Presenting to colleagues, clients and investors. By Jack Downton
Who do you think is a particularly influential speaker – Tony Blair or Bill Clinton, perhaps Barack Obama, Warren Buffett or maybe Richard Branson?
Charismatic, clear, succinct and influential speakers – yet people who are not renowned for their use of PowerPoint! So why do accountants use it as though they are being paid by the slide?
I have coached hundreds of partners and directors, and many high-flying managers and associates at accountancy and other professional firms.
Continued...
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Robert Lane's Question
Sorry for a slow response Robert. The use of word slides is frequently an indication that the speaker is transmitting far too much information. Transmission does not automatically equate to reception, especailly as the quantity of information increases. Slides that reinforce are powerful so, if for instance you are trying to convey the scale of a set of numbers or how one group of figures relates to another, a graphic is very powerful. If the speaker has already talked through the concept without the distraction of a slide so that the audience understands broadly what is being said, they will each create some form of image in their mind . That image will however be different for each person in that audience. If the speaker then supports what has been said with a graphic of some sort, the audience will confirm and clairfy what they heard and all go away with a very similar idea of what was said by the speaker. So a picture can give or support a whole story. A word of a few words are just that - a word or a few words. And in a presentation, words or stories are much better spoken rather than written as the power to influence comes better from the speaker rather than from the slide. Think also of verbal pictures and how you can convey full understanding of a difficult topic with a well chosen example, which can be hypothetical or real. Go light on the facts and heavy on the illustration if you want to get your message across and be remembered as an engaging speaker.
Jack Downton
The Influence Business Ltd
So What?
Love what Jack is saying.
If you don't ask "So What" beforehand you leave to your audience to try and work it out. That reduces your impact and value drastically.
The extra time to translate the numbers/facts into "So What" is worth its weight in gold!
Anton Verster
Practice Performance Specialists [http://www.lifequest.co.za/]