How Senior Managers Can Avoid Being ... 'Junior Presenters'

Aside from consulting and training work, I spend a sizable amount of time each year as a ‘professional speaker’, attending every kind of conference you can imagine. At such events I have seen countless numbers of senior managers deliver weak messages on key subjects, making themselves and their organizations or departments look very ordinary. This article is therefore dedicated to helping executives create and deliver effective and influential presentations...without having to depart from their chosen personas. However, before we examine this challenge let me outline the sins of the amateurs...

• They ‘read’ speeches and in doing so lose their audience and reveal their lack of conviction and knowledge
  
• They use too many ‘detailed’ Power point slides, which is like looking at scenery from a fast train
  
• They use ‘auto-cue’ and look like newsreaders and impostors in the process
  
• They fail to rehearse, thereby making many mistakes and looking foolish
  
• They go for too long, thus adding to audience disinterest and agony
  
• They offer an indulgent view of topics, playing a game with the audience called ‘spot the eventual benefit to you’
  
• They display a lack of knowledge about the needs of the audience, which is seen as being disrespectful and dumb
  
• They fail to check their presentation from all angles of the ‘room’, often resulting in people not being able to see what they should see
  
• They sometimes attempt to emulate professional speakers, and by becoming what they are not they further isolate themselves from the audience–and fail with their messages
  
• They allow their presentations to take place in rooms where lighting is non existent, at least enabling the audience to take a legitimate nap
  
• They fail to project a ‘passion’ for their subject, reminding the audience that the only thing more contagious than genuine enthusiasm...is a distinct lack of it

Those then are some of the worst sins, but then we must ask ‘why do many so-called senior managers behave in such weak ways?’, remembering that no one aims to appear amateurish. The answer is that executive intelligence is easily nullified by executive insensitivity. If a manager fails to research a topic from the viewpoint of those he presents to, along with the perspective of other interested parties–then he will probably offer an indulgent, uninspiring message.

Here is a simple example: at the first sales conference I attended as a salesman, at age 22, a senior marketing manager gave an incredibly boring presentation on the organisational problem of ‘slow moving products’. Talking about ’inventory’, ‘cash flow’ and other riveting topics to the young sales force before him, he eventually reached the end of his presentation and his final sentence was this: ‘To solve this problem we have decided to pay a 5% commission to all sales people on sales of slow moving products in the next two months. Are there any questions?’ ‘Yes’ said a cheeky salesman at the back of the room, ‘Can you start the presentation again please.’ Fancy ending a presentation with the sentence he should have started with!

Contrast that nonsense with a speaker on drug problems who started his presentation with this statement: “If current statistics continue, three sets of parents in this room will each lose a child in the next six months.’

So rule # 1 in creating effective presentations is to ‘work backwards’ from what matters to the audience, not ‘forwards’ from what interests the presenter. So what are audiences looking for in presentations, consciously or otherwise? Here is an important list of their unspoken needs...

What matters to the audience?

• They don’t like to hear about ‘change’. Change threatens to rearrange everything they have become comfortable with. Instead they like to hear about ‘progress’...and remember you can’t have progress without change. In other words progress is the goal and change is the strategy
  
  
• They don’t mind hearing about ‘budgets’ and other organisational goals, but they need to hear more about ‘potential’. Budgets and company goals are indulgent issues, whereas potential represents genuine areas of ‘opportunity’...and potential is linked to the needs of those being served
  
  
• They know they must hear about the company’s products, but they need to know far more about the ‘promise of productivity’ inherent in their total market offerings. The golden rule in business is to ‘sell more than you charge for’ (e.g., a restaurant sells an ‘experience’ but charges for food and drinks) and audiences must understand ‘how can we help create the best results for customers (a service not charged for) through the best use of our products (which are charged for)?’
  
  
• They appreciate that ‘customers’ or ‘clients’ will be spoken about, but they need to focus on who the customers are...as people! Customers are ‘buyers’ and so they care most about cost and convenience. But the buyers are also people and as such they are the users and potential beneficiaries of products and so they are interested in ‘productivity’ issues (see the previous point). Put another way, customers are interested in their products, not ours...and their main product is their business; accordingly they want to know ‘how can your product help my product to succeed?’
  
  
• They need to know how the economic and competitive environment will shape up and what implications these issues will have for the company. However, their greater need is to know ‘What can we as a company do to control and improve results...no matter what external conditions prevail?’ This form of input shows that senior management knows where potential and opportunities exist, and they also know how to transform potential into performance...even in the face of adversity
  
  
• They need hard evidence of business potential and sound strategy, and this knowledge comes only from the market. For example, a ‘success audit’ at market level will reveal how the very best performing customers achieve excellent results–with your products. The achievement you will ‘find’ will often comprise 30% effort from your company and 70% effort from the customers. This analysis reveals the difference in results between the top customers and the average achieving customers...which in turn indicates ‘potential’ for the market at large. The information that flows from the success audit activity constitutes ‘market truths’. The alternative is to dream up and present ‘office lies’ at meetings. The audience will recognise the difference.
  
  
• They need to see customers involved at meetings and conferences, spicing and flavouring the event with their special knowledge, experiences and expectations. These are the people that all organisational efforts are being aimed at and yet they rarely take any part in company conventions. They can offer views on planned activities; they can be interviewed about their success stories (with your products); they can talk about what they like and don’t like about being sold to, etc.
  
  
• They need to know that four parties will benefit from initiatives ‘presented’ at meetings: the customers, the organisation, the staff of the organization...and the industry that the organization is a part of. If these areas of concern can each be addressed then the presentation becomes a more responsible, honourable and far-reaching project.

