Promote U Guru Blog

8 Proven Strategies to Deliver A Successful Presentation

Hi All!

As a professional speaker, I do a lot of in-person presentations. And they range from workshops to seminars to keynote speeches. Also, because I owned my ad agency for 20 years, I’ve done hundreds of sales presentations pitching propects. But whether you do presentations as a “speaker”, or as a salesperson to land new clients for your business, you will benefit from these 8 tips…so let’s get started!

Here are my 8 strategies:

1. Prepare…a lot! This may sound like common sense, but unfortunately it’s not common practice. I’m typically booked anywhere from 1-3 months in advance (sometimes more) for the speaking engagements I do. And I use that lead-time wisely! The more prepared I am, the more confident I am, and the more confident I am the better I “perform”. Lack-of-preparation is the kiss of death for being able to deliver a killer presentation. I have some consulting clients who prepare the night before and then wonder why their presentation was a flop. Just because you know your info/topic, doesn’t mean you can just wing it (successfully). Map out your entire presentation and take time to add in interesting things into the PowerPoint (video clips, cartoons, pics, etc.). And know your flow and timing!

2. Don’t Read. I always present with a notes outline, but I don’t “read” it. I use it to refer to and I have my main “content” in my head. I had a client who actually put a majority of her content on her slides and then proceeded to pretty much read them for a one-hour seminar. Problems: Her back was to the audience a lot as she looked at the screen; the font size on her slides was TINY; and it was boring and distracting for the audience. I had asked her to send me her slide deck BEFORE the presentation and she didn’t. BIG mistake. Needless to say I helped her re-do the whole thing, and provided her with some basic training for her next seminar gig, and that one went MUCH better!

3. Smile. It makes people immediately feel at ease. NOT some toothy, fake smile­; a nice, honest, pleasant smile. And smile a lot during your presentation. People will react warmly (most people) and you will build a nice rapport quickly.

4. If you get “I’m bored” signals from your audience, DO SOMETHING! Don’t just break a nervous sweat and continue babbling on. Ask a question! Take a break! Get more animated! Increase your energy level! Speak a little more loudly! Ask a trivia question and give a prize! This is why it is SO IMPORTANT to be “dialed-in” to your audience (even if it’s one person) instead of being “all about you” and your presentation. Every presentation you do is about THEM, not you.

5. Use humor. In Ed McMahon’s book, Superselling, he states (3) facts when it comes to sales:

• We tend to buy from someone we trust.
• We tend to trust someone we like.
• We tend to trust someone who makes us laugh.

His overall conclusion? You can be a more effective and successful presenter by using humor in your presentations. Do I mean become a stand-up comic? No. Do what is comfortable for you. But have some funny short stories or one-liners that pertain to the presentation…something!

If you are not a naturally “witty, funny” person, this will take some work, but don’t panic! Simply consider hiring someone for a few hours to help you improve your presentation with some “fun” visuals (cartoons or video clips) or verbal communication. This person doesn’t have to be a comedy writer, but perhaps employees, friends, family, etc. A few simple, funny elements or comments can go a long way! The top sales trainers and presentation pros recommend it, so consider it!

6. Always let people know at the beginning of the presentations the steps you’ll be taking them through. Example: “Today we’re going to discuss 3 steps to help you build your brand. Each step will have an exercise that you’ll do as a group, and after each one we’ll have a discussion, followed by a 5-minute break. Then the last 30-minutes of the workshop will be for Q & A.” This is a good tactic to immediately establish “control” of the presentation (which you want) and to set audience expectations.

7. Create a Great Slide Deck: Studies done by major University’s have proven that people who use colorful, impressive visuals (don’t overdue it!) in their presentations are more likely to get favorable results. Don’t know how or don’t have the talent? Hire a graphic designer for a few hours to help you. For a minimal amount, you can have a great looking PPT presentation…that you can keep using!

8. Have all your electronic accessories prepared and tested. That may sound obvious but many people really blow it here. If you present using PowerPoint and will use your own laptop (and projector) make sure your computer is charged and that you have several extension cords of different lengths (for the computer AND projector).

There have been many people who couldn’t do their presentations (effectively) because their computer wasn’t charged, or their laptop power cord(s) was too short to reach the outlets, or the cord was too short to run the projector.

5 BASIC Lifesavers:

• Buy a 3-prong outlet converter that can change a 2-prong outlet into a 3-prong. Many people (yours truly) have arrived to presentations only to realize the conference room outlets can’t handle a 3-prong cord!
• Carry a spare bulb for your projector. I’ve seen them burn-out in the middle of presentations and you WILL look like a total pro if you have a spare!
• Carry 2-3 extension cords in your computer bag.
• Bring your presentation on a flash drive in case you end-up having to load it onto a different laptop.
• Bring your own “clicker”. I’ve gone to big events where they handled all the A/V but didn’t have a clicker for me to progress my slides. I never travel to a speaking engagement without my own laptop, clicker, and a back-up of my presentation on a flash drive. And if I need to use my projector (this is rare), I also bring the projector back-up supplies listed above.

Sound like a lot of stuff to carry? Well I’d rather show-up with a larger computer case on rollers (like a small travel bag) than a smaller briefcase without emergency resources. If you run into any of the issues mentioned above, your audience, and/or the client who hired you, will be VERY impressed by your preparedness…versus annoyed by your lack thereof.

Okay! There are your 8 strategies to deliver a successful presentation…good luck and knock ’em dead!

Cheers & Happy Marketing!

Lisa