My NUMBER 1 TIP for your presentations: Involve the audience early and often. Watch this video to learn more!
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Present Like a Pro
A “Chat Box Waterfall” is a great way to get everyone contributing in a virtual meeting. Ask a simple question then say the following: “I’d like you to go to the chat box and I’ll give you 60 seconds to type your answer to this question but don’t hit enter until I tell you to…”
There is always one who hits enter straight away (of course!) but when at the 60 second mark you say “Hit enter!” you will see a ‘waterfall’ of contributions come in.
Then all you have to do is say, “Let’s take a moment and review these” and then as the host you find someone’s entry and ask “Bob, can you tell us about yours? When you are finished call on the next person” After a few of these you can say, “Jane tell us about yours and then send it back to me.”
This is a guaranteed involvement technique that will forever end the agonizing silence accompanying, “Anyone have any ideas?”
When people come up and thank you, consider saying: “I appreciate you saying that. What did you like/notice/appreciate the most?” That will quickly get to the essentials of what they are taking away, which commonly is less about what you said and more about what they got. This is terrific feedback for us!
Also, whenever you finish any presentation, however short, ask yourself: “What did I do well and what is one thing I might consider doing a bit differently next time?” We can only build on our strengths so don’t be the hardest judge of all.
In rugby the ball is tossed backwards as the player moves forward. Keep this in mind and get your audience interacting with each other not just with you.
Lester Holt uses a technique where his correspondents send the story back to him by using his name with a question mark after it. That is a rugby move.
Another might be you, as the presenter, saying: “Jack give us your thoughts then you can send it to Amy and she will send it to Sharita.” Before Sharita begins, you say: “After Sharita we’ll go to Sam, Agim, and finally to Lilibet.” This allows some preparation for a quieter, more reserved audience.
Pulling names out of hat works too!
What are your thoughts on this? I would love to hear!
Whether it's an in-person or virtual presentation, the hour or two beforehand is crucial. Watch this video to find out why!
Today's #PresentLikeAPro Tip: Always have someone else introduce you with the script you have written for them. On Zoom make it short and sweet…in person a little longer is OK. Audiences do not need to know the companies you have worked for, how much other audiences loved you, or how much this audience will love you. Yikes! Have the script say who you are, a bit about your qualifications, and then something personal that adds a bit of fun.
Mine says that “Kevin’s lifelong goal is to ride horses bareback though he has not yet found a horse with the same goal.” You ought to see the smiles and hear the questions I get on that one! We want a smiling audience when we begin, not a bored one.
To Present Like A Pro, KEEP IT SIMPLE! Especially when the material is exceedingly complex. Never ‘dumb things down’ but always go for ‘elegant simplicity.’ The goal here is to get to the heart of the matter and to create a memory of its essential elements. Often using complicated or unreadable spreadsheets and wiz-bang graphics can hide our essential message.
Making it look complicated does not make you look smart. Your one and only job is to help the audience leave with the essentials of the topic, not to be impressed by you. Work for clarity. If newspapers are written for the average person, so too can any of our technical or scientific presentations, especially if to a tech audience. Don’t mimic your professors, go beyond them. Think of the famous quotations you are reminded of from Dr. Mardy Grothe or Bartlett’s…they are wisdom packed into few words that the many can understand.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting the incredible Gladys Gadri at the sold-out ACHE Congress in Chicago. You can see the energy in her eyes…she's like that in person too!
Just this week, Gladys shared a photo of herself with a copy of Speak Up: A Woman’s Guide to Presenting Like a Pro—a book I had the honor of co-authoring with Cyndi Maxey, CSP. This guide is crafted to empower women with the skills they need to communicate effectively, exuding clarity, confidence, and conviction. It's also peppered with inspiring quotes from female executives, making it a vital resource for any woman looking to make her mark.
This brings me to today’s Thursday Thought—Think most about the audience and least about you. Overcome the tendency to worry about what you're wearing and whether you've memorized your note cards, and instead imagine yourself sitting in their seat. What would you want to hear? What is critical for you to understand?
You can buy your copy of Speak Up here.
1) “You probably want to know a little about ME!” (No, they don’t.)
2) “Before I begin you have to understand that…”(Just begin already!)
3) “How are you all doing?” (Thought to be an involver, often experienced as an embarrassment by both sides.)
4) “Can you hear me OK?” while tapping the microphone. (Audio checks should happen with the sound professional, not the audience.)
