When presenting it is helpful to appreciate that our attention spans have been dramatically reduced by the immediate gratification provided by smart phones & Social Media.
This will surely have an impact on your choice/method of delivery.
Try not to dwell unnecessarily long on points and occasionally have the confidence to get straight to the point.
When negotiating don't try to eliminate conflict, but instead ensure that it doesn't waste peoples' energies or destroy valuable relationships.
When you are selling ideas in a new business pitch or presentation, the audience must buy you first
Albert Einstein is credited with saying ( and I wholeheartedly agree ) ; " if you can't explain it simply enough, then you probably don't understand it well enough "
Too many words on a screen or visual aid can become a distraction for an audience.
The average person reads 7 times faster than you can speak, so try to ensure you are not seen to be continually repeating yourself.
When delivering a presentation or conducting training, please remember the mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled
When it comes to listening, the most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't being said.
In today's cosmopolitan & multi-cultural world, more & more we are being asked to present to audiences who's first language is not English. When interacting with people who speak English as their second language you might try these helpful ideas:
- Speak (conversationally) at slower rate to give the audience a chance to interpret & process what you are saying to them.
- Visuals can help with understanding. Often folk can see visually or read English better than they speak it.
- Avoid jargons, local expressions, or short-cut descriptors.
- The use of Body Language ( e.g. Eye Contact or Gestures ) can help with descriptions or be a guide to how well you are being understood.
- Please be aware of cultural differences and preferences.
If you are negotiating with a client or supplier and that you tell them that you would be willing to pay between $500 - $750 for their good or services, you are likely to pay the higher price.
Use concrete numbers instead of a range.
I'm convinced that giving a good talk is highly coachable. In a matter of hours a speaker's content and delivery can be transformed from muddled to mesmerising.
It's never too late to learn.
Do I put my offer on the table first, or not?
One of the best negotiation strategies is to seize control of the bargaining table. It helps set the initial terms in a negotiation.
Research by Microsoft shows that concentration begins to fray about 30-40 minutes into a virtual meeting. That stress continues to increase as the meeting goes longer.
Remember the two most important parts of your presentation are the beginning and the end
The intro sets the stage for the rest of the presentation and gives your audience a reason to care.
Your conclusion determines what parts of your talk people will walk away with and how they will feel about your presentation overall.
When negotiating online, consider scheduling a series of shorter, frequent meetings. It might actually facilitate progress and navigate obstacles, and it's often easier to schedule lots of shorter chunks of time than one longer one (e.g. half of a day)
Approach online collaboration as a distinctive way of working that offers unique benefits. Let's get beyond using it as a substitute for face to face communication opportunities.
Win-Win outcomes are actually incredibly difficult to achieve in most commercial business situations. Common sense therefore suggests that one of the best things you can do is to weigh your desired result with the importance of preserving a positive relationship
If you have a client who FaceTimes you regularly with no warning or insists on Zoom or Teams meetings, it is totally ok to decline and suggest a call instead
A great presentation gives smart ideas an advantage
Anger can be an effective negotiating tool, but only as a calculated act, never as a reaction
Don't bargain yourself down before you get to the table.
The best speakers make presentations look effortless precisely because they put so much time into perfecting the delivery. If you rehearse effectively it will pay off more than you can ever imagine.
Sales people who close more deals than their colleagues might work a little smarter & harder, but what often casts them apart are a number of unique approaches to attitude, confidence and enthusiasm. Research suggests that successful closers:
- believe in what they sell
- constantly focus on the client's needs
- speak in terms of value
- accentuate positive messaging & keep out negative influence
- are patient
Body language is the use of physical behaviours, expressions and mannerisms that communicate non-verbally. They are often done instinctively rather than consciously. You are continuously giving and receiving wordless signals, so it pays to try to match your body language to the words and the intent you wish them to deliver when communicating.
An Elevator Pitch is a brief, persuasive speech that you can use to sprout interest in you, or what your organisation does. A good elevator pitch should last no longer than a short elevator ride of 20-30 seconds, hence the name. Successful ones are interesting, memorable & succinct.
