Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story is the key to effective presentations. Every day, millions of people make presentations. They all have the same challenge: to deliver their message in an engaging, persuasive manner; to connect with their audience and convince them of their point of view. Often, presentations fail to achieve these objectives. Author Jerry Weissman has devoted many years to coaching corporate presentations and shows how to make even the driest information more interesting.

Most presentations commit one of five cardinal sins:

• No clear point

• No audience benefit

• No clear flow

• Too detailed

• Too long

Audience

Focus is the key to effective presentations. In presenting, you are attempting to move your audience from an uninformed state to understanding, from disbelief or resistance to commitment and action. The only way to do this is by being very clear on what your audience thinks about the topic, so that you can direct your information to the points that are most important to them. This positioning is called audience advocacy.

Avoid the data dump

It is a fallacy to assume that your audience must be told everything in order for them to understand. The most important question to ask when faced with a large amount of data that you feel compelled to present is, “so what?” What do these data mean to your audience? Why should they care?

Identifying flow

There are 16 flow structures you could use in a presentation:

1. Modular uses components

2. Chronological clusters ideas along a timeline

3. Physical uses location

4. Spatial uses a diagram such as a pyramid

5. Problem/solution provides an articulation of the problem to which you have a solution

6. Issues/action highlights one or more issues and the actions to address them

7. Opportunity/leverage presents business opportunities and how they can be leveraged

8. Form/function focuses on a single business concept with multiple applications

9. Features/benefits

10. Case study is an analysis of how a specific situation or problem was resolved

11. Argument/fallacy raises arguments against your own case and then rebuts them

12. Compare/contrast uses a series of comparisons to highlight the benefits of your offering

13. Matrix presents ideas in a 2 x 2 or larger diagram to organize interdependent ideas

14. Parallel tracks use a similar framework to examine a series of options, such as overview, features, relevant application, and benefits for each

15. Rhetorical questions use a question and answer format to convey information

16. Numerical uses concepts such as a top ten list to present connected facts

Each of these has its benefits and challenges, and may be used to organize your information into an easily understood framework. The key with flow structure is to have one.

Opening gambit

A critical stage in presenting is the very beginning. How will you capture your audience? Consider using the following:

• Pose a question to grab their attention

• Present a striking statistic or little known fact

• Look back/look forward to highlight your presentation

• Use an anecdote or quotation relating to your objective

• Use an aphorism, a familiar saying such as “seeing is believing”

• Use an analogy; a comparison between seemingly unrelated objects

Once you’ve delivered your opening gambit, tell ’em what you’re gonna tell ’em. Ensure your audience knows what to expect for the rest of your presentation.

Graphics

A presentation is not a document. Effective graphics minimize the eye sweeps that an audience has to make. The guiding principle is, less is more. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Now that your presentation material is ready, practice your presentation to ensure you are within your time limits, and to crystallize your ideas into a logical flow; practice makes perfect. Your audience must believe this is a fresh, interesting and convincing presentation.

Using the methodology provided by Jerry Weissman in Presenting to Win will help you move your audience toward the solution you want, to close a sales call, or provide the persuasion to act.

		Jim Cullen is president of DMI Networks. DMI Networks specializes in technology contract reviews and negotiation for software, hardware, telecommunication, processing and services.