Presenting Smart: What's the Worst Presentation Advice?
April 01, 2008
By John Windsor
Countless books, seminars and gurus preach how to give an effective presentation. Some of the advice is outstanding, but some of it is less so. But what is really shocking is that the most common piece of advice is perhaps the worst piece of advice:
• Tell them what you're going to tell them
• Tell them
• Tell them what you just told them
Now, this approach is not without value. It helps presenters be clear about their message so the audience won't leave thinking, "What was that about?" And repetition and reinforcement can aid retention, provided the repetition is not simplistic.
But the potential for mediocre-to-poor results from following this formula is HUGE. It's much more a recipe for disaster than a clear path to success.
Why is it so bad?
1. Tell Them (What You're Going to Tell Them)
Setting the context for a presentation is good. It helps the audience anticipate or frame the information to come. But "Tell them" does not ensure you're going to say anything of interest to the audience. For example, you could say, "I'm going to spend the next hour talking about me!" and you'd be true to the "Tell them" principle. However, if you were that obvious about your intentions, your audience would probably be bolting for the door.
Too often this exact scenario is forced on audiences, using intros like: "I'm here today to tell you about our company and our latest products."
Result: If what you're going to tell your audience is primarily about your company and your products, you're signaling that the presentation may not be very relevant to them.
2. Tell Them
If you're telling them, telling them, telling them, then the presentation is all one way. You're talking—but are they listening, let alone engaged in what you’re saying? Probably not.
The most effective presentations are conversations. They involve the audience. But if all you're doing is telling them what you want to tell them, you're probably not involving them.
Result: A failed opportunity, and another strike against presentations.
3. Tell Them (What You Just Told Them)
This structure is so formulaic that it invites people to talk down to their audiences. You've probably heard more than one presenter start off with "Here's what we're going to talk about," and then wrap up with "So, here's what we talked about."
In all likelihood, your audience is way past your conclusion already, having long since decided whether or not to buy into your pitch.
Another Failing of this third leg of "Tell them" is that it doesn't require any call-to-action or discussion of next steps. Sharp presenters will add this anyway, but many others won't as testament to their devotion to "Tell them, tell them, tell them."
Result: If you talk down to your audience, or if you don’t give them a reason to take a next step, you’ve wasted an opportunity.
What Do We Do Instead?
1. Address their interests at the start. Make it clear from your first slide and your first words that this is about their needs, interests and goals. This is true even for in-house presentations and is critically important if you're pitching products or services. If your audience thinks from the start that you've got something relevant to offer them, they'll be much more inclined to stay tuned into your presentation.
2. Paint a picture of how things can be. Give them an image early on of how their business can be improved from your ideas or the application of your products or services. Make it as rich an image as you can.
You don't have to be an artist to do this. In fact, a mental picture, which you "paint" through metaphor or story, can be even more powerful. What they sketch in their heads will be personalized for them and much easier to recall.
This also gives them a stronger frame of reference than they would get from a repetition of what you might "tell them, tell them, tell them." They will viscerally understand the value your ideas or offerings provide, and they'll be able to express that to others in their firm with the same force you delivered it.
3. Give them a compelling reason to respond. Every presentation should have a specific objective—to close a deal, to lock in a partnership, to win approval for a new project, etc. If you're going to do a presentation at all, you owe it to your audience and yourself to guide them to the desired next step. Make it easy and logical for them to take the next step and they will.
John Windsor, an online columnist for Sales & Marketing Management, and president of Creating Thunder, a Boulder, Colo.-based communications training and consulting company. As author of the popular YouBlog, John offers a unique mix of innovation, communications, sales and marketing ideas. An award-winning marketer, John has held vice president positions in marketing, sales, and business development and has worked with companies like American Express, Reuters, Staples, and Knight-Ridder.
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