Successful Presentation Skills
何经华
用友软件股份有限公司 总裁 (CEO)
What’s the purpose of a presentation?
Share information
Get people to buy in your ideas
Education
In sales, presentation is for the KILL
Objectives of giving a presentation
Why am I here to present?
Why the audience want to listen to me?
What do your audience want from this speech?
What do you want after the presentation?
How are you going to achieve the above?
What makes a good presentation
Audience take back the message you delivered
You get what you expected (decision, buy-in)
Interact with audience all the way
Audience remember you and what you said (key messages) for a long time
Raise a lot of interests and questions
Friendly atmosphere
Direct compliments from the audience and you feel the same way (Don’t cheat yourself)
Frequently made mistakes - Don’ts (1-3)
Slides do not reflect the latest information, terminologies and numbers
Confusing IT jargons & abbreviations
“I’ll get back to you later on” to high level management
Complex IT architecture benefits are not clearly addressed and understood
Competing time for talking
Frequently made mistakes - Don’ts (2-3)
Bad objection handling
Compliment competitors for no obvious reasons
Quote inaccurate facts and numbers
Mention the market share that is not in your favor (you are not #1)
Drop your voice during the presentation
Don’t use long sentences, keep sentences short and clear, paragraph for your audience
Frequently made mistakes - Don’ts (3-3)
Spend as little time preparing as possible
Try to make your presentation look like everyone else’s
Try to cram as much stuff on each slide as possible
Add as many animation and sound effects as you can
Why presentation makes you nervous?
The ‘Unknown’ pressure - questions will be asked, decisions need to be made, competition, audience reaction, surprises
Not familiar (no confidence) with the subject matter
Do’s (1-6)
Give yourself enough time to set up all the facilities (Murphy’s Law)
Have a solid backup plan - prepare for the worst, expect the unexpected
Memorize the names of the key participants
Practice all the possible questions that will be asked, especially the objections
Have a ready excuse for questions that you don’t have answers or you don’t want to answer on the spot
Do’s (2-6)
Write down your introduction and memorize it
Communicate one idea/point at a time, carry it forward logically and clearly onto the next topic
You have to know the facts and the subject matter - not what you know but what your audience want to know, learn to speak the audience language
You have to know your audience, use all possible channels for fact findings
You have to have ‘notes’ in case your brain is dead
Do’s (3-6)
Draw down all points/arguments and put them in order when preparing the pitch
Don’t get into details, a very clear big and complete picture is most important
Talk with, not at, your audience
Get the audience involved by asking questions
Be clear and concise
Reinforce your words with visual aids
Check your progress in selling each benefit by asking questions
Do’s (4-6)
Begin with an attention-getting opening - A quote, a strong point-of-view statement, a story or even a question. Avoid jokes.
State your point of view - Your point of view should be stated concisely within the first minute of the presentation
Disclose action steps and benefits - this will help your context and focus listening
Preview your key points and provide a transition into the presentation - tell the audience what you’ll be talking about and then launch into the presentation
Close with a summary - repeat your key points, benefits and action steps
Do’s (5-6)
Control your voice - proper use of your voice can take you a long way down the road to be understood, do not drop your voice at the end of your sentences.
Eye contact - it is the tool to keep your audience involved. For large audience, divide the room into sections and select individuals from each section to focus on. The less time you spend looking at people, the less effective you will be. Use the 4 second rule.
Body Language - don’t be too uptight about using gestures. Avoid using distracting or repetitive gestures that may draw your audience’s attention away from your message. Don’t point your finger, if you need to point, use your entire hand.
Use the Stage - take advantage of the stage and cover the entire space. Do not move too fast and too frequently.
Do’s (6-6)
Rehearse, Rehearse and more Rehearse
4P’s
Position
Problem
Possibility
Proposal
Examples
We are in Beijin and we need to be in Tienjin for lunch (position)
But the car is broken down (problem)
We can either fix the car, hire a taxi or cancel the lunch (possibilities)
We’ll hire a taxi at 11:00 AM (proposal)
In sales situation:
You need to show the customer that you know his position and
also you understand the problems, outline the possible choices
and make your proposal.
General flows: Introduction -> Position -> Problem -> Possibility ->
Proposal -> conclusion -> ask for sales (questions) -> Q&A
Hand-Outs
Handouts can add value to your presentation
Audience appreciate them
Your handouts reflect you and your company
Notes:
Your handouts need to follow your presentation
If you are going to give handouts after the presentation, tell the audience early on
It’s not what you say, but how you say it!
It is the presenter that makes all the differences
Presentations and demos are for the KILL
A canned presentation and demo will do
you no good - Don’t fit.
If the passion is gone, you should be, too
Presenting to Senior Management
Present with a sense of urgency
There is no time for ‘nice-to-do’s’
Do your homework
Show them how to do more with less ($$$)
Show them that you understand their business
Keep it simple
Make your main points obvious, big pictures
Provide specific analyses and recommendations
Be very patient when listening to the questions
Try not to avoid questions & concerns
Remember, this could be your last chance to meet with them
Talking technical when your audience isn’t
Determine the audience’s technology level before you speak
Put your audience at ease
Don’t be a techie-snob: do not use ‘It’s obvious’, ‘It’s common knowledge’, ‘As you all know’…
Avoid using jargon or acronyms
Use verbal illustrations
Whenever possible show, don’t tell
Before the presentation –
on the screen you can put a quote or saying that relate to the topic to draw attention and trigger thinking.
