Recall a great presenter you saw or heard and I will bet you he or she has a really High PQ. You’ve heard of IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and EQ (Emotional Intelligence). PQ is Presentation Intelligence, the ability to keep listeners engaged and excited throughout a demo or traditional presentation and move them successfully to a …
Did you ever have this experience? You and a friend hear a speaker in either a business or social situation and you each come away with a different reaction to that person? You: “I thought he was really interesting!” Your friend: “How could you say that? I was so bored by him!” Who is right? …
Asking questions to engage listeners during a demo or presentation is a good thing. Asking the same two questions of your listeners over and over again, however, is not. You sound robotic and they tune you out, rather than tune you in. Yet, that is what so many demo presenters do. Is it because they …
He was frustrated. He was furious. He had just received the highest performance rating possible, a 10, and instead of a promotion, he was advised to seek some coaching. When he asked his boss, how that could be, his boss said, “A 10 in performance on his job did not mean an automatic 10 at …
On two separate occasions last week, I saw presenters in different industries struggle with a common problem: how do you get people to listen to what is essentially an explanatory presentation? Begin with the Outcome For example, in one case , the first presenter (Ted) was explaining a process change to colleagues and senior management …
This year’s Time 100 list has just been published, which raises an interesting question: how vividly can you capture who you are or what you do when you are presenting, networking, or meeting someone for the first time? Many of their Icons, Leaders, Titans, Pioneers, and Artists are given mildly engaging descriptions, e.g., Apple CEO …
Why do sales stall out after a seemingly successful meeting and demo or presentation? Everything appeared on target for a win: you got the appointment; the right people were in the room; budget was available; they liked you; the need was clear. And, then—nothing. Could it be because you failed to establish the answers to …
What was once the imaginative art of poets is now an essential communication skill for anyone who needs to influence, sell, or persuade others.
If you could follow a group of outstanding salespeople and presenters over a long period of time, you would discover practices common to them all. These would likely range from small behaviors, like how they greet someone ,to broader skills, like how they link features to value in presentations. But, what would their “herding cats” …
I invite you to watch my interview with Mitch Jackson. Mitch is an amazing human being: an award winning lawyer, a humanitarian, an all-around great guy, and a lover of language, which is how we first connected. His blogs are thoughtful and helpful and I am honored that he asked to interview me on the …
You have been invited to participate on a panel. What a great opportunity to showcase your firm, promote your services, and enhance your professional visibility. But how do you become memorable without hogging the limelight? Use Pow Language Arianna Huffington, of the Huffington Post, is a master at this. When she is being interviewed or …