Your firm’s client relationships and public personae are reflected in how individuals feel about your firm and about you, personally – as business developer or marketer. While you strive to ensure that the message in a presentation is technically accurate, clients and other audiences are often influenced by factors beyond the obvious subject matter. Whether the presentation is a short list interview, regular client meeting, progress report, public hearing or “prospecting” call, you can project a memorable, influential impression. Your ultimate goal is to encourage clients to want to do business with you. If your role is not one of closer-doer or sales, you can still work behind-the scenes to assist your firm in developing the psychology of audience appeal.
Those who make presentations regularly often tend to make simply “regular” presentations. When advising A/Es on dynamic presentations and strengthened public profile, the most often-asked questions are: “What can we do to make our presentations distinctive?” and “How can we make more favorable impact on clients and prospects?”.
In order to gain a better perspective, try stepping back and considering, “What is your primary function as a presenter?” The obvious answer is to make your information interesting and memorable. Of course, it is easy to believe that this magically occurs if you first develop quality content. When you remember the cardinal rule of placing the interests of the listener first, you will distinguish your good presentation and make it a great one. That’s the psychology of audience appeal.
Careful cultivation of your personae, which includes communicating clearly and making the impression that count, is the aim of any great presentation. In order to make the basic ground rules easy to recall, we have developed this acronym – POISE – which exemplifies the psychology of audience appeal:
Psyche-up
Organization
Illustration
Self-confidence
Enthusiasm
Getting started on the path to a successful presentation requires a planning and psyche-up phase. But before you do any writing, before you think about content, before you develop the theme or do any research, the first step is the psyche-up. Planning the great presentation further necessitates getting “double psyched” – the presenter and the presentation.
Whether your role is presenter or coach, you need to ask some soul-searching questions. What is the purpose in delivering this presentation? What is motivating you? Why are you really giving this presentation? How do you feel about it?
Be brutally honest at this stage because how you really feel about the presentation will reveal itself in your delivery. Assessing motives at the outset will help you attain your ultimate goal – inspire you to prepare and deliver with audience appeal.
Putting your own motives aside, start thinking exclusively about who will hear your presentation. You can prepare for make the presentation audience centered by determining:
Intended Audience Response – Consider what you expect the audience to do as a result of hearing your remarks. Do you want them to be more informed, understand your point of view, give you the contract, agree to pay the $1 million in change orders, or absorb “bad news”? Taking the response one step further, you need to then be able to measure your audience’s level of understanding and whether they are informed. By setting a measurable objective you can then determine the success of your presentation.
Audience Analysis. Gathering as much information as you can about the audience before you enter into the speaking situation will arm you with ammunition you need to better understand your client or prospective client. It is essential to be aware of the demographics of your audience: number of men and women, ages, role in the organization, decision-making ability, politics, and level of expertise on your topic. These are the basics, but what about going beyond the statistics and entering into the realm of “psychographics” of your audience? What are the points of view represented? Do they have preconceived notions about you, your firm, or the proposed project? What is their “personal agenda” regarding the presentation? What is their real motive for attending?
Environmental Analysis. It is routine to scope-out the environment in which the presentation will take place. This critical, yet often overlooked, task allows you to adapt the placement of people, equipment, and visuals to the size and space of the room. Thoughtful analysis will help determine how the setting will affect the outcome of your presentation – the appeal and retention of your message. Your objective is to keep the client, prospect, or public attentive. So, as you set out on your advance investigation of the location, think about how the presentation may have to be developed, then delivered, in order to maximize your impact on the listener. Let the presentation itself be designed to suit the setting.
Your first inclination may be to jump right in to developing the presentation without taking the effort to go through the “psyche-up.” Remember this planning phase yields information which will help you design an appropriate presentation with regards to format, phrasing, graphics, and body language. Your reward will be that the presentation achieves the maximum impact for each particular audience.
If you are serving in the coach role, guiding principals and project managers in presentation preparation, remind them to think beyond their creative solutions, state-of-the-art designs, relevant experience, and fabulous subject matter. Instead, assist them in designing a plan which will present information in a way that leaves the audience feeling highly confident and interested in your firm’s ability to best serve their needs. Organizing your information, which encourages this response in your listeners, requires these steps:
Opening – Set the tone for the entire presentation which is memorable as well as strong. (“Good morning. I am the principal-in-charge for this project” is informative but not exciting.).
Main Points – Need-to-know primary elements should be discussed succinctly so they are easily identified and remembered.
Conclusion – Wrap up the presentation with a noteworthy statement. (“Thank you for this opportunity” is an easy fallback, however, it will not leave a lasting impression or sell your firm).
The purpose in organizing at the outset is to provide your client/prospect with a feeling that you are the most competent professional/firm/team for the project. If information is presented in such a way as to be interesting, as well as easy to grasp and remember, you create the impression that you are organized, use time well, and can deliver what the client expects.
Recent studies have shown that the use of visuals in a presentation can increase retention of information as much as 73% – important ammunition in your quest for audience appeal. Put into action these three types of illustrations to enhance your presentation.
