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| Time to Catch Some ZZs’ I thought, then She Began to Speak |
March 16th |
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"I used this idea to great effect in my last sales manager's role. It works and costs almost nothing, other than time. In fact it is so good I feel like I am shooting myself in the foot." |
Public speaking fills many with dread, perhaps with good cause. On a couple of occasions, In previous lives, I have damaged my standing and prospects with a bad presentation. You have probably heard horror stories too. On the other hand, when else do you get a whole room full of people, to sit down for the sole purpose of listening to you? It's rare to experience this level of attention one to one. Most conversations consist of two people thinking about what they will say next, or waiting for their turn to speak. When you speak to an audience you have a unique opportunity, to influence the thinking of a lot of people, all at once. Careers have been built on the back of a single presentation. Get it right and you will be on your way to better things. Few people are excellent public speakers. The kind of speakers who captivate an audience and engage their imagination to communicate ideas, are in great demand. Think about the presenters you have listened to during the last few months. How many held your attention for the whole of their allotted time? Which ones caused you to think differently or take action? Many will have been competent presenters but did they make a difference? Speaking with good annunciation and projection, without mannerisms or distracting foibles, does not make speech interesting or memorable. Both speaker and audience invest effort. If nothing is changed, was it worth the trouble? Gustav Kaser wrote, "When you speak your speech should be better than your silence would have been." Sales managers are called upon to speak in public more often than sales people. Customer meetings are normally relaxed seated events. If a presentation takes place it is low key and interactive. Do the same needs apply? A sales person must still hold attention, communicate ideas and influence thinking. Sales people use many of the same skills that effective speaker’s employ to win an audience over. Public speaking skills can be developed. First it is a matter of commitment. I was once advised that one should prepare for one hour for every minute you expect to speak in public. Like you may have, I gasped with incredulity when I heard this advice. Thirty hours preparation for thirty minutes in front of an audience! Justifying this kind of commitment is tough, but if you did, isn’t it likely that you would be the best you could be? I recently had an opportunity to speak to audiences of two hundred or more, about presentation skills. I had thirty minutes! As I am a professional trainer it was important to me that it was well received. Ridicule would have been my reward if it had been less than captivating. I have just added up my preparation time. It totalled a little over twenty-eight hours. Do we always need to be so rigorous? It depends on how you want to be remembered. There are many ways to lighten the load. Effective presentations are re-used. I delivered the thirty-minute presentation skills talk five times over the course of a week and will continue to use parts of it in training courses. This helps make the investment worthwhile. The better a presentation, the more people will want to experience it. Depending on your role and your company's products or services, you can anticipate the topics you may be called upon to speak about. You can prepare what you need well in advance of likely speaking opportunities. For instance, every sales person should be able to present on how their company adds value to its customers businesses, at no notice. Imagine yourself on an informal customer visit to discuss progress with a supporter, who, upon your arrival, announces that the directors would like you to make a small presentation to them, on the merits of procuring your services, in fifteen minutes time. Could you do an outstanding job in such circumstances? You could cry off on the basis of being unprepared, but you may never get such an opportunity again. A good place to start is with the question, 'who might your audience be?' Customers, prospects, peers, subordinates, association or federation memberships - you will know the most likely possibilities. Next ask yourself, 'what will interest them?' What can I convey that will make their lives easier, more exciting or more secure? Perhaps you can address all three areas of motivation. Keep the end in mind. Every presentation must have a purpose, even if it is only to entertain. Pay great attention to the beginning and the ending, because people remember the first and last ten minutes more clearly than the middle. Presenting challenges peoples self-mastery, discipline, creativity and courage. As you might imagine, accomplished presenters often succeed in many other functions, where good communication is paramount. There are hosts of ways to make sure you or your team is able to take maximum advantage of presentation opportunities. Books and tapes offer tricks, tips, lifesavers and methodology, but nothing works better than deliberate practise. Sales meetings offer an ideal opportunity to get your people testing and developing their skills. Buy training tapes and invite each sales person to listen to a title then present a synopsis of it. You can schedule one or two fifteen-minute slots each time you gather the sales team together. They get to practise and even encourage each other to borrow and listen to the tapes. You can facilitate peer feedback to help them improve. You can award prizes to add a competitive dimension. I used this idea to great effect in my last sales manager's role. It works and costs almost nothing, other than time. In fact it is so good I feel like I am shooting myself in the foot. I would much rather you sent people on our presentation skills courses or booked us to run in-house training.
Article by Clive Miller
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