I recently had the pleasure of attending the first NewTech Series organized by the Montreal NewTech group and sponsored by Ville de Montreal, SDEVM, Montreal Premium Lager, Bolidea and 63 Squares.

The reason I decided to attend was because the theme of the event was pitching.  The agenda lined up a couple of new tech start-ups who would be presenting their business concept.  In addition to the new start ups some industry experts would give some insights on how to pitch to venture capitalists.  I was curious to see how well the start-ups would present and I was also interested in the message from the “industry experts”.

The first start-up to pitch was TrainingMobs (online health and fitness community helping you workout wherever, whenever and with whoever you want), presented by the founders Jonas Caruana and David Sciacca.  I was very impressed with their presentation.  I was expecting a rambling of bullet points and clip art.  Boy was I wrong.  Jonas and David took the simplistic road with a few words on a white background.  They put a lot of effort into the choice of fonts that they used.  The presentation visuals were very effective.  It supported their message without distracting from their on stage presence.

Then, Patrick Berard of SAJE Montreal talked about what entrepreneurs should know in order to pitch their startup effectively.  He stressed the concept of being yourself when you speak and to be very careful not to get lost in the jargon and details of your product or service.  Keep it simple.

Before we took a quick break, Pol Brisset shared their marketing strategy for Montreal Premium Lager.  This is a local Montreal micro brewery situated in an area of Montreal called Griffintown.  He kindly sponsored the event with his flagship product, Montreal Premium Lager.  Very nice beer.

Raphael Ettore stated the second part of the event with an investor pitch for ArtFox (online platform allowing professionals, groups and companies to expand their opportunities in the art industry.)  His presentation went very well and his delivery was polished and passionate.

To finish off the night, David Dufresne gave a quick presentation on how to seduce investors and went over ArtFox’s presentation.  David is a venture capitalist and sees many pitches every month.  What I appreciated about David’s presentation was his unique viewpoint and how interested he is with regards to the story and to the level of passion that can be communicated by the presenter.

Overall the night was a very pleasant one.  The start-ups had great presentations and the expert advice were themes around story, simplicity and passion.  It is great to see presentations heading in the right direction and I look forward to the next one.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.

I recently had the pleasure of delivering a 3 hour seminar on presentation skills to a group of continuing education students at a local college.  They were studying web development and would be graduating in the following year.

My main message to them was based from my personal experiences with my own career in corporate life.  That message was simply this, “Good presentation skills will serve you well in finding a career and advancing your career.”

From my personal experiences, I was never the smartest person in the room nor was I the quickest thinker or highest performing sales rep.  However I always put a lot of emphasis and effort into my presentations.  I always felt that communicating with my peers, my superiors, my clients in a group setting was crucial in developing people’s perception of me and my capabilities.

It worked.  My entry position with my first employer was on the customer service desk.  When I was interviewed for the position, I was asked the standard interview question, “Where do you want to be in ten years?”  My answer was the standard answer, “In your seat sir!”.  The question was asked to me by the president and general manager of the company.  10 years and 9 months later, I was president and general manager of the Canadian division.  I credit my presentation skills as a big part in getting me there.

Ellen Finkelstein’s recent post highlights the following:  “In a survey of over 300 businesses, 89% of employers stated that they want colleges to place more emphasis on oral and written communication. That was a higher percentage than any other skill, knowledge, or ability. This comes from the Association of American Colleges & Universities‘ LEAP initiative.”

When you get an opportunity to present, TAKE IT but never take it lightly.  A poor presentation can be devastating for anyone’s career while a great presentation will fast track your career.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.

I just read a blog post of an interview with TED curator Chris Anderson who reveals the secrets to a great TED talk.  If you have yet to experience the delight of a TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) talk then go to the TED website and knock yourself out.  In this interview, Mr. Anderson is asked, “What kills a presentation?”  His reply . . . . .

“Lack of Clarity”

He goes on to say that speakers often cram too much into their given time slot.  There is also a lack of planning regarding the message.

When I work with clients to help them develop their presentation, one of the most difficult questions they need to answer is,  “What is your message in ten words or less?”  Ask yourself that question the next time you are preparing a presentation.  If you come up with an answer in ten words or less, call me so I can attend your presentation.  It will be a good one.

Hang in there, this is a journey.

M.J.

Watch Out When Using Excel Content!

