M&L's book on presentation skills

Michael Horner, senior partner at M&L Associates, has been commissioned to write a book on effective presentation skills.

The book is due to be published in mid-2009 and will be an easy-to-apply guide to writing and delivering business presentations that work hard.

Commenting on the book, Michael says, 'what I hope this book will help people do is:

1. Create extremely effective presentations quickly
2. Present them with verve, fluency and confidence
3. Achieve their communication goals as a direct result'

Here is an extract from the opening chapter.

Why Bother?

Some objectives

We all know that getting our presentations right needs time and effort.  I used to wonder if it was really worth the sweat.  Well, you’ve started reading this book so I guess you think it is or at least it might be worthwhile and  I convinced myself a fair old while back that creating and delivering fantastic presentations was time well spent.  In fact, it was the most fun and productive thing I did when I had a proper job.  And it still is.

The trouble is that it does seem to take most of us way too long to write our presentations. Then if we add on the hours devoted to production and practice it’s a major investment in our time, time that might be better spent elsewhere.  And what do we get out of it?  Maybe we get a round of applause, a pat on the back and an appreciative grunt from a colleague? Or it could be that we receive very little feedback and leave the meeting with a feeling of anti-climax and general disillusionment. 

What I hope this book will help you do is:
1. Create extremely effective presentations quickly
2. Present them with verve, fluency and confidence
3. Achieve your communication goals so that real action follows as a direct result of your excellent presentations

Keeping things in perspective

I think it’s really important that we keep a sense of proportion on the whole business of creating and delivering presentations.  Don’t get me wrong, I have been training business people in presentation techniques for 15 years so I am not going to trivialise the subject and you should approach the subject quite seriously, but not too seriously. 

Here’s a little…..
‘p’
and it’s a ‘p’ for ‘presentation’.  The trouble is that many presenters get wound up by the whole occasion and this  ‘p’ becomes…

‘P’
a massive overblown, pompous ‘PRESENTATION’ monster. ‘Ohmygod and I’ve only got five days before the conference and I don’t have my act together and it’s going to be a complete and utter disaster’.  Wail, panic and howl. 
 
Relax.  That ‘p’ also stands for ‘perspective’.  Keep a strong sense of perspective in your approach to your presentations and the chances are they’ll be the better for it.  However great your presentations may be they are not going to solve global warming, they are unlikely to sort out Dharfur and I’d be surprised if they resolve the subprime mortgage crisis.
Sure, ‘p’ stands for presentations but if stays as a little ‘p’ we are more likely to keep our communication in proportion and perspective.

Here’s an analogy for you, creaky maybe but good enough for now.  Think of your presentations as part of a three-course restaurant meal starting with the tasty hors d’oeuvres, moving onto the more substantial main course and finishing off with a delightful dessert.  Where does the presentation sit in this feast? 

For me, the presentation is the hors d’oeuvres. It is the appetiser that sets our communication on a path that should lead us to the main course, (the objective of the presentation), and then onwards into dessert, cheese, coffee, chocolates and so on.  In fact many presentations are just the amusé bouche, a tiny taster designed to kick-start a communication strategy.

Presentations defined

When I run presentations courses I often ask delegates to come up with their definitions of what presentations are all about.

Here are some recent examples that I like.

‘Sharing info in a visual way with a two-way conversation’
‘An event where information is communicated to an audience’
‘Information sharing – bringing people up to speed, a discussion forum, feedback of ideas – giving weight to necessary things’
‘Communicating actions & goals to sell a projects/ideas to your audience’
‘A way of communicating in a structured way to deliver key messages, update, direction and direct a group of people who can gain from the information shared’
‘Imparting information to a group of people in such a way that they are empowered & get something out of it.  We use our personal communication skills to get our ideas across’
‘It’s an opportunity to showcase our work/project and communicate to people/colleagues how our objectives can make a difference’

Here’s my definition.
‘A discussion that we lead so we are able to change people’s perceptions’

Another game I like to play on course, they are full of games actually, is to ask delegates the when, where & who of presentations.

When?
Mostly people think that presentations apply when:
- They have important information to report
- They are involved in a competitive pitch
- They are training, selling or persuading

Where?
The geography of the presentation is felt to be:
- In the boardroom
- At the client’s office
- Round the desk internally

Who?
The recipients of these fantastic streams of genius are:
- Clients
- Colleagues
- Bosses
- Conference delegates – occasionally

There’s nothing wrong with any of these responses but they do conjure a rather scary and old school image of the presenter behind his lectern with a hideous pointing device.  Terribly formal and stiff.

Here are my answers.

When?
Just about all the time in business.  We should always be presenting ourselves and our thoughts in an organised way.  Or we can ramble.

Where
Anywhere that suits.  I love those presentations in restaurants when the waiters tell you all about the dish of the day – ‘itsa bootiful siya bass cooked inna garlic anda coriander with shallots inna white-a-wine-a sauce’.  Magnificent.  I have seen and done perfectly good presentations in pubs, trains, taxis and even on the telephone.

Who
Anyone who is likely to benefit from our communication – it’s as wide as that.

Anytime, anyplace and anyone is my motto.  Forget about the lectern and lets start communicating in an organised way all the time.

So this is why we should bother?

1) Presentations are great for starting a process – they are not the process in themselves of course.
2) We can do them all the time, anywhere and with anyone.
3) When we do them right they’re great fun for everyone involved.
4) They don’t need an enormous amount of time and effort to get right.
5) Keep that sense of perspective.

Have fun.