Public Speaking is mankind's greatest fear and is widespread across all ages, demographics and levels in any organisation. Some nerves are actually useful, but with preparation & persistence and understanding why you get nervous, you can go a long way to conquering your fears.
A key issue with virtual presentations is that most of us will never be fully satisfied with how we look or sound on camera. It’s the nature of the beast. Once your presentation starts, don’t obsess over your appearance or get sucked into watching yourself on screen.
In sales negotiations, customer price objections can be seductive. You need the sale and the customer is giving you an easy way to close it: offer a discount. However, there are two essential reasons for resisting the objections and sticking closely to your price:
1. Closing the sale means nothing if it is not profitable. Typically profitability is a more realistic way of measuring success than sales volume or share.
2. The most satisfied customers in a sales negotiation are the ones who pay 'the right price' because they both see & appreciate the value of their investment
Sales negotiations in tough times are sensitive discussions & no-one undervalues the need for business cashflow. If you are too willing to reduce your price to win the sale, it might have highly negative longer term consequences for your brand & its perceived value when the good times return.
Virtual Communication is becoming the new normal.
You now will be doing many more:
Job Interviews
Presentations
Pitches
High stakes meetings &,
Networking
in a virtual setting. Effectively prepare for & manage every nuance of Virtual Communication to ensure you consistently maximise your presence, confidence & credibility & you'll be at the front of the curve.
Now that our meetings & training move towards becoming more digital, don't let the value fall between the cracks. Since the Coronavirus hit, Zoom application downloads have increased 1270% (17.19 million downloads)
As many people are forced to, or choose to work remotely, this might spur an unnaturally rapid development of more remote education practices globally.
Trainers, businesses & institutions must certainly revisit ' what gets delivered & how'. Please appreciate that now is not the right time to be evaluating & deciding on the efficacy of on-line v classroom learning. You'll be making your decisions based on a more biased or short term set of reasons/data driven by your Covid experiences.
Whilst I lean towards a more blended form of delivery, be aware that rushing into a totally on-line solution might not suit all types of learning, & may diminish many of the benefits of bringing people together
Meeting & presenting virtually is challenging. Especially in those longer sessions when either:
No visuals are used, or,
The host or presenter shares deck of slides and proceeds to disappear whilst reading them out word for word.
People generally have short attention spans & virtual communication requires greater focus & concentration on the part of the attendees.
A key tool for success is Structure.
Make it clear, operate to an Agenda - a short, numbered list that includes the topics, the order & who will do what. Maybe send it out beforehand & have the agenda items as headings on any slides you might use. Finally refer to it frequently as a way to maintain focus & control.
Small enhancements can make a big difference.
As businesses start the long road back to “normal” one thing that I’m convinced is here to stay is Virtual Communication. More meetings, focus groups & pitches will go virtual as people remain wary of being in a room with too many people.
Companies looking to reduce travel expenses, their carbon footprint & their employees commute times will need to rely on their peoples ability to be as effective presenting ideas virtually as they are in person.
The businesses that start investing in their peoples Virtual Communication skills will be the ones who further differentiate themselves in the "new normal".
Learn how to perform Audience Analysis for your speech or presentation & the different types and styles of audience you might encounter. The type of audience will affect your choice of language, presentation structure, the content of your visual aids, humour, opening sentences, presentation length, use of handouts, questioning strategy and many more of the ingredients of your delivery . You can also determine their level of expertise on your topic during the early stages of your talk & adjust it accordingly.
Think of using visual aids for the following reasons
- if they will save words - don't describe your results - show them;
- if their impact would be greater than the spoken word - don't describe an image - show it.
Think about using a variety of different visual images. Try using photographs, tables, diagrams, charts, drawings, key words, or video sequences. Be creative and deliberate in your choice of images to achieve the most impact.
After studying hundreds of presentations and speeches, I’ve found that the most effective presenters use the same techniques as great storytellers: by reminding people of the status quo and then revealing the path to a better way, they set up a conflict that needs to be resolved.
That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently — to move from what is to what could be. And by following Aristotle’s three-part story structure (beginning, middle, end), they create a message that’s easy to digest, remember, and retell.