Visuals. Whether you use an easel with markers or state-of-the-art computer animation, the purpose of your visuals is not to dazzle your audience, but rather to clarify your points and to make sometimes complex ideas more clearly understandable. The objective is to support, not replace, the presenter. If your visuals take over the show and dwarf the presenter, you sacrifice the critical element of all successful presentations – the opportunity to “Connect” with the audience. Audiences want and need visuals to keep their interest peaked, expect visuals to help them better understand your message, and prefer visuals which are simple to follow, easy to read, and add vitality to complex or “dry” material. Whatever format you use, make sure the purpose of each visual is clear. Whether board, overhead, slice, frame, or site plan, each should follow one rule – No Clutter. The result? You retain center stage while your visuals assist in delivering your message. The audience will feel a comfort level and connection with the presenter. Hundreds of debriefings can’t be wrong – often, when it came down to selecting one team over another, the seemingly subjective element of comfort was the deciding factor. Bottom line – clients like to work with people with whom they feel comfortable.
You. That’s right. When you, as the presenter, use gestures which help illustrate the main need-to-know points, you encourage information retention while simultaneously creating audience rapport. Utilizing the right gestures creates a positive impression with your client that you are definitive, specific, and take-charge.
Verbal Language. While technical descriptions may be required in certain parts of the presentation, you can also help the listener “see” what you are talking about by selecting simple, direct, descriptive words which paint a picture in the mind of the listener. Guide the listener’s thinking as you help each individual visualize your plans and how she will be part of the finished product. The psychological result of using clear, descriptive, easy-to-understand language is the perception that you are a professional who understands the client/prospect’s needs. You will come across as easy to work with because you can translate complicated ideas.
Self Confidence.
In order to sell your firm, as a presenter, you have to sell yourself. When you project self-confidence, you assure your clients that they have the right person for the job. Creating an influential impression requires employing the intangibles of non-verbal communication. As much as 45% of our total message is communicated nonverbally – the more you use non-verbals as tools, the more effective you become in reaching your audience. Whether you are seated at a meeting, standing in a formal presentation, or responding during a question and answer session, work towards achieving the intended audience response via body language, use of space, and choice of colors.
Body Language. In today’s competitive market, it is no longer sufficient to have the right qualifications, the right price, and the right solution to a client’s problem. The “chemistry” between business people must also be right. How we carry ourselves, project our personalities, and set the “tone” of the presentation all affect our chemistry with the audience. When entering a meeting room or approaching the podium, let your body say, “It is my pleasure to be here.” When presenting your information, remember that a genuine smile promotes feelings of trust and credibility. Use facial and hand gestures which send the message: “I really want you to understand this information.” Body language is perhaps one of the least honed skills in presentation delivery but one of the most effective vehicles in delivering your message.
Use of Space. How you utilize space in the presentation room reveals to the audience how you feel about your speaking experience. You create “an atmosphere” that can promote or detract from your audience’s experience. In order to maximize the room set-up’s contribution to your presentation success, try this exercise – after you set up the room, step back and see how it will look from the audience perspective. Will you look as authoritative, approachable, credible, friendly or competent as you envisioned? Whether presenting seated or standing, let the audience know that you value their attention. Some presenters stand glued to their visuals as if there were some invisible magnet holding them firmly to the spot. You will appear more at ease and increase connectivity with your client by occasionally moving away from your visuals and maintaining eye contact with your audience. If you move slightly towards the questioner during the question and answer period, you will be perceived as a professional who is willing to address your client’s concerns.
Use of Color. This is yet another way you can have impact on your listener without saying a word. Whether in graphics or clothing, color affects how audiences receive/perceive both your information and you. Here’s a quick guide to the use of color:
Your clients want to know that you like working for them. How can you demonstrate this? Of all the ways you can indicate enthusiasm, the tried-and-true techniques used in presentation coaching are voice and phrasing. Use inflection to emphasize key words and ideas, put energy in your voice, vary your pitch, and remember to compliment your client when appropriate. Use vocal vigor to make technical and “dry” information seem more exciting. You will have mastered the fine are of “chemistry” when you combine voice with use of your eyes and facial expressions to project interest and sincerity. Avoid using everyday, ho-hum language when describing your progress, plan, solution, team and organization. Weave phrases into your discussion which promote features, not just define details. Beware, enthusiasm is contagious! Before you know it, you’ll have your entire team radiating excitement.
In truth, there is a bit of theater in every presentation – audiences expect the presenter to appear comfortable, even if he has stage fright. Take the pressure off yourself and your team by thinking of the client/prospect first, then tailor your remarks and delivery style to appeal to their concerns. When you slip into your presenter “role” with confidence and add POISE, you remind the client that their trust in you and your firm is well deserved. By doing so, you can achieve your ultimate goal of encouraging clients to want to do business with you, solidifying client relationships, and helping build future business.
The Power of POISE
The Presenter
The Presentation
- intended audience response
- audience analysis
- environmental analysis
Build Around Need-to-Know Main Points
Construct in Three Parts
- opening
- main points
- closing
Visuals
Presenter (You)
Language
Body Language
Space
Color
Voice
Phrasing
June 1997 Marketer
Copyright, Society for Marketing Professional Services