The Art of Making Persuasive Presentations - PDF document

The Art of Making Persuasive Presentations Joni Daniels © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ert.20040 n todayÕs world of video conferencing,erPoint templates, voice-mail messages,and faxed memos, it is the spoken word thatis the heart of any presentation. CEOs, politi-cians, department directors, instructors, com-mittee chairs, and others will stumble or risebased on what they say and how they say it.can recall our own reactions to SenatorHoward Dean repeatedly screaming after hisIowa caucus loss; when President Bushsquinted and scowled with what seemed tobe annoyed impatience; and at Senator JohnerryÕs woodenness when interacting in pub-lic. The words they chose were important,and the manner in which they wereMost people donÕt like making presenta-tions. Whether the audience consists of 6 or6,000, making a speech strikes fear into thehearts of most of us. We sweat, mumble, andrace through our words, eyeing the door,eager to escape. However, making a persua-sive presentation is personally and profes-sionally satisfying, and almost anyone isMy goal when working with presenterswho want to make polished, persuasive pre-sentations is not to create a new persona or aminiversion of a popular television personal-ity. It is to help the speaker become the bestthat he or she can be. For example, I wasasked to coach a chief executive officer incharge of a very successful, fast-growing, high-tech, entrepreneurial company. He wasell known for his amazing success and wasalmost as well known for his unfocused andrambling style of speaking. The CEO, Louie,as asked to make a presentation describinghis success. His primary goal was to tell thestory of how he created his company. I sug-gested to him that many of the people in theaudience were hoping to be in his shoes atthis time next yearÑthat is, being CEO of anumber-one company. Those people wouldone, it would be both illuminating for theabout some of the mistakes he made alongthe way and the obstacles that he had toercome. Louie had lots of stories andarmed to the task. Now Louie had over-effective presentationÑhe had a clear idea ofwhat he wanted to say.When you are asked to speak, it isbecause people want to hear what you haveto say. They want your knowledge, perspec-tive, and personality, with just a bit morewhether you are a novice or veteran presen-ter, the notion of speaking can create anxiety,knowing that in a few days, weeks, ormonths your audience will be waiting forou, hoping that you will be informative, 39 Employment Relations Todaygood news is that the audience wants you todo well. The audience starts out giving youthe benefit of the doubt and may forgivesmall mistakes. Successful speakers know that they have tostructure their presentations in a way thatcombines two important components: (1) aclear understanding of what they want to sayaudiences want to hear. Additionally, speakerswho make effective presentations take the timeto determine the goals they want to achieve,enhance what they have to say, and practicedelivery of their speeches and use of support-ing materials and aids. These are the criticalelements of making persuasive presentations.PREPARATIONCritical to any presentation is the prepara-tion. Even if you have only a few minutesbefore an impromptu opportunity, the follow-ing key elements will help you focus on yourmessage and the needs of the audience youWhat actions or behaviors do you desire fromconstitute your Òend itemsÓ or the desiredOI (return on investment). Be able to clearlyarticulate your reasons for giving the presen-tation. You donÕt just want to talk at people;ou want them to shows a matrix cover-ing where in the learning process they mustarrive to achieve your presentation goals:The goal you seek will influence yourchoice of presentation technique (see ). For example, if you want your audience tolearn something (such as the importance ofneutering cats and dogs), you will need to pro-vide information that helps the audience gainconceptual awareness or knowledge about anstatistics about pet populations, and the prosand cons of having an animal neutered). If you want the members of the audiencemake a decision about it or change their atti-tudes about your topic, then your presenta-tion will have to not only provide a newunderstanding of the topic, but also motivateour audience to take some action (e.g.,decide to take a pet to be neutered or chooseto donate money to the SPCA to support theIf you are seeking to get your audiencemembers to take action or alter their usualbehavior, then it will require that they taketheir pet to be neutered. If you are hoping to Learning StepsOutcomesBehavior Presentation GoalConceptual AwarenessEmotional ChoiceBehavioral ChangeKnowledgeXDecisionXXAttitude XXctionXXXSkillXXX Learning Process have your audience develop a skill relating toour topic, they might practice communicat-ing the information obtained from your pre-sentation about neutering pets so that theycan readily share it with others, become anadvocate for the pet-neutering program, orsolicit their neighbors for donations.rt of Generate Your MaterialsIn this phase, be creative. Generate morematerials than you need to help illuminateour presentation. DonÕt evaluate at this point.Instead, brainstorm to come up with differentconcepts that will illustrate