What’s a great way to start a presentation? Have you considered opening up a “Curiosity Gap”?
Here’s how you don’t want to start… How many of us have heard this opening line to a presentation:
“Good Morning. I know you’re very busy. I don’t want to waste your time so I’ll get through this information as quickly as possible.” Or, “I recognize I’m the only thing standing between you and lunch.”
On the surface these sound innocent enough – after all, you’re just … Read More
If you really want to know how to be persuasive, here’s a voice habit you will want to avoid. Have you ever noticed this? In just about every workshop on presentations I deliver, there’s at least one or two people who do this while speaking:
Although they’re making a statement, their vocal tone rises at the end, as if a question is being asked, do you know what I mean?
While it sometimes sounds coy and feminine, … Read More
How do you prepare YOURSELF for presentations? In my last post, I offered three simple preparation steps to be on target for your next presentation. But all the preparation in the world won’t get successful results if you’re nervous or appear to be. It’s important to know how to prepare YOURSELF for your presentations.
I once worked with a woman who said she gets nervous because she knows everyone is looking at her. My advice … Read More
How do you prepare for presentations? If you’re like most busy professionals when asked to give a presentation in an hour, or the next day, you probably first reach for a recent slide deck on the topic you’ll be speaking about. You rearrange the slides, create a couple more and you’re done! Right? Wrong.
I have a much better idea for you and it starts with your audience not your slides.
Research shows … Read More
Do you suffer from rambling in public speaking? If not, I am sure you’ve experienced the pain of a presentation that goes on and on… and on! If you want to give a persuasive presentation be concise.
Unfortunately, even if there are important nuggets to be heard, they’re lost on the audience. Instead of listening to the key points, the audience disengages and begins self-talk: “When is this guy going to quit?!” or, “Get to the point already!”
Rambling is one of the biggest killers of persuasive presentations. By … Read More
In my last blog post, I told you the story of my early selling days when I struggled for six months to make a significant sale. I had plenty of sales contacts, but not enough results.
And with 100% commission, you know that’s not good! I guess I must have been at a turning point. I decided to pick up the phone and go right to the top of my best prospects. I called Al Kupcis, then CEO of Ontario … Read More
Every once in a while something happens that changes your life forever. Here’s what one man taught me that formed my selling mindset. I learned that the right selling mindset is the fastest way to produce sales results.
In the early 90’s, Al Kupcis was President and CEO of what was then Ontario Hydro. He led the company through an intense period of deregulation and massive change including downsizing, reorganization and restructuring. Al Kupcis has no idea how much my one meeting with him changed my mindset … Read More
What do you do to prepare for your business or sales presentations? Are you like so many people who work hard on preparing the content and slides for their presentation but pay little attention to how they will deliver their message?
It’s one thing knowing WHAT you want to say but it’s entirely different knowing HOW to communicate your message so that you’re compelling and persuasive during sales presentations. Your content can be filled with great information but if your delivery is weak or distracting, it’s hard to really … Read More
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