Perfect Presentation Coaching

Thank you for visiting my blog! I am in the process of converting this to a video blog, so come back frequently. For now, please browse through and read all the posts that are already here!

Thanks again!

Do your presentations S.U.C.K.?

If they don’t then you are not being as successful as you could be!

“That is the most insane thing I have ever heard, please explain!”

No, No, I don’t mean that your presentations should literally suck!

S.U.C.K. is an incredibly simple to remember acronym for creating and delivering a successful presentation.

You probably have never heard of this acronym before, and I know why!

It’s because I just made it up!

So, to make your presentations S.U.C.K. here’s what you need to do.

S – Make your presentations Succinct. Get rid of all the extra weight, cut the fat, get right to the point.

Audiences have things to do , they don’t want to sit through 800 slides when 5 will do.

Be ruthless, go through your presentations and ask yourself this question for every slide.

“Is this slide absolutely necessary to make my point?”

If you answer no, then cut it.

U – Make your presentation Unique. Microsoft estimates that there are close to 30 million powerpoint presentations every day, if you want to succeed you have to stand out from this amazingly large crowd.

Don’t stand in front and recite facts, don;t read your slides, don’t load your slides with bullet after bullet.

Do tell a story, do respect your audience by making your slides interesting and mentally engaging, do use visuals instead of bullets!

Make yourself and your presentation something people want to sit through, not something they have to suffer through.

C – Make your point Clearly. How many presentations have you been to where you said after wards “What exactly was the point of that?”

You don’t want people to say that about you, so do what you can to be as clear as you can possibly be.

If you have a lot of data to present, see if you can break it up into smaller chunks.

If you have graphs and charts, get rid of every thing that doesn’t contribute to the clarity of the graph or chart.

Don’t clutter up your narrative with a lot of extra stuff because you are expected to speak for a certain amount of time.

Say what you have to say as clearly as you possibly can.

K – Make your presentation a Keeper. You want people to remember what you said, so make that happen by being interesting and engaging.

Catch not only the minds of your audience, capture their emotions as well.

Good songs and stories have a hook that makes them memorable. Find a hook that will make you and your presentation memorable.

So, there it is, the road map to successful presenting.

Now get out there and make your next presentation S.U.C.K. I guarantee you that if you do, you will succeed!

Think back to a time in your life when you had to learn a new skill.

Were you able to perform that skill to complete perfection the very first time you tried it?

My guess is no.

Chances are you made a mistake. Maybe even a lot of mistakes.

But, if you stuck with it, you gradually improved and now, you are probably quite proficient at that skill (or at least a lot better than you used to be!)

You are reading this because you want to be a better presenter or public speaker.

I will tell right now that it is not a one step process.

It will not happen overnight.

Just as a baby doesn’t go from crawling to walking in one day, you will not get from where you are to where you want to be in one giant step.

Well then, what does it take?

It takes baby steps. And an amazing principle that I learned from my mentor.

What is this powerful concept?

1%

1 percent? What does that mean?

It means that you should try to improve yourself, your speaking skills, and your presentations and presenting skills by 1% each day.

1% is a tiny improvement, easy to do.

BUT it can have a HUGE impact!

Say you think you are currently at a 6 out of 10 on your speaking skills. Improving 1% a day for a month will get you to a 9!

Think where you could get if you continued to improve from that 9!

It’s such a simple process that many people find it hard to believe it is as powerful as it is.

As Stephen Covey says, “Begin with the end in mind.”

The end you should envision is a successful you and you WILL get there if you take those little, tiny baby steps!

Let’s take a quiz.

Don’t worry, it’s easy!

Ok, get ready, A pencil and a piece of paper might be helpful.

I want you to write down the first image that pops into your head from the following words.

Ready? Here we go.

Nike.

Coca Cola.

McDonald’s

Did you get some pretty strong images? I did.

Here are mine – the swoosh, the red can with the white swirly thing, the golden arches.

Let’s do one more. This is the hard one, so take a deep breath and prepare yourself.

Ready?

Here’s the word: You.

What was your image? Was it a strong, positive one?

Now, think about the image that you project to the people you interact with during your day.

Are you projecting that internal image that you saw? Or are you projecting something else?

Whichever image you are showing, that image becomes you.

Just as the swoosh represents Nike, your image is your brand.

What is a brand? In her book slide:ology, Nancy Duarte says that a brand is “what the company stands for in the hearts and minds of its customers.”

Lets take this idea and apply it to your presentations.

When you present you have to win over, not only the minds of your audience, but their hearts as well.

How do you do this? By projecting a positive, energetic brand!

Once again from slide:ology, “In many instances a presentation is the last impression a customer has…”

Make sure that the impression you leave is the one you wanted to leave.

How do you do that? Simple, you do all of the things necessary for an effective presentation.

Prepare your visuals, prepare your narrative, prepare yourself.

Start working on your brand, make your image an intentional product, not an unintentional byproduct!

Then, at your next presentation, consciously decide to strongly project that image.

Will you get it exactly right the first time? Probably not, but if you stay persistent and continuously improve yourself you will slowly and surely get closer and closer to the image you are looking for.

So, let’s go through the exercise again.

Nike. Coca Cola. McDonald’s.

You.

Did you see what you wanted to?

Aim for that image and get to work!

When presenting, or even just in your daily life, always remember that you are your brand!

Take steps to build a strong, positive brand and then actively work on maintaining and improving it.