I just read a blog post on Presentation Magazine where they asked several people for their best presentation tips.  There are 37 in total and number 25 is from Max McConnell, Division Director of Prompt Communications.   Max talks about embedding your excel spreadsheets into PowerPoint and the dangers of just cutting and pasting it.  Max suggests the following procedure.Edit->Paste Special and choose ‘Picture (Enhanced Metafile).  This places the excel data as a picture.  Failing to do this will transfer all the excel support files and you may be giving way too much information away.  It reminded me of a a true story.

Be Careful of Excel Data in Your Great PowerPoint Presentation!

During my last corporate stint, we were just in the infancy of commercializing a new technology.  We had tweaked the interest of a major global fortune 100 company and they came to visit us to discuss the merits of the technology and to see if we could do some business together.  There were just 8 of us in the company at the time and the thought of sitting across the table from this huge mammoth of a company was rather intimidating.  It was a David vs. Goliath affair.

So our meeting began.  We showed our corporate presentation and they showed us theirs.  Standard boring stuff.  I liked their presentation because it had some industry specific graphics that I thought would be nice to have.  After their presentation I complimented the speaker and asked if I could have a copy of the PowerPoint.  They obliged.

The first day of discussions went by without a hitch.  That evening I was going through their presentation and happened to click on one of the charts.  Much to my surprise, it was linked to several sheets of excel data.  Data that we were not to have access too.  It contained much of their marketing data, sales numbers, overall market share and who the main competitors were.

Needless to say the next day of negotiations was a bit of fun.  The tables had turned and we were not longer desperate to work out a deal now knowing the other competition and their market position.

I won’t elaborate more however just to say we did okay in the negotiations and we got what we wanted and a whole lot more.  To this day they never knew what they gave us.  This same scenario happened several times since.  We made it a habit to always ask for a copy of their presentation just to see what other information we could find.  I had one company unknowingly give me their master spreadsheet of all of their product sales, serial numbers, exact locations of installations, contact names, price, profit margins etc. etc.

We did not use the information in a malicious manner but it was comforting to have this data.  It made negotiations a little easier.

Be careful when preparing your presentation using excel data.  Paste the tables and charts as a picture only.  You will make a great presentation and not get burned.

This is going to be a journey.

M.J.

In this part of the world, the life expectancy of the youth will be shorter than that of their parents.  Where is it?  Our own back yard.

Please support this great cause either by donating or if you live in the Montreal area, participate in this great team building event, the CHIP 2009 Spinathon for Teens.  See the video for further information.

Sign up your team or donate by contacting:

Marla Gold (514) 846-7973   ext:246

mgold@epimgh.mcgill

Fax: (514) 489-2604

http://chiprehab.com/english/index.html

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.

From all the responses I have received on what are the ingredients to a great elevator speech, I will conclude this series by highlighting two resources that in my opinion is worth looking into.

The first is from Ronald Rothman

who suggested visiting Havard Business School’s site on how to build an elevator speech.  It takes you step by step through the who, what why and goal aspects of an effective elevator speech with tips along the way.  Once you have completed the five steps, you can e-mail yourself the final product and work with that.  Very straight forward, simple and requires minimum time.

Overall, there was general agreement on what content should be included in the elevator speech.  However the sequence of how the information is delivered was split into two main camps.  There were those who preferred to have information about them coming first with the final bit explaining how they could help.  Then there were those who believed that the elevator speech should first focus on the person you are speaking with first before you talk about yourself.

I personally prefer the second option.  In my opinion, nobody cares about you, your company, product or service until you demonstrate to them that you genuinely care about them and their issues.

Ike Krieger has produced a short 5 minute video that outlines an easy and effective way to devleop your elevator speeches.  What I like about Ike’s approach is that he asks you to take your benefits and convert them into a problem statements that may trigger an emotional response from the other person.

This method forces you to list all of the benefits of you, your company, your products and services.  From that list, convert the benefit into a problem statement and use that as the basis for your elevator speech.  You may have several products or services each with several possible benefits.

Ike’s method provides you with a rolodex of elevator speeches.  The trick is to get the other person speaking first.  Learn about them, what they do and what are their challenges.  Then when it is your turn to speak, you can choose the elevator speech (problem statement) that will best resonate with them.  Check out the video. Well worth it.

Next I will blog about Act 2 which is the main body of your presentation.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.

Need an Elevator Speech . . . Going Up?