Structuring the presentation

Here is a simple template for creating presentations of any length: ‘4.3.2.1.’
This offers a method and checklist for ‘working backwards’ from the points that matter most to the audience. Here is how it works:

• LEVEL 4: “ENLIGHTENING”
  
  This process invites you to start with the ‘big picture’ of important information that people need and yet do not know about. The insights in this opening segment open the eyes of people, attract their attention and arouse their ‘general interest’
  
  
• LEVEL 3: “FRIGHTENING”
  
  This stage now moves to a smaller, related picture and produces information that affects the audience in more personal ways. This has the effect of building more attention and creating significant personal interest. Level 3 literally moves people to be worried, or frightened, either in the sense of losing something of value, or missing out on something worthwhile
  
  
• LEVEL 2: “BRIGHTENING”
  
  This point introduces good news that a solution is at hand that will enable the audience to get the result that they want from the issue under review. At this point the solution is outlined, in terms of its positive effect and how it works...minus the fine detail. If you like, the brightening stage is the ‘menu’ of opportunity
  
  
• LEVEL 1: “TIGHTENING”
  
  This final stage introduces the action steps that are required to put the solution to work, or if you like this is the ‘recipe’ showing details of what needs to be done to achieve a successful outcome.

As an example of how information flows through the ‘4.3.2.1.’ process, imagine that you had to address an audience on the topic of ‘SARS’ and its dangers. The ‘4.3.2.1.’ route suggests that you begin by stating (at level 4) that a new virus by the name of SARS has been discovered and that it is having a terrible impact on many people. This news would interest and worry people, for the obvious reason that they would want to know if the virus might affect them or their loved ones. Your level 3 move would then be to explain the existence or the potential existence of SARS at a local level, thus making the audience even more interested and personally concerned about the topic. The level 2 stage would then offer information that a treatment is available, in both preventative and curative forms, which would make people feel relieved...and keen to know ‘where do we go from here?’ The level 1 phase then offers the way forward, the action plan, timing and responsibilities for making best use of the solution required.

Arranging and 'dressing up' the presentation

With any presentation there is an obligation to entertain your audience, which simply means to gain and maintain their attention, interest and understanding. With this thought in mind it is helpful to get off to a good start, and you may prefer to use a little humour, or you might like to spell out the nature of your presentation, using an abbreviated version of the ‘4.3.2.1.’ process.

The saying ‘talking is silver, showing is gold’ should serve to remind you that the use of good, simple ‘visuals’ will help to get your key points across. Another timeless presentation edict is this: ‘never make a point without telling a story.’ This means to bring your main messages to life by offering specific, succinct and relevant case studies that aid the interest and understanding of the audience. If you are going to ask questions then point to someone and ask the question of that person, rather than asking the question of ‘everyone’ and having no one respond. Throughout the presentation keep reminding the audience of the 4 ‘parties’ to benefit from the initiative, so that at all times they see the relevance of the ideas being presented.

It is a good idea to break up the presentation with use of humour or statistical information, but only if what you use has some meaning to the main message being delivered. If you are looking for feedback during the presentation be careful to elicit positive responses, using questions like these: ‘What value can you see in this idea?’, or ‘How best can we make this work?’

It is also important to close the presentation in a positive and warm manner, by reiterating the ‘4.3.2.1.’ factors, in brief, and with an emphatic statement about the challenge ahead–without being melodramatic.

Preparing & rehearing the presentation

Before the presentation, research the subject, also make and keep as many notes as possible, look for excellent quotes, and start ‘practising’ your thoughts on people you know, so as to see what does and doesn’t work. Then write out your presentation in full, then do it again, or at least go through this process for a key event. This has the effect of getting the message into you, plus it allows you the opportunity to inject humour and stories, etc., and to add and subtract as you see fit. Then use just one card featuring all of your key ‘headings’, each of which will remind you of the messages to deliver for each point. You can keep complete presentation notes nearby if you get into trouble, and always let your audience know if you might use such notes, so that they are ready and so that you are positioned as being human. Write out the headings so many times that you know them off by heart, and do this again at the time of the event. Keep practising your presentation in front of people you feel comfortable with, without getting into formal presentation mode; so as to test your timing, the use of visuals, etc.

Take a leaf out of how they do things in the theatre: their edict is ‘We don’t train until we get it right, we train until we cannot get it wrong.’ This is not to suggest that you turn yourself into a parrot, rather that you become confident and relaxed...and enthusiastic about the presentation. And remember, the only way to put an audience at ease...is to be at ease!

Finally, aside from inviting you to call me if you ever need any help with a presentation, either just over the phone or in more serious ways...here is a brief story that summarises the challenge of speaking in front of groups.

A young man was to be ordained as a Priest and part of the formal procedure required that he deliver a sermon to a congregation. He practised in front of a mirror and soon began to imagine that the worshippers would be open-mouthed with admiration for his incisive words of wisdom. On the day of the sermon a senior Priest introduced him and he literally ran up the steps to the pulpit, after which he placed his notes in front of him and stared with conviction and confidence at the gathering of soon-to-be devotees. However, his view of so many people had the effect of unnerving him somewhat, and this in turn caused him to mispronounce words, lose his place and generally make a mess of the sermon he had planned. He also noticed that the audience was open-mouthed, but this was due to yawning and not adulation. Many parishioners started coughing, others looked at their watches...and even more checked to see if their watches were working! He read a hasty benediction, nodded in deference to the assembly, bowed his head and walked slowly down the pulpit steps. Dejected and humiliated, he asked the elder Priest what he had done wrong. The Priest said ‘If you had gone up the steps the way you came down, you could have come down the way you went up.’ The lesson of course is that humility, not hype, should be your guide to creating and delivering memorable and valuable presentations.

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