Mistake # 1: Not understanding the audience
- Who will attend?
- What do they really want?
- Why are they participating?
- Do you need to establish credibility?
- "Why you?" – Quotes, results, case studies, credentials.
- How much time do you have?
- Specific measurable benefit?
- Likely objections?
- Bake objections right into the presentation "If I had to guess, I'm sure you guys are thinking…"
Mistake # 2: Lack of a clearly defined objective
- What do you want?
- What is in it for the listener?
- What is my call to action, how is it going to benefit the audience?
- Let the audience know early on what the objective is.
Mistake # 3: Too much data!
Aim for no more than three or four big ideas, "chapter titles", pillars that support your objective and form a framework of the presentation…
...Why?
- Memory and impact
- Distil many ideas into few
- Lead with your best stuff
Mistake # 4: Failing to excite
Look for the hook to start with, should take less than two minutes. Forget platitudes. Pause and then launch with a "gee-whiz" fact, a powerful story. Focus attention on key issues and grab their attention. Make it engaging and fun.
Mistake # 5: Death by PowerPoint
- Should only be used to visualise ideas, create key points, impress!
- Should not be a script, handout or data dump
- Add more pictures that have meaning
- The "6 x 6 Rule - no more than 6 words across, 6 lines down to any one slide
Mistake # 6: Ending with inspirational deficit
- Work on a punchy close. "What, if anything is going to prevent you from taking the next step right now?"
Presentation blueprint:
Introduction
- Hook
- Message Objective
- 3 Talking Points
Body
- Talking point 1/evidence
- Talking point 2/evidence
- Talking point 3/evidence
Close
- Recap Message Objective
- Recap 3 Talking Points
- Ask for a commitment