presentations4you

Every professional handling his/her field of expertise needs to be self-confident. This applies to presentations too. "Conditio sine qua non" is that you have to be fully ready to get your stuff transmitted appropriately. This is called preparation. You know, this is where so many business people fail: poor preparation. Not only in presentations, of course. Ready-made excuses are there to be served: lack of time, unskilled co-workers, last-minute changes, other priorities, etc.

The real thing lies elsewhere: deep in yourself. Because if you have to expose yourself in front of an audience to present YOUR material, you'd better be the best! Or fail. Or at least deceive. In your position, deceiving can be worse. This is true for managers, sales professionals, small cap or major corporation CEO's.

What is the issue? If you're less than confident, everybody will notice. If you're overconfident but fuzzling round with your papers and hands, it might be worse. Overconfidence in presentations happens when we are blind, underestimate our presentation challenge and think that everything will be alright. We might be the best at what we are doing in our job but be disappointing in communication.

Let me formulate the essentials that I have taught to managers and CEO's in these circumstances:

1. Get prepared. I mean it: PRE-PAR-ED!
2. Rehearse. Again and again. Don't say you're doing OK. Chances are you're doing poorly.
3. Put a videorecorder in front of you. Don't say you don't have the time. Don't hire a Yes-man who won't be critical.
   
4. Have a simple mindmap or a concise guideline on one page if your communication is complex and you really have to sit.
   
5. Control your gestures. No, you are not in control yet.
6. Don't improvise. Don't extrapolate, unless it's short and it sounds like a very well thought out initiative. Hard to do.
   
7. Control. Yes, it's a key word. Being in control, you can be cool and communicate smoothly.
8. Still intending to take the printouts of your slides with you, I see? --If you master your subject, everything should be in your head.
9. You won't read anything, you said? Great: you have invested the time necessary.
10. The time of sharing has come. Nothing will happen if you don't interact and make eye contact.

 
This seems natural, isn't it? But why are so many presentations so poorly delivered, really? Ever thought that yours could require some improvement, too?

Hear me well: I'm not saying that we should all have a Steve Ballmer like style. Or the Steve Jobs' one, for those who are on the other planet. We need our own style. Full stop. But what these guys have in common, although star years separate them from each other is: great preparation, efficient communication with their target audience, professional technical set-up and perfect backup in case of emergency. Close your eyes and think of this a minute: how do you rate yourself here, from 1 to 10, 10 being excellent?

Below 8? You deserve more. I can give you a boost for your next crucial presentation in a few hours of one-on-one coaching, wherever you are located. But before, let's talk and have a look at your goal.