Justin Trudeau the long serving Canadian Prime Minister resigned this week. Just before he stepped in front of his podium to tell the nation about his decision, his notes blew away. Unperturbed he carried on without them. How would you have reacted if that had happened to you? Have you ever been put in a difficult presentation situation, maybe by your boss or a colleague? Do you revel in the chance to speak, or try and crawl under the desk instead? Do you have a message you think other people need to hear? Do you know how to structure that, and how to deliver it so that the listener can integrate and act on the information? To create the right kind of impact you need a message, and you need to know how to deliver it too.
It isn’t impossible to have a totally unique message, but it isn’t easy. Most aspects of the human experience have been covered, but certainly not all of them. So, if you have a new idea, in any field of human endeavour, then you’re off to a good start. From a marketing perspective it is always best to be first. But most people can’t do that, and instead they will be sharing information which is similar to what is already available. So, you need to reflect on the angle, the perspective of your message which is perhaps unique to you. Remember most advertising is all about saying the same thing, but in different ways. Look at how people in your field are already servicing clients, and how they are framing what they do. Can you make yourself stand out effectively in contrast to them. Focus on the value you offer to others. How can you be of service. Then use the power of your imagination to bring your uniqueness alive. I appreciate that many people seem to be successful simply based on style alone. Personally, I think you will go further and feel more satisfaction, if you ensure that you do have something of substance, something truly of value to others. This is not just about promoting products or services either. If you are delivering any presentation or training, know and prepare, the substance, the message, first. Then you can focus on your style to ensure that your message is delivered in a manner where the recipient will act on it. There are many components to this.
- Activate interest and attention: Simon Sinek is famous for his book, Start With Why. At the beginning of any presentation, you need to explain clearly to people why they need to listen to what you are about to say. What is in it for them. I’m not a big fan of using gimmicks to grab people’s attention. But if you do have a good analogy, visual aide, or slightly humorous anecdote to get people’s attention at the start, that can work well. Of course you are running the risk of it falling flat, so testing it out first with others to get some feedback can be helpful too.
- The order and sequence: It pays to think about what your audience already knows, and what they need to understand to fully absorb your message. Also think about how much detail they need and when they need it. Often starting with the big picture and then moving into detail is the best way to structure your content. Thinking from your audience’s point of view, and then about the order and sequencing will make sure that you understand it too. Which means you can deal with questions or challenges more easily.
- Delivery: Once you have structured your content then you can focus on delivery. This means how you use your voice and your physiology. Where to start with this is to make sure that you don’t do distracting things, like jingling change in your pocket, or constantly clicking a pen. If you can eliminate these, then you can focus on using gestures and voice tone for emphasis, or even to associate positive emotional states in your audience. Next you can think about how you use the presentation space effectively.
- Storytelling: Finally, you can weave some storytelling into your delivery. This adds richness and depth to your presentation. More than that people learn and retain information best when it is delivered to them through story structure.
There are many layers to work through to get a message delivered to your audience in an effective manner. Start with the substance, then work on the style of your delivery. On our NLP Trainers Training we teach a comprehensive range of presentation skills. These are filters to present through. But the key point is to be yourself. Present confidently through the filters we teach and let the substance of your message shine through in your own style.
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Edith Wharton
