I recently sat down with a senior guy from a government agency. It was a bit of an off-hand coaching session. He had identified that one of his areas for growth was “marketing and communications.” I commended him for this because he recognized something that a lot of folks in IT don’t. That if we cannot communicate effectively, we cannot get anything done.
Later, I was working on a presentation that I was giving to a group of executives at another large government organization and it hit me that the process that I use may be helpful to others. Frankly, I see a lot of really bad presentations in corporate conference rooms. And it’s a shame, because it is such a lost opportunity to command influence, create champions in the organization and move things forward.
While there is a lot of stuff out there on how to give a good presentation, I think that we often don’t think of this in terms of internal, corporate meetings and discussions. Instead, we throw together “decks” that are just compilations of bullet points, but which fail to really communicate much of anything. And they certainly create very little influence or action. I believe that by employing three simple steps, you can instead have a huge impact every time you have the opportunity to stand up and present in front of your peers.
#1: Don’t Read. Present.
First, you must come to it with the right perspective. If you are simply going to put every piece of detail in the presentation and then stand up and read it, don’t. Just send it out as a briefing and be done with it. There is really no point in giving that kind of presentation. The participants in the meeting will simply be reading ahead of you and not paying attention anyway. On the other hand, if you actually create a presentation and then present it, it can be a very powerful opportunity to influence the direction of the organization. Don’t miss that opportunity. (P.S. The corollary here is that if you are going to present, then keep your slides simple, with few words and lots of graphics! Make sure that they are paying attention to you and that your slides are supporting and reinforcing your message – but that they do not take the attention away from you and your ability to deliver that message powerfully.)
#2: Prepare
One of the reasons that people tend to default to the “dump and read” approach to corporate presentations is that it is actually easier. Write a report and then read it. But if you are going to present with the intent of influencing, it requires a lot more preparation. And it begins with a question: “What action or decision am I seeking?” Every presentation should begin with a desire to achieve some specific and obtainable objective. The objective may be to educate and inform, but generally a presentation is much more powerful when there is a specific action that is required at the end of it. Otherwise, the presentation just kind of floats off into the ether and produces no real value. What action are expecting your audience to take? Is there a decision that you want made? Is there specific feedback that you need? Start with understanding this question and then prepare your presentation to tell the story and lead to the answer.
#3: Practice
If there is one thing that I think separates great presenters from the rest, it is that they practice their presentations. I always love the silly looks I get when I’m practicing. If I’m on-site and didn’t have a chance to do my practice run at the hotel, there I’ll be standing in a conference room or cubicle giving the presentation to myself. (And yes, I really do stand up and give it, complete with hand motions and voice inflections.) If I’m in an open area, I will literally be standing there mumbling it to myself. I am sure that it looks like I’m having a “Rain Man” moment. But practice is vital to delivering a powerful presentation that influences and creates action. Almost inevitably, as I’m giving the practice presentation, I find things that need to be changed on the deck or realize that I’m missing a key concept. Even if I don’t, having practiced it first ensures that when I’m live, it comes across smooth and relaxed.
As we enter the Quantum Age, every IT professional is being called to be an IT leader. A significant piece of that is being able to communicate effectively and to influence your peers to take the necessary actions. Hopefully this will help you on that journey.
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