your points. Purpose Distinguishing ExamplesInform or TeachAttempt to secure listenersÕ * Reports:understanding of subjectTechnicalStimulateAttempt to intensify old beliefs, aken interest of listeners* Community chairÕs* Tribute speechersuade or ConvinceDirect audience toward a mental commitment* Problem-solutionanalysis ctuate or SellDirect audience toward specific behavior* Buy this product or Specific Examples:InformI want the audience to employee benefits program.StimulateI want the audience to become vividly of affirmative action.ersuadeI want my audience to believethat the new insurance product will best meet retirement needs.ctuateI want my audience to sign up for the program. I want them to in the plan. Speech Purposes Employment Relations TodayAt our second meeting, Louie had photos,graphs, charts, and artwork. He was knowl-edgeable and enthusiastic, which are bothimportant elements. Know what you are talking about. Have youer listened to someone try to explainquantum physics when he or she didnÕtbut also unconvincing. If you are not thexpert on your topic, take the time to learnas much as you can. There is a reason thatelse. Louie had firsthand knowledge as theCEO from the companyÕs inception to theday of the conference. This is invaluableknowledge that an audience would be eagerto hear. The energy and passion used to convey yourmessage is exciting for your audience. If youdonÕt care about your topic, why would youraudience? Louie was clearly enthusiasticgrowing needs and was delighted to talk topeople about being an entrepreneur. Organize Your MaterialsOrganize your thoughts and evaluate your sup-porting materials. This is the point at whichu should elect only the materials that bestadd to what you want to say and discard thosethat add little. ItÕs easy to fall in love with every visual aidou have, but too many can be overwhelmingfor your audience and some can just end uporking against you. Remember that:oo many graphs, charts, and tables canconfuse the message. A small type, font, or graphic is hard toread by people in the back of the room (orample, yellow).cally. Help, not hinder;larify, not confuse;Be attractive, not distracting;ork for you, not against you; dd to your effectiveness, not subtractfrom your credibility;nform, not irritate; andssist you, not replace you.Below are some guidelines on how to selectand use visual aids:1. Determine, in advance, how your subjectthe use of a visual aid.2. Review subject matter to determine theat which the aid will be most mean-3. Ascertain which of aid will be mostreinforcingthe information pre-sented.4. Prepare or order aids, allowing ample timereviewuse of aids or to make adjust-ments, corrections, or changes. they will be employed.Arrangefor placement of aids, backupequipment, and technical assistance as dic-tated by group requirements.7. Also consider the following in selecting orBrevityelevancyaids that emphasized key points of his presen-tation. Even though some of the materialsused in previous presentations could work, weere not doing a Òcut and pasteÓ job or dupli-cating something that had been done else-where for another audience. audience. Large type that could be seen fromthe back of the room by people over the age of40 meant that there would be less data on theslides. Major points of the program would beconsidered for visual aidsÑnot minor points.Although it was painful for Louie to toss someof the clever and inventive material he wantedto include, I assured him that people would bemore interested in him and what he was saying. Prepare Your NotesPut time guidelines down the edge of yourpaper or cards (marking every 15 minutes is art of good idea). Use bold letters so you can readthe cards without bending over. Write out cuesfor special actions, such as:Hang easel chart on wall.Play tape recording.Use an outline format of key phrases, ideas,or critical pieces of data only. Make the printlarge enough so that you can simply glancedown to remind yourself what is coming next.Do not write out anything word for word. Youshould know your presentation well enough touse points of reference to keep you on track. Nothing can substitute for preparation.Most people can tell immediately between theperson who is shooting from the hip and theone who has given his or her presentationsome thought. The more prepared you are, themore polished you will appear. Prepare the Audiovisualsou do not have to purchase the latest state-of-eep the attention of your audience. You canprepare low-cost, effective audiovisuals thatcapture the interest of your listeners. A smallprop can make your point powerfully. Beforethe days of laptop computers and projectors,people used flip charts and magic markers,and many still do. as nothing state-of-the-art about this, but it Employment Relations Todaydecided to have a visual of the companyÕseb site. It was the main point of customercontact, and displaying it made sensepeers and possible competitors, but alsoxisting and potential customers. Once you have put the time into prepara-tion, the rest is practice. This is where theLouie and I talked about what he wouldear. Attire should be neat, appropriate, andtailored to your audience. Rarely do presen-ters get punished for dressing well, but theycan easily be punished for not dressing wellenough. Keep in mind that you want youraudience to look at you and not focus onour clothing, hairstyle, or accessories.oid distracting cartoon ties, political mes-sage pins and shirts, jangling jewelry, andclothing that is ÒtooÓ anything: too big, tootight, too short, too old, too revealing, or toodistracting. Hair that stays in place wonÕtrequire you to touch it constantly. DonÕtplay with coins in your pocket, and donÕtear high heels that cause you to teeter offbalance. If you are introduced, thank the personwho introduced you. Take a deep breath,collect yourself, look out intoÑor overÑour audience, and begin with a strongOpenings set the tone for you and youraudience. What grabs their attention?A question: ÒWhen was the last time yougot what you really wanted?