Hello Folks! Welcome to Our Blog.

I loved watching Sesame Street as a kid. It was an American television show with Muppet-style puppets. Each episode had an important learning point for us kids, but we loved the show for its color, fun, and songs.

One of my favorite songs was the ABC song that ended. “Now that I know my ABC, next time you will sing with me”

Now this song always reminds me of the ABCD of presentations. A really smart pneumonic that will help you with the first few minutes of any presentation to get off to a good start and give you a lot of confidence to continue.

  • A – Attention
  • B – Benefits
  • C – Credibility
  • D – Address

Attention

“Not used as I am to public speaking …”

“Hello, my name is Paul Archer …”

“Uhm, okay, let’s get started then, okay?”

What do these three have in common? Yes, of course, they are bland, listless, and terribly boring presentations.

Your first priority is to get the attention of your audience, especially if you are selling and presenting at the same time. We do not have the luxury of time, so we must get your attention in the first moments.

Now it helps if you have done your circulation with the audience beforehand and have done some homework with the people sitting in front of you. This gives you some advice on the type of attention grabber to use.

I’m not saying you should tell a joke. Maybe you could, but make sure it’s a modest joke to show your humility and not embarrass anyone sitting down.

  • Share a quote. You can get thousands of these on the internet and one might qualify.
  • Tell a story or metaphor that will relate to the main points.
  • Ask a search question.
  • A call to action
  • This day in history. Log in to the History Channel website and subscribe to the up-to-date email service. It’s cool and every day it gives you something that happened on this day in history. You may be able to link this in.

Profits

Once you have their attention, joke about some of the top benefits or top benefit they will get from listening and maybe acting.

It may be obvious to you, but we have to think about our audience. WIIFM. What’s in there for me? Think about your shoes and share some benefits.

“What I’d like to do is give you some up-to-date tips that will help you decide your direction for the next year. These could give you a competitive advantage.”

Enough to intrigue, excite, and make people want to hear more.

Credibility

It is important to finish this part, if the audience has never met you before. Sometimes in more formal settings, the emcee will introduce you and help you build your credibility.

However, in most business presentations, particularly sales speeches or “beauty shows,” you really need to cement your credibility. Don’t overdo this bit. Don’t fall into the trap of telling them everything about yourself, your story, your grades.

That is the moment of zzzzz.

Instead, use a statement of reassurance. This statement should include your name and your experience in both the client’s industry or sector and your experience in dealing with problems similar to your client’s.

“My name is Paul Archer, I have worked with salespeople around the world for almost 20 years helping them earn their bonuses. For the past two years I have been helping companies like yours get better close rates for their key accounts.”

Direction

I love taking my three children on a car trip. My wife and I have a bet on when the first one will ask “Are we there, dad?” Usually my wife wins. So I reply, “Not yet, Euan, we just passed Winchester and will probably be in Nanas in half an hour.”

And they are happy for the next few miles.

Now someone gave me some brilliant advice the other week to help in this arduous endeavor. Keep telling them where you are and how long to go.

“Hey guys, we just passed Stonehenge. Can you see it on your right? And we’ll be at Nanas in 20 minutes, in time for ice cream.”

From that advice, we never look back and you can use the same idea in your presentations.

Tell your audience where you are taking them. Give them a clear direction. It is not an agenda. These are for books. Presentations need signs to tell you where you are going. At each intersection, the audience needs to remember where it came from and then where it will go next.

The best analogy is one of these property buying shows on television. My favorite is Phil and Kirsty doing “Location, Location, Location”. Just as they approach a commercial break, Kirsty will quickly recap the main points covered so far and a tantalizing one or two of what she’ll see after the break. This not only gives you clear direction, it tempts you to come back after the break.

And when he comes back from the break, Phil takes over and reminds him of what they did before the break and then further tempts him with the main benefits of the next 15 minutes.

Brilliant things and certainly worth repeating in your presentations.

So give directions and then constantly point your way to the end. And as you near the end, the sign that the end is in sight, summarizes each of your key points, remember the power of three: three main points at most. Quick questions; Never ever finish a question and answer session because if there are no questions you will come out like a wet squid.

Invite questions, solve these, and then reaffirm your goal and purpose and end with a call to action.

With the end in sight:

  1. Sign that the end is in sight
  2. Summarize each of your key points
  3. Quick questions: don’t end with questions and answers
  4. Reaffirm the goal and overall purpose
  5. Defined finishes – call to action

And now you know your ABC … and D. Next time you will sing with me …

Leave a Reply

Inapurrear.com
Recent Comments