. If people focused as much on their voice as on their power point slides, my bet is they would see a dramatic impact on their ability to move their audience to take action.
Continue reading “Presentations that Do NOT Persuade”
In the work I do helping sales people to become more effective, we focus a lot on questioning skills. Let’s assume it’s your intent to ask questions in order to uncover your customer’s needs, likes, dislikes and perspectives. Here’s a typical question that is used by many sales professionals.
“If I could show you a way to easily solve your problem, would that be of interest to you?”
Let’s look at this question and examine why it isn’t effective.
Here are just a few reasons:
- The intention behind the question is not one of curiosity about your customer’s needs; it is a leading question that is about you.
- It is a closed question and the only information you will glean is a “yes” or “no”. More importantly, it is a ‘gotcha’ question because the only logical answer is yes.
- It is a question that leads right into a pitch. As soon as the customer answers the question (yes), the next words that will come out of your mouth will be pitching words. Continue reading “Pitching Disguised As Questions”
Jim Bentley (name changed) is a well respected, seasoned sales professional with solid expertise in the financial services industry. He has long standing clients, with whom he enjoys excellent relationships. He is one of the top sales producers for his company. In spite of his sales success, he almost missed out on solidifying one of his best client relationships.
Jim participated in the Intentional Selling™ program as part of a company wide initiative. Part of the training process includes identifying limiting assumptions that might unconsciously block sales success. Jim became aware of the following limiting beliefs: Continue reading “Favourite Client Stories: How Jim’s Success Almost Got in His Way”
Questions will help you persuade more powerfully than any other selling behaviour. Yet the number one error that I consistently see sales professionals make is not asking enough questions to clarify the needs of their clients.
In my sales training and coaching, I’ve seen even seasoned sales professionals lead with their product, solution or ideas rather than leading with questions. Pitching product (showing up and “throwing up”) is hoping that if I talk about my product enough, something will stick. But it will annoy, overwhelm and cause your client to shrug and think “So what?” Whether you’re conducting sales meetings or delivering presentations, product pitching simply does not work. If you do not take the time to fully uncover the real needs of your client or audience, you are sabotaging your sales success.
Many sales people are under the misguided assumption that they do ask questions. But I have seen the most seasoned sales professionals fall short time and again. While they may start off asking a few questions, the minute they hear “a need,” they jump in with how their solutions will address the concern rather than asking more questions to get underneath the concern and to understand the impact of the problems. Continue reading “Top Sales Errors: Why Pitching Product Doesn’t Work”
Yesterday was the final ‘presentation showcase’ day for Pro Track Speakers Academy – a yearlong boot camp for emerging speakers at the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS). I had the privilege of evaluating the final presentations along with two of my esteemed CAPS colleagues Peri Shawn and Richard Peterson.
While we covered the gamut in our feedback critiques, the art and skill of storytelling was the prevalent theme that was woven throughout the fabric of the day. Everyone incorporated story and more than a few were masterful storytellers.
What made them masterful? Two things were at play:
- Content (what they said)
- Performance (how they delivered it)
With regard to the former, the masters knew how to structure their content and incorporated persuasion elements intentionally. They were like Jedi Masters.
Persuasion tactics are consistently used by masterful presenters, not only in their stories but throughout their presentations. Chip and Dan Heath, the authors of Made to Stick, a NY Times best seller, refer to the “stickiness” of an idea or recommendation in terms of its ability to transform the way people think and act.
Persuasion elements turn dull presentations from black and white into brilliant technicolor and brings them to life. Sadly, many sales presentations I observe fall short of these critical tactics. Remember, we are all selling something – our products, services, ideas or requests.
6 Ways to Be Persuasive
The following ‘Convincing Elements’ are some of the core elements of structure in our presentation skills training program, UPFRONT Persuasion Through Presentation. Continue reading “6 Persuasion Elements in Storytelling: Are you Using These Tactics?”
Storytelling is both an art and a skill. Our guest author Dr. Patsi Krakoff wrote about this in “Presentations That Persuade: Stories Drive Action,” last week.
