The 5 Key Ingredients You Need to Be a Winning Presenter

“My presentations need a little refreshing,” said Geoff. “If I’m bored, I can only imagine that my clients must be, too!”

We were on a 15-minute Clarity Call, a quick phone chat where I rapid-fire a bunch of questions to see if and how I can help a client.

Geoff’s issue intrigued me, because it’s part of a trend I’m experiencing right now.

I’ve been getting calls from both individuals and companies, all asking for help with:

? bringing campaigns to life, especially virtually

? building rapport with clients

? injecting creativity into client presentations

It seems a lot of folks are struggling with boring, or repetitive client presentations. They want creative, engaging presentations that win clients on the first pitch.

In other words, they want to become?winning presenters.

Now, I haven’t thought of myself as specializing in “presentation training,” but when I look at my expertise, the clients knocking on my proverbial door lately make a lot of sense.

For the past couple of years one of the things I’ve been doing is helping people communicate for more influence and impact.

A lot of these folks have been high-level researchers, so they’re sharing data rather than making sales presentations.

But the skills they need are the same.

It just so happens that there’s a big overlap between the skills I teach in my?Communicating for Influence program ?and the skills needed by winning presenters.

If you want to be a winning presenter, there are five key ingredients you need to master:

???EMPATHY?– the ability to understand your client and their context

???“YES, AND”?– a term from the world of improv, that means the ability to accept and build on other people’s ideas

???CONCISION?– the ability to communicate clearly without rambling, “firehosing,” or using jargon

???AGILITY?– the ability to think on your feet and handle whatever clients throw at you

???“BIG EARS”?– a term from the world of jazz, in this context it means the ability to listen deeply, and hear “between the lines”

When I looked back at the content I’d developed, I realized I actually already have a signature system that’s tailor made for anyone who wants to transform boring, ho-hum client presentations into creative, engaging presentations that win clients on the first pitch.

It was a simple matter to organize my existing content into a system I call the?Winning Presenter Process?.

I’ll be sharing more about the?five key ingredients?to become a winning presenter, and the?Winning Presenter Process?,?over on?YouTube ?and here on?LinkedIn ?over the coming weeks. Follow me for some fun micro-videos (some of which might just make you laugh, like this one ! ??)

I’m looking forward to helping more people become winning presenters!

A version of this article first appeared on the?Creative Sandbox Solutions?blog .

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When you’re ready to take your boring, ho-hum client presentations to creative, engaging presentations that win clients on the first pitch, here are 2 ways I can help:

1) Download my FREEBIE "7 Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Next Virtual Event, Training, or Conference" here. ?? https://bit.ly/7MistakesFreebie

2) If you’d like to work with me directly to learn to connect better with clients, present more creatively, and convert more effectively, send me a msg with “WIN” in the first line.

OR...

If you'd like your employees to learn how to infuse connection, joy and delight into virtual meetings, trainings or events at your workplace...

Let's chat ?about how I can use my signature system to help.

And be sure to subscribe to this newsletter for more tips on creativity, learning, and how to up your virtual meeting game!

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About Melissa Dinwiddie, M.Soc.Sci.

A former professional artist and trained improviser and jazz singer, I'm now a Creative Learning Strategist, helping innovative, people-first companies to grow sales, and retain customers & talent through FUN learning experiences. From custom-designed offsites, to trainings on how to lead amazing, effective virtual meetings, I design creative, interactive, playful experiences that attendees rave about because they acquire new skills and behaviors and build connections while having a blast. An acclaimed creativity instigator, I'm the author of?The Creative Sandbox Way?: Your Path to a Full-Color Life ,?an interactive playbook that countless readers have sworn freed them from creative block virtually overnight. I'm the founder of?Creative Sandbox Solutions ?, and I love performing improv, playing ukulele, making art, crafts, and vocal loops, and chasing my two rambunctious kitties off the kitchen counter.