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How many times have you been in a meeting or presentation, and you’ve sensed that whilst 10 people may be present, their presence may not be?
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been in presentations and wondered, “where has half the room gone”? Only last week, I was at a team meeting and – at best – half the room had “disappeared”. A mixture of boredom, tech-fingering, (my personal perennial bete noire), window-gazing, or – even worse still – side conversations; all of which while the presenter, also seemingly in his own world, carried on regardless.
Worst of all, it seems to be accepted. These were all well paid, client facing, “professionals”, who’s raison d’etre every day is to convince people to invest time, money, and effort with them.
Have you ever seen an actor read you the script whilst on stage?
No, me neither. In my first term of drama school, one of the rebukes from our Director was, “I know what the words are; I’ve got them written down in the book. Can I have some acting please?”
Stand-out presentation performance can make a massive difference; when I started out, someone educated me that “buying is emotion justified by fact”. Yet how many presentations have you attended where the emotional connection is not only absent, but actively negative? On this particular occasion I concluded the following three reasons why half the room “left”. What’s your experience?
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- Tech on the table:
Whilst I know that for generation X this appears to be acceptable behaviour, (apparently even on dates), it’s not for the meeting room. Ban all tech other than that which is really needed. No individual tech, or surreptitious texting under the table. - Meeting etiquette:
No chit-chat! OK, so the odd comment to your neighbour at a light bulb moment is fine but anything over five seconds and I would recommend a distraction fund. A crisp £20 note for the Secret Santa fun perhaps? (In the meeting I am referencing, there were three people behind me who talked for nearly twenty minutes – and they were our hosts!) - Twenty First Century Presenting:
This is the big one. Why has the art of presenting moved at such a relative glacial pace? It is the one major reason the audience – the people you want to influence – “zone out”. How many deals have been lost through poor communication and presenting, despite your excellent win plan, customer relationships, and superior offering?
- Tech on the table:
A few top tips to consider when you are next presenting, meeting someone, or wanting to influence:
- A good place to start is to think about the state you want your audience to leave in – sounds obvious, but how many times have you thought about that? And do you know how to achieve it?
- Enjoy it – what are you normally thinking and more importantly feeling before you present? Going to nail this? Did I leave the iron on? Can’t wait till this is over?
- Capture and reflect your audience’s “model of the world” – big picture or specific? Visual or auditory? Reflective or decisive?
To communicate effectively – to one or many – requires the right skills and beliefs; it can be absence or presence of the appropriate skills and beliefs that hinder or empower you. One thing is for sure – they are within you, whether you realise it or not.
If you’d like to know more, get in touch with us today!
Stephen Blakely – Natural Direction Facilitator
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