Six Ways to Improve Your Presentation to Get the Business!

By Howard Miller

How often do you find yourself not listening to someone who is presenting? It may not be because you aren’t interested in the topic. It could be because the speaker has failed to hold your interest. Many who do not speak frequently are unaware of how to speak to an audience. The fundamental problem is we forget about the most important part of the presentation process: the audience. Don’t be one of those people!

Being a dynamic speaker will help you connect with people who become your clients, alliance partners and part of your referral team. While giving presentations can be nerve wracking and put you ill at ease, it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are six suggestions on how to make your presentation sparkle!

1. Make sure the content gets to the needs of the audience. Don’t make your presentation about you. Make it about the audience. Get to their pain, their need, so they relate with what you are saying and want more after your talk. Ask yourself what you want the audience to walk away knowing. Whether you are selling or sharing information with them, you need to have a hook, a way to get them involved. This is what your content should contain.
2. 2. Don’t put too much content in your presentation! I have seen presenters try to cram two hours worth of content into 10 minutes! A fairly general rule when you are putting together a presentation is to put the content together and get rid of half of it! This will help you focus on the key points you would want to make. The remaining material you don’t use can be supporting material. Better to end your presentation and allow for questions then to overwhelm your audience with too many facts.
3. Don’t lecture. Start off with an open-ended question that keeps your audience involved. Ask key questions that require answers throughout your talk. If there is a formal Q&A session at the end you could have a pre-arranged question with someone in the audience in the event other questions don’t come up.
4. Tell War Stories. Back up your facts with personal experience. If you don’t have the personal experience, then tell the story of someone you know. Make sure, however, you keep the stories focused on the client, not about you! It’s your story but it’s not about you, it’s about the other person in your story. Keeping your talk personal keeps it interesting and the audience stays involved.
5. Do not give handouts prior to your presentation. That’s worth repeating! Do not give handouts prior to your presentation! What do people do when you give them handouts? They read them and don’t listen to you.
6. Be yourself. If you don’t tell jokes well, please don’t tell jokes! Do what is comfortable for you, although a sincere smile and eye contact with the audience can get you a long way.

There are several ways to get more practice in presenting:

• Toastmasters: This group’s purpose is for each person to get more comfortable with public speaking. They meet all over the country. Check out www.toastmasters.org for more information.
• Presentation Skills classes. Universities usually have offerings on presentation or public speaking skills.
• Improvisation Class – An improvisation class isn’t just for actors! This class gives you the chance to be spontaneous and if you can perform improvisation you will be much more ready and confident to do any presentation!
• Hire A Coach – A coach can help you with any fears associated with presenting and give you tips to make you a dynamic presenter so you can leave a lasting impression with your audience.

Public speaking is a great vehicle for you to show yourself as the expert in your field and a powerful vehicle to do networking. When you present, you are the expert! Be sincere and true to yourself and it goes a long way in connecting to the audience.

The more you present, the better you get. Follow the suggestions above, practicing with one or more of the methods above, and you’ll see how giving effective presentations can successfully impact your business.

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About the author: Howard Miller is a Business Coach, Life Coach and Professional Nag. He has been in front of audiences as a rainer, actor and singer. He has made people laugh and learn, whether he is singing or teaching financial software. Howard has been training, consulting and coaching in the business environment for over 15 years. He has focused on managers who supervise people, oversee projects, and run their own business. These include attorneys, vice presidents, salespersons, sales directors, executives and artists. They desire to achieve more: more money, more rewards for their team or company, more balance in their lives, or a combination of all of the above.

Howard is a member of the International Coaches Federation and has been a member of the American Society of Trainers and Developers. He graduated from the Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael, California. His website is located at www.fulcrumlifecoaching.

Howard consults with Doherty & Associates, among other clients, on public speaking, coaching and corporate training.

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