How to Present Like a Pro - When it's all over

How do you handle comments after your presentation? 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.

How to Present Like a Pro - 3 key questions

The audience has a key question on their mind: “Can you help me solve my problem?” Followed closely by “Can you improve my condition?” And of course, the ever-popular silent audience question, “So what?” These are rarely spoken out loud, but they are front and center within the minds of those staring at you. Make sure your presentation clearly answers these questions and you’re on to a winner!

How to Present Like a Pro - The rugby move

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. In an earlier post I mentioned the ‘@Lester Holt 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!

How to Present Like a Pro - Script the smiles

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.

How to Present Like a Pro - Elegant Simplicity

Keep it simple! Even, actually 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.

Dale Carnegie advises “Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them.” Every speech, update, homily, sermon, even wedding toast or eulogy would do well to use this formula.

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.

How to Present Like a Pro - The camera, the camera, the camera!

Every time you present or respond (or simply want to look alive!) on Zoom, look at the camera rather than the image of the person, especially if you are using two monitors. This is crucial to connection. Imagine if the news people on television looked away from the camera to give their report! This is a very, very difficult skill but a vital one. We are naturally drawn to images, to people, to the face. On Zoom, unlike in person, we are not speaking to an audience or a group, we are speaking to only one person…the one looking at us. As an audience member respond by doing the same and watch your connection…connect!

How to Present Like a Pro - The ‘Lester Holt technique’

I have to thank Lester Holt from NBC evening news for this one. Lester’s gang uses it regularly and every time, I am reminded how useful it can be for us. Whenever Miguel Almaguer, Hallie Jackson, Andrea Mitchell, Richard Engel (who is usually far, far away!) and all the others finish their report, it always ends with “Lester?” He then has his cue and picks it up from there. You can do this with your Zoom presentations, asking the audience to do the same…simply choose another attendee’s name and add a question mark to keep the discussion rolling.

I watched a video recently of ten or so professionals having a discussion where rather than using hand offs, they used resounding periods. Almost every time someone finished speaking, there was an awkward moment of silence as they wondered who would speak next.

You can use this same tactic when you are presenting with a partner. I work twice yearly with professional speaker Conor Cuneen, IrishmanSpeaks in a back-and-forth format of lecturettes. Conor is known far and wide as a well-rehearsed presenter…except when he works with me! We both like to present ‘in the moment’, especially for this audience, so use the ‘Lester Holt technique’ and hear our dear names called out with a question mark at the end, keeping the flow going. It works every single time even when I have no idea what Conor was going to say…and maybe he didn’t either!

How to Present Like a Pro - 7 things not to say or do

Here are some things that you should never ever (ever!) say or do in your presentation because they will be hated or ignored by most audiences:

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.)

How to Present Like a Pro - Early and Often

Welcome to a series of tips dedicated to helping you to Present Like A Pro. Although we are told by our psychologist and pastoral friends never to ‘judge’ someone, we can’t help but judge people’s presentation skills. We critique the movies and television shows, why not our colleagues?! I am sharing this series of advice to make you just that little bit better in the eyes and ears of those you seek to influence. Regardless of your rank or expertise you can Present Like A Pro every time.

Engage and involve the audience early and often, especially on Zoom. Conor Cuneen, IrishmanSpeaks also 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, were there a lot of drugs 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!

How to be the #1 interview candidate - Can I see Myself Working with you?

A physician CEO told me that throughout the interview all he was thinking about was what it would be like to work side by side with the candidate. In every interview you attend, know that your answers are important but even more so are your human relations skills, your energy, and your likeability factor. Most candidates are qualified, but only a few (or perhaps only one - you!) know that you have to show the interview panel more than just what’s in your head. They want to know your heart, and they want to get a feel for your leadership, even with them! Connect with their style, their names, their energy and be very attentive to their attention toward you. This is why stories are so vital in your answers. Take them into the story as you answer their question. In doing so you have their attention with their ears, but also with their heart. Don’t just tell them how many ambulatory sites you opened, without first beginning with the story of how your neighbor knocked on your door panicking about living so far away from the emergency room at the hospital.

So…I’m interested, what’s been your experience?

