Presenting

Tag Archive for: presenting

Coaching Presentations: Presenting to Upper Management

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Sometimes coaching presentations take on a bit more importance when the topic is tied to the board of management somehow. This creates an even greater need to ensure that the language is clear, concise, and professional. That’s where I was able to help out.

With the growing possibility that a quota system will be introduced to ensure there is a fixed percentage of women in all European companies working at executive level, DP DHL is taking its own initiative. A group-wide survey was carried out to see the impact of culture, local working practice and national laws on aiding, or preventing, women reaching higher positions of responsibility.

With feedback gathered from surveys and focus groups, the responsibility for keeping the Group’s board members informed of the developing situation falls to the HR division’s department of Corporate Culture. With an international board looking for signs of real progress, the task to present feedback and next steps with the required specificity is a significant challenge.  Extensive topic knowledge and excellent English skills provide a great foundation, but in order to gain the extra edge the department leader of Corporate Culture enlisted my help.

Preparing to perform

After a short but thorough briefing on the current status of the project, I was able to form a clear picture of what the next update presentation needed to accomplish. The following step involved me listening to each section being described and using the advantageous position of ‘outsider’ to cross-check what was not immediately clear. This technique helped me mirror the reactions of board members who may not to be familiar with the finer details of the Women in Leadership initiative. Through frequent questioning and by repeating the section with more clarity each time, Frau Muehlbach became more at ease with the information and was able to hone the essential message for greater audience impact.

Tailoring a language toolbox

With the key messages from each section now being clear and concise, the groundwork was set for giving the presentation greater bite. This process involved Frau Muehlbach and me brainstorming key phrases to be used to introduce and conclude each section of the presentation. Having established two or three options to choose from, Frau Muehlbach tried out each one within its surrounding context, while I played audience to determine which words carried the most effect.

Honing delivery style

With each section of the presentation having clear information, and the linking language now holding the attention of the listeners, it was time to analyze the presentation when delivered as a whole. Through several practice runs, I was able to highlight where Frau Muehlbach should increase pace, think about a dramatic pause or correct a word that was being mispronounced.

Seeing change in the boardroom

Using this technique, Frau Muehlbach has been able to make several successful Board and international conference presentations on the status of the Women in Leadership initiative. With each success comes more confidence which, in turn, breeds further success. This is a key example in transferring knowledge to the workplace.  Who knows, maybe the effect of the latest presentation was behind the Board’s recent decision to appoint DP DHL’s first female board member!

Presentations: Three Mistakes Even Experienced Presenters Make

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A few weeks ago I was coaching two partners at a financial service provider on their presentations.  They were looking to present a new innovative investment product at a series of upcoming client meetings, and together we were sharpening their  message and the delivery.  They did a great job.

It was quarter past six, the end of a very long day, when Jean-Paul, one of the junior specialists, popped into the meeting room.  He’d been waiting patiently outside.  “I wish I could have some sort of presentations training like this, but I’ve only just started here.  Can you give me any tips or tricks?”

Apart from being suitably flattered, I was also, unfortunately, very tired with a 3 hour Friday rush hour drive ahead of me.  We talked a little about his experience and as I knew I’d be back within the next 2 weeks, I suggested I sent Jean-Paul some handy materials and then we could carve out 30 minutes for a coffee next time.

Stuck in traffic 45 minutes later my thoughts began to go over Jean-Paul ‘s question -“Can you give me any tips or tricks on making presentations? “ . Sure, we have a library of resources, examples and suggested reading  – but this didn’t seem to sit well with me. Then I began to reflect on the day itself – here we had a fresh, ambitious and young professional looking to build his presentations to a level comparable to the partners (his hopefully future-self).  The reality is though that regardless of training and experience, many of us still make fundamental mistakes when presenting due to time pressure and prioritization.  Perhaps the most valuable thing I could offer Jean-Paul was to highlight this and try to ensure he kept this in mind as his career, responsibility, workload and pressures increased.

So Jean-Paul, this one’s for you …

Simple mistakes we make in presentations – and how to avoid them

Know your whats AND whys – Incredibly obvious-  but too often when the presentation is just one among many tasks you have to get done, even the most experienced professionals start thinking about  content and structure before they have crystallized  what they want to achieve with the presentation.

An excellent tip is to write down in a single sentence what your presentation is about and why you are presenting.  If you can’t do it in 14 words or less, rewrite it – and one of the 14 words needs to be the powerful “so”. e.g.  I’m sharing three mistakes that even experienced presenters make so you don’t make them .  My first stab at this sentence came in at twenty-eight words- there was a lot of fluff to remove. Now I have a very simple framework to move forward, and clear criteria for what I want to put in and take out.

Complete your presentation before you go anywhere near slides – This one is a killer and everyone has done it. We know we have to make a presentation and the first reaction is to start looking at existing slide sets and begin copy and pasting them into a “new presentation” –  we start thinking in slides, and build our presentations around our visual aids (as opposed to our visuals aiding the presentation).  Plan your presentation and, dare I say it, practice it out loud BEFORE you go anywhere near your slides.

Perhaps the comedic writers Steve Lowe and Brendan McArthur[1] best summed it up – “PowerPoint: The Microsoft tool that encourages people to think and talk like ********s.”

Be comfortable with what you are doing – Your audience’s reaction to you is as important as the content itself. When you come across as unsure of yourself or uncertain of your content you are creating barriers to success.  Now I accept this is a huge developmental area so here is a concrete tip for presenters that even the most seasoned presenters know, and sometimes forget, to follow:

Practice. Practice out loud.  Practice is not thinking to yourself what you could say – it’s actually saying it.  Practice in front of a mirror. Practice your presentation a day before you hold it -if you start practicing an hour before you run the real risk of deciding to change things around which makes things harder.

So Jean-Paul, keep those three points in mind and your presentations will be both effective and memorable.

[1] Is It Just Me or Is Everything Shit?: Insanely Annoying Modern Things – By Steve Lowe and Alan McArthur with Brendan Hay (Grand Central Publishing)