"Challenge" means not always taking things at face value. It's essentially thinking for yourself. You must be able to make up your own mind, as opposed to believing everything you are told. As a negotiator you have the right to question the asking price of that new widget if it doesn't sound right or feel right. It also means you have an personal obligation to question anything you read on Facebook or see on TV. You cannot negotiate well unless you are willing to challenge the validity of another's position.
While being part of an audience can be really enjoyable when that is what you are expecting and desiring ( e.g. watching a movie or attending a sports match ); as a rule, people do not expect to be an audience member during business presentations or face-to-face interactions.
F-A-B Statements
The clever use of Features, Advantages, and Benefits can create compelling, targeted messages for your presentation or proposal. Read the following statements and consider which one (you feel) has more impact?:
Statement #1: “Our new Blade server includes the XYZ processor.”
Statement #2: “Our new Blade server includes the XYZ processor which is 10 times faster than our previous model.”
Statement #3: “Our Blade server includes the XYZ processor which is 10 times faster than our previous model resulting in increased team productivity.”
My answer is that customers often don’t make the link between Features and the resulting Advantages and Benefits by themselves. Each is useful, so pick the best one to help you and your audience reach the conclusion they are seeking from you.
Regardless of how compelling the speaker is, all audiences have limited attention spans. To become a more effective communicator, where possible & if relevant, make presentations and meetings interactive.
Ask the audience a question, encourage people to call out their thoughts during a group session or at the very least ask hypothetical questions to stimulate the audience.
Time spent considering your audience before developing your presentations is time well spent. It seems to me you should try to use their language, the language they use every day, or as David Ogilvy once said; "the language in which they think"
There's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas
New Business presenters; please spend a bit of time bringing the same level of creativity to selling your work as you brought to creating the work. Research suggests most presenters spend 95% of their preparation time on the content & very little time thinking about how they can best deliver it.
Meetings are at the heart of an effective organization, and each meeting is an opportunity to clarify issues, set new directions, sharpen focus, create alignment, and move objectives forward. Meetings effectiveness can be developed.
A 30 minute presentation doesn’t mean you will talk continuously for 1800 seconds. If your content isn’t better than silence, try silence instead.
Before you start, or you can complete a negotiation, it is useful to agree what you are not negotiating about as well as what you will.
One of the biggest mistakes a negotiator can face is thinking that everyone is interested in a win:win outcome. The more you can scope out the other party’s desired relationship with you after it is completed the more positive your outcome will likely be.
If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will. Be clear about your objectives and outcomes before you start pulling together your content & slides.
When being interviewed by the media, remember that ultimately you are speaking to that journalist’s audience; i.e. those people who watch, read or listen to that journo’s output.
As a general rule when negotiating, don’t give away all of your value without getting something in return. “I’ll do this, if you can do that”. When you give something away without requiring them to reciprocate, they might not see the value in your position or think you have exessive room to move or fat in your offering.
Most of us read 7 times faster than a person can speak. So why do presenters fill the screen with words then read them out loud? Unless it’s a quote, learn the art of sloughing off or paraphrasing and don’t just read it.
Public speaking is mankind’s greatest fear, although some nerves are good. They show you care. You can learn to control your nervousness and nervous reactions and to become a great deal more engaging.
The person who has learnt to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered a valuable secret of negotiating.
Empathy is not about being nice or agreeing with the other party. It is about understanding them. It helps us learn the position the other party is in, why their actions make sense (to them) and what might move them.
The best presentation is a conversation. If you’re too scripted, rely too much on your slides, or are too tense, your audience can’t connect with you. Be yourself, see what comes out; a little vulnerability can go a long way.
Whilst assumption is a major risk in negotiating, in its classic diplomatic sense you can assume parties in a negotiation are more anxious to agree than to disagree.
Your speakers are already experts in their fields. Their audiences need that expertise to be interpreted and presented relevantly with clear and authentic delivery.
Negotiation is not a magic pill. No single process can solve all problems. Aim to increase your success rate. Knowing when not to negotiate and pursue other courses of action is also important.
When you are planning your presentation be totally clear what your purpose is and start with a ‘big picture’ view. Too many of us start with too much detail way too early. Allow plenty of your available time for thinking and rehearsing.