Objection Handling
SAP best practice
Your demo does not seem to fit our requirements
I don’t want to be the first for your new product
You are too expensive
Your consultants don’t have enough experience
Your product does not have certain features
What are five easy ways that you can
Capture people’s attention
Help them remember your key ideas
Connect on a personal level?
Rule of SHARP
They are called the . principles. . is an acronym that stands for --
Stories
Humor
Analogies
References/Quotations
Pictures/Visual Support
Stories
For centuries, story-telling has been a highly effective way to communicate ideas. We all have personal experiences or know of others’ experiences that can add humanness, depth and emotion to our messages.
Humor
Have you ever been in the audience when a speaker told a joke that was not funny? Not a pleasant experience for anyone. Humor can be a very powerful tool for connecting on a personal level. It can ease tensions in a room and stimulate greater attention. The best humor occurs spontaneously. It is about having a lighthearted attitude and looking for the funny side of things. Telling jokes rarely succeeds.
Analogies
It is a natural function of the human mind to compare, contrast, categorize and cross-reference. This function is what creates analogies.
To develop an analogy, ask yourself how the object, process or concept you will be discussing is like something else. The similarities could be physical, emotional or functional. To describe the feeling of making decisions in a rapidly changing environment, you could say, “they like trying to nail jello to the wall”. This statement creates a vivid mental picture and increases understanding of your point. Analogies are helpful in simplifying a complex idea.
References/Quotations
They are any independent sources of information that you can cite to support your points. They can be something someone once did, a point from an industry journal, an article in the paper or a clip from a movie.
References and quotations serve as handy memory hooks for your listeners. Why? Because they are likely to produce an emotional response in listeners. It is this emotional response that helps your audience to pay attention and remember key points.
Pictures & visual support
Presenters using visuals are perceived as more professional, credible, interesting and better prepared. People pay more attention and retain information better when it is presented using visuals. But remember YOU are your presentation. Make sure you are not upstaged by your visuals.
As Bert Decker always says, “people buy on emotion and justify with fact.” Using effectively will help you stand out as an effective communicator and increase the likelihood that your audience will support your ideas.
Stories-Do’s
Be brief. That means 30 seconds to two minutes per story
Use sensory language to help paint the picture for your listeners
Ensure the story is appropriate and relevant
Explain the relationship of the story to your message (unless it is painfully obvious)
Stories-Don’ts
Apologize before telling the story
Embellish with non-essential details
Prematurely lead and manipulate listeners
Assume listeners will get the point
Humor-Do’s
Smile
Balance humor with seriousness
Relate elements of your content to humorous proportions
Humor-Don’ts
Tell jokes
Make fun of any person, religious group, gender, sexual preference
Be disappointed if your efforts don’t produce belly laughs.
The intent is to add positive energy, not to be labeled a comedian
Analogies-Do’s
Use only one analogy per concept
Build the imagery and association between the two ideas you are comparing. Paint the picture of why and how the two items are similar
Vary the types of analogies you use and be appropriate
Analogies-Don’ts
Repeatedly use the same kind of analogy
Choose a complex comparison that makes it more difficult for listeners to understand
Get lost in the analogy and waste precious time
References/Quotations-Do’s
Be brief. Select only the most powerful portions of longer material, maintaining the context
Read a quotation word for word rather than misquote
Introduce your references and quotations
References/Quotations-Don’ts
Let a reference or quotation stand on its own
Paraphrase without acknowledging that you are doing so
Fail to acknowledge the source
PICTURES / VISUAL SUPPORT-DO
Make certain the words are large enough to see from the back of the room (go back there and check)
Use color to your advantage, it attracts attention and adds vitality
Have a back up, things do go wrong
Alternate audience focus between you and your visuals
PICTURES / VISUAL SUPPORT-DON’T
Use more than three bullet points per slide
Show more than you say
Talk to your visuals
Read your visuals to your audience
Sales Presentation
Your presentation consists of the items you’ve discussed at the pain stage. Play back the “pain notes”
Only solve the problems that were stated in the pain notes, nothing more. Don’t get creative here
Mr. prospect, did you see how that solve your problem?
Close: “What would you like me to do now?” If the client won’t say “YES”, make him say “NO”. Don’t take the stall, they will only think of negatives
Seven Simple Steps (HP)
Commit yourself
Analyze your audience
Organize
Think sight and sound
Practice
Relax
Enjoy
Commit Yourself
Do not Cheat yourself or your audience
Be articulate and well prepared
What’s in your mind?
Be concentrate
Be confident
Analyze Your Audience
What do they want to hear?
Relate your subject to your audience
Capture their mind
Organizing (1-2)
Set up Objective
Inform
Persuade
Entertain
Set up “IDEA FILE”
Idea comes from your daily life
Maintain one idea at a time
Organizing (2-2)
Structure of Presentation
Opener
Introduction (What you’re going to tell them)
Body (Tell them)
Conclusion (What you told them)
Close
Taking Notes
Key words
Visual aids
Flip Charts
Opener
Quotation
Question
Startling Statement
Statement to be opposed
Secret to Success
Knowledge
Attitude
Skill
Habit
Think Sight and Sound
Ecology Control
Seats arrangement
Lighting
Body Language
Volume
Dress
Practice
Check equipment beforehand
Don’t memorize, familiar with it
Practice in front of the mirror
Relax
Be yourself
Enjoy
Convince yourself
Enjoy making presentation
Finally ....
No one is born to be a power speaker, it takes a lot of practices, preparation and commitment.
Learn from your mistakes and people with good presentation skill.
Most importantly, develop your own style.
谢谢大家！
