There are multiple layers of challenges for the business presenter.
For instance, there’s the psychological—the fact that we are all anxious about public speaking, even the best of us. And when we are anxious, some of us tend to become shy and tentative, and others begin to put on a persona that isn’t natural to them. Both of these tendencies are less than optimal.
Then there is the physical aspect. As soon as we allow our nerves to take over, our voice becomes less confident and so does our body language. And that, in turn, makes us even more anxious.
And then there’s the struggle to select and arrange the material to include in your talk. Too much and you lose their attention. Too little and you lose credibility. And while you’re trying to figure out what to include, you have to ask yourself what your objective is—what’s the purpose of your talk, or what you want the audience to know or do.
And in order to answer that question, (what you want them to do) you have to know who they are, how they think, what their biases are, and what motivates them. Even what words will turn them on, and which will turn them off.
And after that, you have to take a cold hard look at your slides, because if they are designed poorly, they may actually be damaging to your success.
And what if the audience asks you a bunch of tough questions about your information or about possible implications of your content? Are you prepared for questions and answers, and do you know how to stay in control in the midst of debate?
All these issues are addressed fully in an in-house corporate seminar we bring to you called Presenting for ResultsSM. It is designed for pharma people, biotech, consultants, financial folk, and anyone else who is a “knowledge worker,” which is someone who makes a living gathering and mastering a body of information, making sense out of it, and then communicating the meaning of it so that wise decisions can be made.
It’s a soup-to-nuts program, and can be adapted to fit your team’s needs and schedule.
The ability to connect with an audience and sell your ideas has an unfair impact on your career. You can always get better at this hugely important skill.