Don’t give presentations, tell stories

I’ve probably done hundreds of presentations and speaking engagements already in the past 5 years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the delivery of the message is just as important as the actual content. Deals can easily be closed if you manage to properly connect with your audience – be it a room full of executives or an auditorium of noisy young students. Presenting is literally like an art form; it’s very subjective but the proper preparation and material can boost your chances of success. I’m not sure if it was Steve Jobs who said that you should tell stories instead of giving presentations. That I think is one of the most valuable lessons you will have to take to heart especially if you’re a marketer or a sales person. Here are some tips that I came up with for everyone.

Less is more
Powerpoint presentations are really not meant to be verbose and long unless your boss specifically asks you to do so. Try to avoid walls of text and cramming in like 6 long bullet points in just one slide. Don’t expect your audience to read every single point. There’s a limit to everyone’s span of attention and I can assure you that you won’t have their focus on one slide for more than 5 minutes. It gets boring and when your audience is bored, you lose your connection to them.

Slides should communicate the main message then follow through with verbal explanations. If it’s a chart or a table, make sure that the most important part is highlighted. One of the habits that I’ve developed over the years is that I give a supplementary word document to people that I present to. This has all the details of my talk or presentation that wasn’t included in the powerpoint.

Break the ice
The start of your presentation is very critical. You can’t transfer data if your flash drive isn’t connected in the proper slot in your PC. That applies to presentations as well. You need to connect with your audience. Crack a joke, give a big statement, or show a kick ass video. Point is that you need to grab their attention so that you’re sure that they listen to whatever it is that you’re going to say.

Visualize
When making your powerpoint or keynote, make sure to visualize yourself presenting the slide. Each slide should seamlessly connect with the next. Ideas should build on one another until you reach that climactic point where you deliver the big statements that would be deal closers. What I’ve learned to do is to always make outlines first and then try to imagine what it would look and sound like from the perspective of the audience. If you have a mentor or friends that could help out, try to show them your outline and find out what they think.

Practice
Lastly, PRACTICE. It’s just like what our nursery teachers say. Practice makes perfect. Presentations are no exemptions. I’ve actually done shadow/mock presentations in front of the mirror to make sure that my timing and delivery is in sync with the slides. I make sure to memorize the big statements because I know that these are my best weapons. By practicing these you are like sharpening your swords for battle. If they are dull, they won’t cut through the thick armor of your opponents.

And that’s that. I haven’t perfected presenting yet but I’m definitely trying to refine how I do it so that I get better each time. To end this post, let me just thank my former bosses, Level Up Marketing Director Jake San Diego, CEO Jane Walker, and former Sales Director Apol Dionglay for imparting valuable lessons to me on how to properly make and deliver presentations.

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