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 so that everyone would “understand“ what was done. He began with, “I am going to tell you the changes we made in X” and then proceeded to go through the facts of what was, what was changed, what there is now more of, less of, etc . – basically delivering a droning data dump. Listener Reaction: ZZZZZZ.
However, if Ted had begun with a comment that reflected the net result, outcome, or benefit to his audience of his changes, he would have had instant attention and engagement with his presentation, thereby avoiding boring the group (as well as himself). A net result/benefit statement could have been “We want to share with you the changes we’ve made in X, which is expected to save us $100 million over five years.” Reaction: Really? Tell us more!
“Don’t Bury the Lead”
That’s a journalist’s rule that means put your most important point up front. Don’t bury it five paragraphs down in a story. Readers won’t stick around to read it. The same is true in presentations that “explain” or “update.” Ted DID have the $100 million dollar savings in the presentation, but it was “ buried” in a throw-away comment six slides into the presentation. By then, he had lost his group.
The second presenter I saw committed the same presentation sin but he was selling to me. I was investigating different sales software products. After a short discovery discussion he jumped into his demo and showed me all the bells and whistles it had. He lost me after the 5th feature. Had he begun with a better “lead” along the lines of the following, he would have had me completely engaged: “ As we go through this demo, notice how easy it is to navigate and how much of that difficult information you need to find becomes available in just seconds, which will save you tons of time in researching companies.” Reaction: Tell me more and how does this happen?
Never Lose an Audience
Informational presentations tend to lull an audience to sleep when relevance or urgency is not immediately established. You can avoid losing listeners by finding your “lead.” It is usually there–just look for it and put it upfront where it will do you and your presentation the most good.
Anne Miller
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