One of my recent posts, I discussed ways to use the introduction of the story format to be the basis for one’s elevator speech.  Being an member of LinkedIn, I thought I would pose the question, “In your opinion, what are the ingredients to a great elevator speech or 30 second info-mercial for a networking event?”

Below is a summary of the responses I received from several forums on LinkedIn.

From Bernadette Ferrer

Kiss Method:
* Keep It Simple
* Intuitively plug into Audience
* Speak from the Heart
* Speak your Compelling Message
Breath Breath Breath

From  Geoff Baldwin

Tell them what you are going to say, say it, then tell them what you said!!
Not easy in a 30 sec / 1min session but the first and last bits can (and should) be short and sweet.    Keep to the point

From Mark Gellibert

Give your name,  mentioned subject,  confirm objectives,  control what you are saying,  say thank you to the audience.

From Peter Farren

The most important thing is to practice your speech before you go. Run it past a friend and see if you are using language that the ordinary person can understand. Speak slowly !

From  Matthew Jenkins

I agree with peter.   Know your stuff.   Nothing worse than a fumbled attempt at an elevator speech.   Probably best not saying anything over giving a bad impression.

From   Ken Wallin

Say what you do for your customer, in one open-ended statement. It should be fast, but thorough.   “I am a consultant, I help my clients with process improvement projects and I am a change manager.”
If there is any interest, the target will open the discussion with something like, “and how do you do that?” That means you have about 30 seconds to fill them in with a bit more detail and put the hook in at the end.

From  Praveen Malik

Excellent points. Speak passionately with positive body language without fumbling.

From  Joellen Sommer

Be crystal clear and stick to one critical niche message.

From   Walter Wise

Have a firm handshake. Look them in the eye. And as others said, KISS - Keep it Short and Simple. State your value up front “I am a Business Performance Improvement Specialist and I work with ……. to do ……” The idea is to get the other person to talk about them, not about you.

From  Dan Klein

The formula is simple, the execution is an art.  Assuming you have already engaged your prospect in conversation and the situation you want address has at least been touched on:
1) Always start with the customer or potential customer (feel their pain)
Don’t say “I do this” or “my company can do that.” Think more in terms of, “It sounds like you are trying to…” “From what you just said I gather that…”
2) Show empathy and experience in dealing with his/her kind of pain.         “I (or my company) worked with a client on a similar situation. They were experiencing… and we were able to help them by … saving them $xx (or whatever the quantifiable result was).”
3) Suggest how you can help relieve the pain. This is a tricky one because you do not want to sound glib. You’ll need to say things that will get him/her wanting to hear more
“While no two situations are exactly the same, I think my company’s expertise is well suited to helping you out. For example we might ….”
4) Suggest the two of you set up an appointment to go into more detail. The details includes you wanting to learn more about the situation so you can begin to craft a solution.
“Why don’t we set up some time to really delve into this and see how we can work together to….”
A couple of other tips:
Be really sure you understand the potential client and his/her business BEFORE you start pitching. Otherwise you are likely to come off as an idiot.
Keep your tone passionate, as others mentioned, but not aggressive or all-knowing.
This goes beyond the elevator pitch: always summarize what was accomplished in the meeting, list the action items and schedule the next meeting before you leave.

From   Ronald Rothman

An informative site is the Elevator Pitch Builder from Harvard Business School.  It “walks” you through the elements of creating a great pitch; and then analyzes your finished speech.
http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/careers/pitch

From      Rich Whitley

I suggest that you have a simple ONE LINE presentation of you, your product or your service. I believe the true objective of the “elevator speech” is to have the listener respond with “Really? Tell me more….”
Your doorway has just been opened. What you do from there is now a whole new game.

From      Ike Krieger

I have a different take.  In business and in life we want to present ourselves in a way that promotes some form of positive interest. All of the comments so far focus on different ways of creating that interest.
But… what if the “be interesting” approach to networking is backwards? Not wrong, but out of sequence.
My suggestion: Be interested rather than interesting.
Here is a sentence I created that displays sincere interest and will help you put the sequence in the proper order.
“I made a promise to myself not to tell you anything about me until I’ve learned everything about you.”
You’ll know the right moment to use the line. And of course, you should truly be interested in the information that will flow from your networking counterpart.
If they insist that you go first you better have the “right thing” to say.
As executives and professionals we want to honor the requests of others, but the desire to be listened to seems to trump the going first issue.
I invite you to try the approach and gauge the response of others.
Be truly interested and they will respond.

