Putting Sizzle in Your Sales Presentations

The other night my husband and I enjoyed a delicious meal at our favourite restaurant, the Terra Cotta Inn.  I ordered a steak and it was amazing. Here’s why: a yummy steak is a combination of good quality meat, careful preparation and beautiful presentation. It’s like that with our sales presentations.

I was recently providing coaching feedback on the pilot of a new high stakes product presentation that was being launched for a client. The observers in the room commented that the presentation felt dry and needed more ‘sizzle.’ Here’s what we did to accomplish that:

1. Reworked the content – made the key points tighter, slashed content that added little value and reordered it to create a more logical flow.
2.  Wove in Persuasion Elements to bring the content to life – added stories, analogies, examples and evidence throughout the fabric of the presentation to transform the content from dull and boring black and white to brilliant technicolor.
3.  Coached the presenter on his delivery – voice modulation, energy, inflection and pauses all put the icing on the cake. Because this was to be a webinar, we focused primarily on vocal attributes. Had it been a face-to-face presentation, we would have also focused on how eyes, hands and body would come into play.
4. Reviewed the quality of the slides – The slides that were developed for this presentation were clear and well designed and no changes were needed.  This is usually not the case and slide makeovers are often in order. Continue reading “Putting Sizzle in Your Sales Presentations”

6 Persuasion Elements in Storytelling: Are you Using These Tactics?

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:

1. Content (what they said)
2. 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?”

Presentations That Persuade – Create Word Pictures

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”

Presentations that Persuade: Stories Drive Action!

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!”