For me, there’s nothing more compelling than watching a masterful storyteller in action. It is magical. Ever since primitive tribes sat around a fire to tell their adventures, we’ve become fascinated by stories. But how do your become skilled at this when making a presentation?
Here is one technique that will take your storytelling game to the next level and leave your audience frothing at the mouth for more. It is one of the tips I share in my article “10 Tips That Work for Truly Persuasive Presentations.”
Creating Word Pictures
Use multi-sensory language. Weave a tapestry with your words to paint pictures. Help your audience see, feel and hear what you have to say. Go beyond using words that appeal only to the thinking brain and be more intentional in using sensory rich language. Continue reading “Presentations That Persuade – Create Word Pictures”
A guest post by Dr. Patsi Krakoff, author of the blog WritingontheWeb.com and writer/editor of Content for Coaches and Consultants.
Presentations can be really good and still not generate any action from the audience. Why is content marketing and persuasion so elusive, and what can you do drive results, to set people on fire?
When it comes to making a presentation, most professionals start from their point of view. Of course, who wouldn’t?
“We’ve got a state-of-the-art 128-bit secure site, offering the best rates on the Web.”
While this business professional understands that its customers want security and low prices when ordering services online, they fail to ignite passion or spark action in readers. Storytelling can light a fire and make your presentation drive action.
Stories of real people connect with readers in a way that data and words on a screen can’t. In his best-selling book Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, published in 1997 by Harper-Collins, master screenwriter Robert McKee argues that stories “fulfill a profound human need to grasp the patterns of living—not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience.”
There are two ways to persuade people. Continue reading “Presentations that Persuade: Stories Drive Action!”
This is a guest post from my associate Judie Knoerle, owner of Red Cup Presentations and author of UPFRONT Persuasion Through Presentation.
As a presentation coach I find the most often asked question is, “What do I do with my hands?” Holding them behind your back signals you’re hiding something. Clutching them in front of your body, protecting vital organs, signals you’re nervous. Gesturing as you would in normal conversations usually entails unconsciously emphasizing almost every word in a phrase. None of these actions is appropriate for presentations. After all, how can you be persuasive if NOTHING is accented or when EVERYTHING you say is important enough to emphasize with gesture?
So, what do you do with your hands during a presentation? Can your gestures help you be more persuasive? The answer is yes.
There are three things to remember regarding gestures:
- Show a palm. You begin to establish trust with your palms facing the audience. Avoid making fists, pointing and clutching.
- Stay open to your audience. Keep your hands away from the centre of your body.
- Hold a gesture.
Continue reading “Presentations: What do Gestures have to do with Persuasion?”
Judie Knoerle, my colleague and author of UPFRONT Persuasion Through Presentation, a globally branded presentations skills program has contributed this post to our Persuasion Series. Judie is a presentations coach extraordinaire and she is called the “Presentations Whisperer” in Chicago where she lives.
I’ve always believed that we should surround ourselves with people who replenish our energy rather than drain it. Audiences feel similarly about presenters.
If you speak at a low volume with limited voice modulation and few gestures, you will drain the energy of the audience as they struggle to engage with you and hear what you have to say. At some point they tune you out. They’ve had to work too hard to connect with your message.
On the other hand, when a speaker has an assertive tone, sufficient volume for the size of the room and a smile that pulls in the audience like a magnet, that’s when energy is contagious. The audience feels it and is engaged. When you are passionate about a topic, the energy comes more naturally.
But what if you are asked to speak about a topic you’re not that enthused about? You must learn to generate a sense of passion with your voice, your gestures and your expressions. Energy is contagious. When you look genuinely excited about a topic, you energize your audience. Your energy reflects confidence. Confidence persuades.
Here is a tip on how to bring vigor into your presentations. Practice in front of trusted colleagues and get their feedback on your energy level. Ask them to rate you on a scale of 1- 10, 10 being ideal. As you recharge, get out of your comfort zone by increasing your voice projection and using larger, more open gestures. Remember, while this new style may feel uncomfortable to you at first, how you feel inside and how you look to your audience are never the same.
When you invigorate your presentations, get ready to look out into the audience and notice how they are tuned in and smiling back at you.
What do you do to liven up your presentations? I would love to hear from you.
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