5) “Today we are going to….” followed by a list of objectives usually on PowerPoint that everyone can read faster than you can speak. (Next time just get right to #1 without identifying it as such and conclude with “We just finished our first objective for the day.”)
6) “I can’t hear you!” as a way to have the audience repeat the speaker’s key phrase. (Do you want everyone to feel like they are back in second grade!?)
7) “Shhhhhhhh…” attempting to get control back from an audience group exercise. (Try this next time: “If you can hear me, please raise your hand.” As they do others will notice. This usually only needs to be said twice and then a sincere thank you allows you to continue.)
Did you know that Cyndi Maxey and I have distilled over thirty years of professional speaking into a concise, easy to use guide that will help anyone Present Like a Pro! Get your copy from the link in the comments.
In case you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to present someone else’s slide deck, watch this video to learn what to do!
Engage and involve your audience early and often, especially on Zoom. Conor Cunneen (IrishmanSpeaks) asks the audience a question as attendees are entering the Zoom room, before he has even been introduced. One of his favorite questions to ask: “What was the first live concert you went to and how was it?” Simple enough but wait till you see the energy, excitement and connection that happens as you respond to the audience’s answers with questions such as, “Jack, was everyone dancing at that concert?” or “Mary, so your father went with you?” This is a better icebreaker than any staged one.
Next time, vary the question: “What was the first wedding you attended, and what do you remember?” or “What’s your favorite city and which one do you hope to go to some day?” or “Which movie would you gladly watch over and over again and why?”
Just like Conor, jump in and talk to your audience even before you are introduced, and prime them for a good time! Just make very sure you are not focusing on only one of your buddies. Nobody likes to hear ‘in jokes’…it reminds them of high school!
Next time you invite someone to update your team, try interviewing them instead of asking them to give a presentation. They will like it better (no formal prep!) and you and your team will be able to ask questions that really get to the heart of what is needed. This works great with quality and safety data, financial information, construction updates, and finding the mood of some of the staff.
Top tip: get rid of the tables and bring the chairs up close to you and the one you are interviewing. This creates a sense of community and intimacy and helps support the one being interviewed. Distance of any sort (as well as tables!) creates spectators instead of participators.
Try it! Take the risk and see what happens. Let me know how it goes!
Mission. Moment. Mess. Elevate your public speaking skills by embracing a simple yet impactful framework I share with my professional speaking students: Mission, Moment, Mess. Dive deep into your personal narrative by reflecting on your core mission, a life-altering moment, or a challenging mess you've navigated through. Transform these reflections into compelling stories, and practice telling them aloud. Watch this video to learn more…
Next time you give a technical presentation, REMEMBER while the data and insights you share are crucial, what truly captivates your audience is YOUR unique perspective. You're the expert in the room - the voice they've come to hear. It's your interpretation, your take on the information that adds invaluable depth and makes the session truly enriching. Watch this video to learn more!
Next time you're presenting, remember: Dessert First! Give your audience what they're craving right from the start. This small shift in presentation strategy could make a big difference in the impact of your message. Watch this video to learn more!
How much jargon has slipped into your day to day work and even your presentations? ADR, JAHCO, NQF, PAYOR MIX, HIPAA, RAPPS, TIPS, CHIRP?
Remember your audience is coming from chaos: emails, children, no breakfast, traffic, a request for a divorce, an elderly parent with another fall. So, consider this: spell it out, say the words, explain in lay terms what the term is and what it means. And mostly what its importance is for this presentation: for THIS presentation.
It is too easy to rely on what we think the audience knows...they don’t often know the most important part of your presentation which is ‘your take’ on the data, the stuff, the topic, the thing that they came to hear about. They all have a number of boxes in their heads and your jargon and your content is ready to go into those boxes with a self-assured “Oh, I know what that means!”
Make sure that your take on things has no prepared box. Be different enough to present what has to roam from box to box so that they cannot dismiss what you say with “Oh I know that!” Instead they have to respond with “Uh, I never heard it presented that way before!”
Are you still beginning your presentations with the classic line, 'You probably want to know a bit about me?' Stop right there! Your audience is eagerly anticipating the valuable content you're about to deliver. Dive right in, and capture their attention from the start! Watch this video to learn more...
Do you have a presentation coming up? Trust your expertise! You don’t need written notes or even a slide deck! Just capture the audience’s attention and share your knowledge with them. Watch this video to learn more!
Audiences can either READ or LISTEN…not both at the same time. Think about this when designing your presentation slides. Watch this video to learn more…