Óteenage drug use takes place in rural andsuburban areas.ÓA story: ÒI was in a hotel room, waiting tomake a major presentation that would liftcareer to new heights, when I got thecall that would change my life forever.Óhow the company he ran began. He set thestage with a vivid description of two college-home. We both knew that the story woulddetail and amusing examples of both suc-cesses and failures kept their interest. willing to rip you to shredsÑbetter he or shedoes it than the final audience.Practice may not make perfect, but it dra-matically improves anyoneÕs presentation. Ifou speed up and rush through your words,practice will allow you to be able to insertsome reminders to breathe. If you tend toslow down your speech, your written timeguidelines will remind you of when you wantto say certain phrases. What about nervousness? We all sufferfrom it to one degree or another. Here are afew things you can do to tackle the issue ofGet regular experience (join Toastmasters,give talks for Rotary Clubs).ugment with synthetic experience. Men-tally give talks and hear the clappingafterward (productive programming).ake a deep breath, collect yourself, look out intoÑor Undergo a relaxation exercise just prior tocount of four.Do you have distracting mannerisms? Weall have them: the Òyou knowsÓ and ÒuhhhsÓand scratching and rocking. If you can, getourself videotaped and view it. When youdecide you want to eliminate a distractionfrom your behavior, you can productively pro-gram it out. Have your friendly compatriotthrow a paper clip at you every time you do itto increase your awareness. Once you aremore aware of doing things that are distract-ing for your listeners, you can reduce them. e contact is very important. Lookaround the room as you talk and make eyecontact. Notice cues from your audience byobserving body language. If you are right-handed, force yourself to regularly make eye(left-handers, vice versa). Are you unable tolook someone in the eye? ThatÕs not a bigproblem. Look at the space between a per-sonÕs eyebrows. It will appear to him or herthat you are making eye contact and will getLouieÕs dress rehearsal was our last ses-sion together. He tended to embellish his sto-ries, so we worked on keeping them amusingbut concise. His hair tended to fall over hisplace. He had worked hard on resisting thesaid what they did when they were designed. rt of ItÕs showtime! Make your presentation withconfidence and enthusiasm. But when it isopinion you respect. Ask for constructive criti-cism so that you can learn what to eliminate,improve, or retain. Regularly debriefing themany presentations you make in your careerwill increase your comfort and your standards. IÕve been in the audience and watched,stunned, as speakers made errors so glaringthat the goals of their speeches were lost ontheir audiences. For example: panel member who was given 10 min-utes to speak took 25 minutes.salesperson read from a sheet of paper,ord for word, in a monotone. ynote speaker used a detailed footballence that was 80 percent female.eryone has seen people make misstepswhen giving presentations. Insight alone,however, will not improve your performancewhen itÕs your turn. So, here are some tipsconcerning several aspects of presentationsthat will add polish to your presentation.and focus. Find out where the room lightswitch is for dimming. Make sure thebility and colors of the slides.Always, always make sure there is anxtra bulb. Bring your own, if unsure. Employment Relations TodayMake sure your letters are large enough toslide.Make sure the colors are easy on the eye.DonÕt let the presentation upstage you. emember that your audience is poten-may be wearing bifocals! DonÕt make yourslides too challenging to read.DonÕt overwhelm the slide with anima-tion, sound, or graphics. Strive for clarityand simplicity.Have a backup plan! Computerized equip-ment can crash for a number of reasons.A printout of your slides or black-and-white overheads will allow you to con-tinue your presentation.Have a few keywords written in front ofou and amplify them in your talk.DonÕt use complete sentences on yourslidesÑjust use key phrases in bold letters.If you use slides as a prompt for your pre-tor when looking at the audience. If read it like that, the audience can read it.If you are using PowerPoint, take advan-tage of the ability to ÒbuildÓ your slide,adding information as you go. Get used to the versatility of permanentand washable markers if you are usingerhead transparencies.so people in the back can see.Do as many of the entries as you canbefore the presentation so that your liveadd-ons will complete the picture, and theaudience will have less