From      John Williams

Tom Peters suggests in his book “The Brand You 50″ that you need to do it in eight words. For example “We deliver cost effective strategic advantage to entrepreneurs.”

From  Matthew Jenkins

I am curious as why people insist on using the most complicated string of words to say such a simple sentence. Why not simply “we help businesses change” or if you want “we help businesses implement change”. The most common answer to this is - how? what more of a lead in do you need that that…

From   Ken Wallin

Interesting discussion. I think Dan’s approach is not an elevator pitch, it is way too long. The intent is more in line with what John W points to, a short but effective statement that essentially can be delivered between floors in an elevator. It is supposed to be impromptu, but that is not realistic. Getting all pitches to eight words may be not realistic, but certainly one can get in the range.
What is the objective of the pitch? To stir an interest and emotion in the target. So, the elevator pitch is intended to do that, and nothing more. If the target says anything that asks for more information — then have your detailed follow-up ready to go.
That must be more like the piece Dan has outlined. You are selling at that point — and it is all about the prospect (they just moved from target to prospect with the inquiry), never about you. I read a piece that indicated you should say I perhaps twice in the follow-up. (Wish I could remember the source, but cannot.) Once when you are saying something like, “I have a x-step process for ….” And the second time when you are referring to your results, “As a result of my approach, clients I have worked with report ….”
Then you let the prospect have the floor to speak about their business needs, and you take notes and be quiet.

From      Jessica Eballar

Your name
Product
Strongest benefit for the customer
Company name
With this order your name is first heard, the strongest benefit should stick out, and then you end on the company name for them to remember it. And I agree with everyone here: practice it, don’t rush, get feedback to fine-tune it, and want the listener to want more information.

From   Steve Yousten

Wow. Too many really great comments here to talk about them all, but I really liked Walter Wise’s observation–structure your pitch to get them talking about themselves, not you.
Before reading all the responses, I was going to say that selling is really storytelling. You need to introduce the characters, set up the conflict, provide a setback that the hero must overcome, and then a satisfying conclusion–like a well-made movie.
The problem is that a movie takes around 2 hours to get through, and you’ve got 30 seconds. So your elevator speech needs to be like the movie trailer–hit on the high parts that get people to want to buy the ticket.
That may not be actionable advice, but there’s plenty of good advice in the discussion already. Just keep this in the back of your head when you’re working on it–”Would my elevator speech want to make people ’see the movie’?”

From   Dianne Crampton

Make it about them and what would be of interest to them. Lean about others — first and then make your elevator speech relevant.

From   Brian Quinn

Opening sentence is critical and must be well thought through and strong. Identify your key strengths (no more than three) and then talk about your positions focusing on what you did to improve revenue, save money (reduce costs) or improved process efficiencies. Its important that these factors are included and that they are keyed on. Many employers are focused on the revenue improvement or cost savings and what did you do for your last company that contributed to those goals. Finally a strong closing; what you want to do and can do for the company to drive the revenue/cost savings.

From    Karl Bartel

You should:
* state you name
* few word about your background (hopefully something memorable & unique)
* companies you’ve worked for if they’re recognizable
* what you’re looking for
* how you could help also (ie, contacts to assist others to network, etc)
* remind person - restate your name

From   Cathy Bridges

The objective is to make a good first impression. You want give them a reason to meet with you again or refer you to someone else.
* Be concise and memorable, no more that 150 words.
* Do not recite your resume. The 150 word limit forces you to figure out what you have to offer, what you want and why they should meet you again. If you don’t know, don’t expect a stranger to listen to you ramble and expect them to figure it out for you in 30 seconds or less.
* Have a 15-second version and a 30-second version. Speaking faster does not count.
* Practice saying it out loud. What looks good on paper can sound artificial when spoken.
* Treat it as a conversation, not a speech. Throw out the thesaurus. If you are using words that you would not normally use in conversation or jamming it with statistics, you will sound fake and the listener will stop listening.
* Have your personal business card handy. If they show any interest in what you have said, offer them your card. It makes it possible for them to reach you  later.  If they can’t find you, you have wasted the value gained in making a good first impression. Also, if they accept your business card, it’s a perfect opportunity to ask for their card too.

So there you have the input from a few dozen professionals on LinkedIn.  Thanks to all who took the time to provide their input.  Here is to a great elevator speech.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.