How to be the #1 interview candidate - To thank or not to thank

I get this question all the time: do I thank the interviewer? The answer is “YES!” But definitely not by text. Not by email either. I suggest that a handwritten thank you note will make a memorable impression – it’s so much more than just a thank you. Make it as genuine as you can by considering the following questions:

Did they fully acquaint you with their mission?
Did they take you on a tour, treat you to lunch or dinner?
Did they seem to care about your spouse or family?

Include anything in the thank you note that engages them with a memory of you. I understand this is easier said than done because you’ve not done it before. Write it in advance with a blank section to add the unique message. Have it stamped and ready to go so on your way home it goes right into the mailbox and lands on their desk within two days.

If you want to make it even more effective say something positive and real about their administrative assistant. Nothing pleases a boss more than giving praise to their assistant and you will make that individual’s day as well. Plus, remember that the admin assistant met you as well and the boss always goes to them and says, “What did you think of that one?” Admins can make you the #1 choice!

So…I’m interested, what’s been your experience? What do you think?

How to be the #1 interview candidate - Always End an Answer with...

The worst thing the hiring manager can tell you after an interview is that you were great, but you were #2. This series of ideas is devoted to making you the #1. I’m basing it on my many years of experience working with American Association for Physician Leadership® and American College of Healthcare Executives.

Make sure that any ‘experience’ question is always followed with some form of: ‘and what I learned from that was….” Or “The capability I developed from that experience was….” Or “I was able to discover even more about the skill of ….”

Interviewers like that you have experience, but they see themselves as different. With an experience-only answer, they will silently say to themselves, “Yes that’s nice but we are different.” With the capability answer, they find themselves saying, “That’s what we need!”

So…I’m interested, what’s been your experience? What do you think? What would you add to increase our understanding of this together? And, of course, thank you for reading this!

How to be the #1 interview candidate - Key Questions

Turning the tables: what if you were the interviewer? From experience, we often have a list of standard questions that even our interviewees know in advance. Here are some great questions to get to the heart of the interviewee:

· What is one thing you’d like us to know about you that is not on your resume, anything from birth to now?
· What is one thing you learned as a child from an important adult that you’ve found useful in your career?
· Tell us about a co-worker who you admire and why.
· What is an area where you are likely to make a snap judgment if you are not careful or aware?
· How many years can you anticipate giving to us?

If you are the interviewee, you might (depending on the mojo present in the room) give some of these answers in the context of another answer. This humanizes you and when that happens you are creating connection.

How to be the #1 interview candidate - The Psychology of the Interviewer

CEOs repeatedly tell me that once you are in their interview, they are less interested in your resume or experience and more about how you think, what it would be like to work with you, how quickly you can onboard yourself etc. Basically, the questions they ask are a way for them to fantasize about a future with you.

Like the old Speed Dating scenario, answering the questions is secondary; making a lasting impression is the key. Focus your preparation not on yourself but on the person you meet. How do you understand their work, especially the uniqueness of their work? What differentiates them? What is exciting about them?

So…I’m interested, what’s been your experience? What do you think? What would you add to increase our understanding of this together?

How to be the #1 Interview candidate - Energy in the Room

In your last interview did you create and sustain interview energy or did you absorb it? Think about this for your next interview: keep up your energy with alert eye contact, engaging stories, varied tone of voice, and a deep resonant understanding that you are a gift to these people. Your uniqueness and your view of the world is now in this moment a chance they are giving to you for free…and they are even listening! This is a conversation not a final examination. They need help and are getting desperate to find the right person, and you are right in front of them with your enthusiasm and knowhow. You need not be perfect, but you do need to be the solution. Don’t let the energy slip away and don’t worry if they look blankly at you: that is their job. Trust me, internally they are having a party with your ideas, your stories, your expertise.

What's been your experience with this?

How to be the #1 Interview candidate - A new twist on the 90-day plan

The worst thing the hiring manager can tell you after an interview is that you were great, but you were #2. This series of ideas is devoted to making you the #1.

By now many interviewees have read Michael Watkins book on the 90-Day plan and refer to it in their interviews promising that they will get to know everyone, detail a list of projects, etc. So, if everyone is doing that…don’t be the next one to do the same thing! What if you said, “I have read the book but I have a slightly different strategy - mine is 45-45-Day Plan. When I am new to the role, my first 45-Day plan will reflect my research, my expectations, and frankly some of my assumptions about the work. My next 45-Day plan is the booster rocket meant to propel that learning at a faster and steady pace. Each succeeding 45-Day plan helps me align with my boss, my colleagues, and with the changing market which, I believe doesn’t wait for 90 days anymore!”

