Take a Sad First Impression and Make it Better: The Right Way to Kickoff Your Presentation

So, um, ah, [clears throat] hi, hello. How’s everybody doing today?

[Tepid applause]

C’mon, you can do better than that. HOW’S EVERYBODY DOING TODAY?

[Forced enthusiastic applause and whoops]

That’s better. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m John. I’m an expert in presentation design. I apologize for not finishing this blog post sooner, but I was stuck in traffic.

How many presentations have you sat through that started with one or more of those lines? From my experience, it’s close to 100%. How many presentations have you started with one of those lines? You don’t have to answer that. We all know how important it is to make a good first impression when you meet someone. When presenting, your opening makes the first impression for your audience, whether you’re speaking to one or thousands. Let’s go through these bad opening remarks one-by-one to see why they are ruining your first impression.

Filler Words

Ums and ahs are the scourge of the public speaker. I’ve listened to a very senior speaker average two ums per sentence! So why do we all say them? These filler words serve a purpose in our conversations. They let the listener know that the speaker does not want to give up the floor but is instead thinking about what to say next. But when you’re presenting, you have the floor, so you don’t need the ums to hold your place. And you certainly don’t need to start every sentence with one.

While um and ah are the primary culprits, you also need to watch out for their cousins. I worked for a company where everyone started every sentence with “so.” In this case, “so,” is designed to say, “I’d like to speak now, but I don’t want to step on any other speaker’s words.” I worked with a woman who had eliminated ums and ahs, and she put “and” between every sentence and she was brilliant and every time she talked it was one run on sentence. Depending on where and when you grew up, you may insert “like” into every situation. Save like for your similes.

So, how do we get rid of these words? This is one of the hardest public speaking problems to conquer (I haven’t completely conquered it). Here are some strategies:

• Recruit someone to count your verbal fillers. What gets measured gets managed. When you hear the number, you will be shocked. That shock will motivate you to improve. Keep counting your ums until you have them under control.
• Replace the verbal filler with a pause. Pauses never seem as long to the audience as they do to you. And they make your speech more dynamic.
• Practice in non-stressful situations, like everyday conversations. I practiced speaking without verbal fillers when giving interviews or teaching workshops.
• Know your stuff. If you know your stuff, you will spend less time thinking what you want to say next and you won’t have as many pauses to fill.

A trainer I worked with at The Ariel Group said the biggest difference between a good public speaker and a great one is eliminating filler words.

Insulting Your Audience

It’s not your audience’s job to show you enthusiasm. It’s your job to make your audience enthusiastic. You never hear Paul McCartney say, “You can do better than that.” He just launches into “Hey Jude” and the crowd goes wild. Give an engaging, emotional presentation, and your audience will respond.

The Awkward Introduction

It drives me crazy when speakers say, “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m John.” Guess what, I’m also John for those of you who do know me. Just say, “I’m John.” Don’t recite your credentials. Simply say what you do, then let your talk convince the audience you’re an expert. If it’s important that the audience know your credentials, have someone reputable introduce you. And make sure they aren’t just reading you r bio bullets, but they really sell what makes you great.

Apologies

Saying “I’m sorry” puts you in a position of weakness. That’s not the position you want to be in when you start your speech. More importantly, don’t have behavior you need to apologize for. Start on time. Make sure your technology works before you start speaking. Have engaging slides.

Leaders often use self-deprecation to show that they are just like everyone else. A little bit of self-deprecation goes a long way. If you deprecate yourself too much, people will start to believe you.

So, what’s the right way to start a presentation?

• Just introduce yourself. Or better yet, have someone the audience respects introduce you.
• Don’t say you’re sorry. Apologizing for starting late only delays the start time more.
• Say why you’re presenting. How many times have you been in a meeting and 10 minutes in, someone asks, “Why are we here?” Remind folks why they’re here.
• Tell your audience what’s in it for them. They don’t just need to know why they’re here; they need to want to be here. The first way to hook your audience is to convince them they will get something of value from the time they are investing with you.
• Kick off with an engaging story. Storytelling is so powerful, take advantage of that power to tell a short, engaging story that is relevant to your subject.
• Know your intro well enough that you don’t use filler words. Write it out. Memorize it. Then practice saying it with an authentic delivery that doesn’t sound like you memorized it.

Here’s an example intro: Hi, I’m John. I want to make you a great presenter. In my former career, I sat through approximately 160 cross-calibration conversations. A cross-calibration is a way for companies to ensure you got a fair performance rating versus just letting your boss decide. While I’m a fan of making sure associates get a fair assessment of their performance, the cross-calibration process can be painful. Over the years I’ve experienced full-day calibrations, dot exercises, and forced distributions. If you’ve never experienced these, trust me, they’re painful. When it came to discussing promotions, I noticed a pattern in the feedback for associates. Rarely did the debate focus on the technical skills, subject-matter expertise, or even results – by the time an associate is up for promotion, they’ve demonstrated those things clearly. The competency gaps that typically held associates back were communication, influence, or the mystical “leadership presence.” All these competencies are demonstrated through effective presentations. Being a better presenter will change your life whether that’s getting that promotion or influencing others to make the world a better place.

Originally posted on johnpolkandassociates.com