silent time waitingfor you. Use ÒrevealsÓ by adding one more item perpage and reducing the previous items tolighter shadow colors.they can faintly see the next chart throughthe current chart) staple two or more chartsheets together to provide visual insulation.ry using different methods of presen-describing the past, present,relating the story of the past;Overview, reviewing key points using atying together a variety of pointsunder one issue or topic; andComparison/analogy, ing one thing with another.The above methods are not mutually exclu-sive; several methods may be used during oneUse humor in your delivery, but with discretion. If you are known to be a non-humorous person, donÕt use it. If you use it,make it fit the situation. Avoid humor thatmay be misconstrued as inappropriate. If inMaking a presentation with a copresen-a few reasons: It gives the listener a regular change ofoice and pace.them in your talk. It gives each speaker rest time.The speaker who is ÒoffÓ is free toobserve the audience and (later) critiquethe other speaker.If you do copresent, work out signals thatare natural. DonÕt make your signals soWhen providing handouts or notes for theaudience, plan to give handouts at theappropriate timeÑthat is, beforehand, attendees need to have a common level ofknowledge; at the beginning, afterward,tation. If you are going to hand notes outence know they do not need to take exten-sive notes. When dealing with hecklers/disturbers: dence.Do not let them hook you into theirgame.Do not become defensive.When the disagreement they pose looksinsoluble, opt out with something like,ÒOK, I think I understand your opinion.ground rules we have here today is it isOK to disagree.Óanswer session:audience have difficulty hearing thequestioner.Answer the question as succinctly as pos-sible. Do not succumb to the temptationrt of to dump all your knowledge about thearea questioned.going on (e.g., ÒDid I answer your ques-If you donÕt know the answer to a ques-tion, admit it, and ask if anyone in theaudience knows the answer. DonÕt bluff.If no one knows the answer, tell the ques-tioner you will find it out and get back tohim or her. Then do it!Engage your audience by:of your audience. If the count of crossedarms goes from 2 to 15, you have aproblem that you shouldnÕt ignore. Dur-ing your preparation, think about whatou will do if this happens and be sureto have a backup plan (e.g., ask a ques-tion, tell a story using an example, cutsome data out to make your speechUsing analogies that make the conceptscome alive. The ability to Òcome aliveÓ is afunction of instructor charisma and a keytool you can use. People personalize con-Within attendeesÕ realms of experi-ence, andEnjoyable.The more analogies we use on a singlethe percentage of the audience that buys in.If you donÕt know the answer to a question, admit it, and Employment Relations Todayry to time your groupÕs high point onthe dynamic curve so it occurs just atadjournment. Your presentation shoulddo you have in common with the audi-ence? Can you refer to a recent popularmovie, television show, or somethingabout the city where you are speaking?Never try to cram a longer presentationinto a shorter one. When someone saysthat they have a Òone-hour presentationthey need to give in 15 minutes,Ó whatthey really need to do is design a 15-ample (e.g., Òone serving of rice is equalto the size of my fistÓ). Build your credibility by shifting from thelanguage of tentativeness to the languageof certainty. Instead of saying ÒI thinkÓ orÒI believe,Ó substitute ÒI knowÓ or ÒYoucan see.ÓKnow what you want to accomplish.to talk about...Ó as it lacks focus. Instead,ask yourself about the purpose of your talk.ÒBy the end of my presentation, I want myaudience to...ÓMost presentations can be broken into1. An introduction to your topic, to informthe audience of what you are going to talking way; 2. The body of your presentation, to give the3. A summary, to wrap up your key points,telling the audience what you want themto do next or reiterating why this is anLouieÕs presentation garnered him a standingation! He was clear, concise, articulate,organized, and enthusiastic. Many peoplecame up to him afterward to congratulatehim, ask a question, give him their businesscards, or arrange a meeting. It was impressiveto see how much he had learned aboutimproving his presentation methods and howhis own style. I left the room, I overheard two audi-ence members: ÒWowÑthat was remarkable!IÕve heard this guy speak before at anotherprogram. He rambled, was unorganized,unfocused, and painful to watch. I wasnÕtpersuasive presentation are whether the pre-had when they decided to attend the presen-invited back to tell their stories. rt of A nationally recognized speaker,trainer,and author,& Associates,providing solutions to training needs and presenting programs on personaland professional development.An instructor in management topics at the WhartonSchoolÕs Small Business Development Center,she has successfully addressed a wide vari-ety of audiences,has written a variety of articles,serves as a resource for a variety ofbusiness publications and TV and radio programs,and is frequently quoted on manage-ment topics.She is the author of wer Tools for Women¨:Plugging into the EssentialSkills for Life and Work(Three Rivers Press,2002) and can be reached via her Web siteat www.jonidaniels.com.