So…I’m interested, what’s been your experience? What do you think? What would you add to increase our understanding of this together? And, of course, thank you for reading this!

How to be the #1 Interview candidate -The negative beginning

This series of ideas is devoted to making you the #1 interview candidate. I’m basing it on my many years of experience working with Physician Leaders and Healthcare Executives.

When you don’t have experience to match the question, resist the temptation to be completely honest! “No I don’t…” may sound honest but it also signals deficiency. Instead try to answer with possibility: “When I think of that issue three things come to mind, …… , …… , and ……” Then for each word you said: “My experience with …… allows me to ..….”. This gives the listener something positive to listen to and more importantly allows the listener to understand how you think about things. This is what they really want after all. Now of course some will listen and say, “So you have no direct experience with …...” Then of course you can fess up but keep that positive also: “You are correct but what I’ve learned from situations previously is that experience is born when we first think of how to do old things in a new way.” Never, ever, never (did I already say never!?) give one-word answers. The interviewers want to hear not only ‘the’ answer; they want to hear who you are. But remember my tip of words and wordiness – keep it to under two minutes! What do you think?

How to be the #1 interview candidate - words and wordiness

The worst thing the hiring manager can tell you after an interview is that you were great, but you were #2. This series of ideas is devoted to making you the #1. I’m basing it on my many years of experience working with Physician Leaders and Healthcare Executives.

The tendency when we are anxious is to talk and talk and talk, perhaps desperately hoping to throw enough out there so some of it will stick. One author, Mary Doria Russell, wrote that those who go on and on should join the support group, On-And-On-Anon! Keep your answers between 90-120 seconds. It will focus you and allow for more questions. Shorter answers that are a complete answer to the question shows the interviewer that you can do this at work, in an email, or a voice mail. We don’t want the interviewers walking out thinking or saying, “That candidate wouldn’t shut up!” (and yes, that is what they say!) The remedy? Practice out loud in a recorded Zoom call with yourself…then listen with a timer. Then try it again, and again, and again. Don’t memorize, simply have a number of different ways to answer the question. Coaches live by this W.A.I.T. (Why Am I Talking?) Interviewees might take the same advice after two minutes.

So…I’m interested, what’s been your experience?

Some advice about giving advice!

Have you ever had some great advice for someone? They listened intently. But then came the infamous, “Yes…but…” Change rarely happens until we are ready; ready in our own way and on our own terms. Ill-timed advice is, well, ill-timed! Instead, here is a plan that a professor/psychiatrist friend of mine uses for every single client. He recognized that everyone who enters his office can be categorized into one of three groups: shopper, complainer, and customer. Shoppers have questions and he answers them; they are looking to see if there is alignment, trust, and possibility. Complainers want him to listen, but they don’t want to change too much. They are surrounded by discouragement, misery and want the world (or at least anyone who will listen) to know about it. For them, my friend simply listens and empathizes. However, the people that go into his office who are CUSTOMERS, are the ones that are there to change and are ready to go. So off they go! Consider holding off with advice until the person is begging you for it! What people need is not how WE would do things but how THEY can!

We're all just thirsty to be heard

“Is it an oasis or a mirage?” is a quote from the movie, The Way Back. Set during World War II, the plot follows the incredible 4,000-mile on foot journey of a few escaped prisoners leaving Siberia, ending up in India. The quote was conflict for them since the ‘oasis’ was going west (or east!) when they needed to continue south. In the end, one brave soul simply started walking and others followed.

Firstly, how do we know? Secondly, how do we REALLY know? For some of us, we want 100% certainty before we take a step, for others 80% is plenty to make a decision with. Still for others, we are very, very happy when someone else makes the decision!  This is the point where courage, bravery as it were, comes in handy. When all eyes are fixed on one thing, what would happen if you moved your eyes to another and openly wondered? “I wonder if….” or “Could it be….” or “I have a hunch I’d like your thoughts on…” or “What would happen if…” The conflicts and arguments are often about one thing with eyes fixed to see what they want to see. The leader in you - indeed, the brave in you - can muster a discussion, a conversation, instead of a heated argument with lasting mini resentments. After all we are not in the desert, just thirsty to be heard.