Now that you have completed Act 1, you have identified the setting, the protagonist (who should be your audience), the pain the protagonist is experiencing, the desired outcome and the solution to get there.  You have established the tone and focus of your message.  You have established an emotional connection with your audience.

Before discussing Act 2, I would like to highlight three opportunities Act 1 offers you in the day-to-day business routine.

1.    The Elevator Speech

An elevator speech is very important in business.  Why?  A good elevator speech offers you the ability to describe your prospect’s situation, desired outcome and your solution to get them there in a short 30 second speech.  So what, who cares?

Obviously the person who inquired about what you do or what you are doing wants to know in a very brief reply what you can do to help them out with their issues.  They are not looking for a 20 minute PowerPoint presentation or an hour long speech.  They want to know in a concise simple response what you can do for them.

So it is in your best interest to prepare a simple concise reply that will not only describe their setting, situation, pain and desired outcome, it also has to provide the solution, be engaging and memorable.  Act 1 provides all the structure and information you need for a dynamic elevator speech.

I have developed an elevator speech for my business with an added twist.  I have several variations on my main theme based on who I am speaking with.   I select the best theme that will resonate and engage the person I am speaking with.

For example, if I am speaking with someone in sales, my chosen elevator speech will have a theme around generating more sales through better presentations.  If I am speaking with an entrepreneur, the theme will be about getting known and more business through better presentation.  Depending on who I am speaking with, I try to select a theme that describes a pain that will resonate with them.  I can also vary the order of the five scenes to spice it up.

If you are climbing the corporate ladder and in passing your boss or his/her boss asks you how that project is going, a 30 second elevator speech update is a sure fire way to make you stand out and be memorable for the right reasons.  Act 1 forms the foundation for your dynamic elevator speech.

2.    Networking Info-mercial

There are numerous networking groups throughout the globe.  BNI (Business Network International) is one of the largest and better known networking groups.  I have visited several chapters in my area and have also been a BNI substitute when a member is unable to make it.  One of the BNI traditions practiced in every chapter (and also in networking groups other than BNI) is the “info-mercial” which is a 30 second brief on who you are, what you do and what you are looking for.

Each member of the chapter has a 30 second opportunity to say their info-mercial.  Quite often the members mention their name, their business, who or what type of company they are looking for and end it all with a cute little tag line.

When I substitute for BNI members, I use Act 1 and usually get an ovation for the performance.  It is definitely a way to stand out from the rest of the networking members and make your business more memorable.  Act 1 is a great 30 second info-mercial.

3.    Advertising Copy

When you start writing several Act 1 scenarios, you soon start to see a similar pattern in all advertising around you.  Listen to the radio or watch the TV commercials.  Listen to the story that is being told in 15 or 30 seconds.  Can you identify the five scenes?  Can you recognize how the scenes are varied to add a pizazz?

Even if you are firing off an e-mail to your established customer list, Act 1 can be a refreshing message for your customers to read.

The uses for your Act 1 reach much further than just being the introduction for your presentation.  Has anyone used such a format for networking, advertising copy or your elevator speech?  If you have, share with us your experiences.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.

Every story has three parts, a beginning, a middle and an end.  We can thank Aristotle for that concept.  As children we loved stories at bedtime and by the camp fire.  As adults, that love affair has not dwindled.  We love stories and it is an effective way of communication since humans have been using stories as a way of communicating for thousands of years.  Many people say that they can not tell good stories let alone write them.  This series of blogs on writing a script will be based on Cliff Atkinson’s “Beyond Bullet Points” book which I use with my work and think it is a very valuable tool for anyone who is serious about improving their presentation performance and effectiveness.  I strongly suggest you purchase the book and keep it close by as a reference tool. I will spend the next series of blog entries talking about the first part of the story telling process, the beginning.   The story script template can be found on Cliff’s blog.

The beginning of any story must set the scene for the message.  One of the issues with many presentations, especially those delivered by a presenter who is passionate about the topic is information overload.  This is prevalent with entrepreneurs.  When they get a chance to present their business they cram everything they possibly can into a short time period, hoping that something will stick.  The result is a confused audience.

The beginning or Act 1 needs to set the tone, provide clarity and make an emotional connection with the audience.  There are five scenes to Act 1.  Each scene needs to answer key questions your audience will have.

