Why follow a presentation formula? Because it works!

How long does it take you to put a really good presentation or pitch together? One where you know you’re going to win the deal or get the ‘yes’? Is it 3 hours? 3 days? 3 weeks? The truth is, it takes most people way too long to craft up a winning pitch or presentation. 

Why is it taking you too long? We know we should tell stories, have great visuals and use our voice and posture correctly. We know we need to answer questions impressively and we should be reading the audience’s body language so we can make critical decisions and maybe even changes on the spot. We don’t want to rave on, we want to stick to our message and express ourselves as clearly and succinctly as possible, using the right words on the day. And what about rehearsal? Where does that fit? What does ‘rehearsal’ even mean? And don’t even talk about the fact that you often have to craft up the message and then await the infamous ‘sign-off’ from your leadership and legal counsel, which results in a painful back and forwards until weeks later you have lift-off. There’s a lot to think about!

My theory on presenting is, “if it’s not quick – something’s wrong”. Sound good? I’ve come up with a model called the Michelle Bowden Presentation Process. It’s aim is to ensure you achieve your presentation objectives, whilst serving your audience and feeling fantastic. Take a look here:

Determine the desired outcome

This is where you work out what you want to achieve, as well as what your audience wants to hear. At Michelle Bowden Enterprises (MBE) we believe there is always an opportunity to captivate, inspire and compel your audience to your way of thinking and analysis is the essential first step. 

Decode your Audience

In order to influence your audience you must first show them that you understand them and their current circumstances. Presenting to a group of people who are completely unknown to you is fraught with danger because you won’t anticipate their objections, may well pitch your message and energy incorrectly, possibly misread their body language and facial cues and you’ll feel thoroughly disappointed with yourself. Taking the time to decode your audience will mean you are comprehensively prepared for anything, causing you to feel confident, credible and strong.

Design Persuasive Message

Influence is all about moving someone from Point A to Point B and it’s a learnt skill that anyone can master. Whether you are communicating one to one, or one to many, if you want to influence your audience, you need a design approach that focuses on the different needs and expectations of your stakeholders. The right model will ensure you achieve behavioural change.

Transform through story and linguistics

We know that great speakers take their audience on a journey. No matter whether the presentation goes for 5 minutes or 5 hours, it’s important that your audience feels a variety of emotions with the end result being they feel compelled to take the action you require. There are around 9 storytelling models you can use over the top of your solid presentation foundation. I recommend the 13 steps to persuasive presentation design. This is a structure that uses linguistic patterns to persuade your stakeholders. There are in fact 13 different linguistic patterns, each one with it’s own specific job, that come together to grab your audience’s attention, build rapport, motivate your audience, manage objections, set the scene, frame content, discuss steps, call to action, facilitate Q&A, call to action and then close for results. At MBE we believe it’s essential that you understand the underlying theory and science of the various linguistic patterns so you are as professional and persuasive as possible.

Cement the learning

One of my recent surveys found that only 28% of people went back to their desks after the most recent business presentation and did anything with the data they had heard. That means 72% went back to their desk and did absolutely nothing with the information – not a thing! Let’s make sure that we stimulate peoples’ visual, auditory and kinesthetic senses. The truth is that people will not always listen when you speak. It’s our role as presenter to use all the resources we have at our fingertips to stimulate the senses so our audience is completely engaged throughout the meeting.

Create visuals

And then there’s the slides – sigh! We know from our research at MBE that most presenters jump straight into the slide design before doing any real audience analysis or message creation. Let me help you by saying this is back-to-front. Your message will not be as clear as it could be, and you will not achieve your current to desired state shift in the audience if you start half way through the Presentation Process. Tough talking I know, and it’s important that you hear this.  Beautiful slides are so important because they activate the visual, auditory and kinesthetic senses when designed brilliantly. Remember, a picture speaks a thousand words. Design your slides to impress.

Rehearse Authentic Delivery

Are you nervous about going blank, waffling on, or getting pulled ‘off track’ by strong audience members? If you’re keen to come across as a confident, engaging and compelling presenter, it’s essential that you rehearse prior to presenting. Make no mistake, exceptional presenters rehearse! The more you run through your presentation, the clearer and more seamless your delivery, and the more you will embed your message and hear that ‘yes’.  Rehearsing is where you run through the key messages over and over again, so you embed the general ‘gist’ of your message (and sometimes the result is that you will end up, almost accidentally, committing some of the parts of your message to memory). Whilst you may inadvertently memorise some of your content, you’ll find with rehearsal that you will deliver most of your message in a different way each time and the result is that you will sound more authentic. 

Perform with Excellence

Your body plays a fundamental role in the believability of your message. We all have little mannerisms and habits when presenting that either engage or repel our stakeholders. And it’s true that your audience will use your body language as the final test when deciding on your congruence and authenticity as a presenter. As Martha Graham, dancer and choreographer said, “the body never lies”.  At MBE we believe it is essential to get some personal coaching from the experts, so you know where and how to: manage your nerves; stand; gesture; move; as well as how to use your voice; interact with your slides and media; and create two-way communication with your audience.

Achieve Desired Result

It’s easy to see that when you choose to follow my MBE Presentation Process you will achieve your desired result. Please choose to work with me for your next important business pitch or presentation. Anyone can be a persuasive presenter. It’s just a matter of knowing what to do and doing it. Happy Presenting!

Michelle Bowden is Australia’s presentation and influencing skills expert and one of only 42 female Certified Speaking Professionals (CSP) in Australia, (the CSP is the highest designation for speakers in the world). Michelle is the best selling, internationally published author of How to Present: the ultimate guide to presenting your ideas and influencing people using techniques that actually work (Wiley), and STOP! Your PowerPoint is Killing Me! For further tips and techniques that will dramatically improve the way you present and influence please visit www.michellebowden.com.au