Q1    Where are we and when is it?
Q2    Who are we in this setting?
Q3    Why are we here?
Q4    What do we want to happen?
Q5    How do we get there from here?

Notice how these questions are phrased.  All of these questions are from the viewpoint of your audience.  This is a hint.  Your presentation’s beginning should address all of these questions.  Guess what?  Your presentation needs to be about them and not you.  Remember, nobody cares about you, your product or your service until you prove that you really care about them and their concerns.  When using the story template from Cliff Atkinson, the answers to your audience’s five questions must be a single short sentence, concise and fit within the space provided on the template.

Scene 1:    Where are we and when is it?

These are key questions to establish the plot.  For an example, in a business setting with your company, your presentation may be on the results from the last quarter or projections for the next quarter or fiscal year.

Scene 2:    Who are we in this setting?

Who is your audience?  This is one of the key questions you would have answered in Step #1 of the presentation - IMPACT approach.  What common thread weaves everyone together at this gathering?  Is it the same company or organization?  Is it the same department, profession, cause or interest?  What is it?

Scene 3:    Why are we here?

What is the audience’s pain?  What keeps them up at night?  What is their big concern?  Identify this and state it in this scene.

Scene 4:    What do we want to see happen?

You have identified a concern that your audience can identify with.  Now what is the desired outcome that your audience wishes to move to and will put everyone at ease?

Scene 5:    How do we get there?

This is where you provide the answer or the solution to their pain.  This may be your product, your service or your idea.

By following this process you have in effect established:

1.    the boundaries of the presentation by stating when is it and where they are.
2.    you care about your audience because you have acknowledged them as a community with a common interest, common pain or concern and a common desired outcome to put their minds at ease.
3.    you have the solution that will help them.

You have demonstrated to your audience that you care about them, you are aware of their concerns and pain, you know where they want to go to alleviate the pain.  Now they are ready to know a bit more about you because you may have a solution.

If you are preparing your presentation to represent your department or company, Act 1 is a great time to get the rest of the team involved in the process so that they too will buy into the message.  They will also provide invaluable input into the identification of the audience’s pain and where the audience may want to go.  It will not be uncommon to revise Scenes 3 & 4 several times.  It can be a painful process at times but the result is a better connection with your audience.

My next entry will discuss other practical uses for Act1.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.

Olivia Mitchell posted a blog on June 2 titled,  “Why the stickiest idea in presenting is just plain wrong.” In this post she stated the following:

The stickiest idea in presenting and public speaking is that the meaning of your message is communicated by:

• Your words 7%
• Your tone of voice 38%
• Your body language 55%.

These figures are based on a formula first proposed by Albert Mehrabian in 1967. Despite being wrong, this idea is still being propagated 42 years later.

I was exposed to these statistics early in my sales career.  As an sales engineer, I knew that the laws of thermodynamics were just that, and laws do not lie.  Naively at that time, I believed that if one’s argument was supported by physics, than how could any logical person disagree and buy from someone else?  Boy, did I get a rude awakening.

I witnessed customers buying my competitor’s product based on the most insane arguments and reasons.   I quickly learned that there were many other factors at play during the presentation process other than logic.  In fact, that little pendulum inside my head swung the other way and for a while, I actually believed that truth only accounted for 7% of the sales decision.  I actually believed that if someone could call a black duck, yellow and if it was said with enough passion, conviction, determination and confidence, then the client would believe that the duck was yellow.

Fortunately I decided to keep telling the truth. (Good choice!)  What I spent the rest of my career learning was how to tell the truth while making  it entertaining and memorable.

Olivia’s post is timely since I will be spending the next several weeks talking about content.  Yes, that so called 7% area that sadly, many believe has little impact on the results of a presentation.  I agree with Olivia that words are very important and have more power of influence than 7%.

What I think has been happening in the corporate setting is that the words have all been jammed into the PowerPoint slide and maybe that is why the 7% figure is sometimes believable.  Think about it, after being exposed and tortured by a presentation loaded with bullet points and text, the brain has a defense mechanism that shuts itself down.  If you look good and your “Blah, blah” sounds good then hey, you must be good!

I have followed Cliff Atkinson’s “Beyond Bullet Points” approach for a while now and I feel it has many advantages that I will point out starting next week.  If  you have not read Cliff’s book, I strongly suggest you do.  There is some terrific stuff for the presenter newbie.

See you next week.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.