“Coach’s Forum” is a place in which you can ask your questions, tell your stories or give your opinions on any aspect of practice management. For each column, George selects the most interesting and relevant comments from readers and offers his advice. Our objective is to build a community of people with a common interest in making their financial advisory practices as effective as possible.
Advisor says: Part of my marketing strategy this year is to build a stronger profile in my community through public speaking – at local events, charities, Rotary meetings, networking groups and so on. I enjoy presenting to groups, but I confess that my past presentations haven’t always had the impact I’d hoped. I’m not sure if I was nervous or just not adequately prepared.
I have heard you speak at several conferences and am hoping you can give me some tips. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Coach says: i firmly believe that speaking in public is one of the most effective ways to raise your community profile – provided you are reasonably good at it. You don’t have to qualify for the Speakers’ Hall of Fame, but you must be able to deliver relevant content in a confident manner that leaves the audience thinking about (and, ideally, acting on) what you’ve said long after the event is over.
If the audience doesn’t find your presentation both informative and engaging, you risk damaging your reputation rather than enhancing it. To avoid having that happen, here are five tips for effective presentations:
– Know your audience
Although you may think you gave a great presentation, unless the audience agrees with you, it won’t matter. To understand what your audience might expect from you, first determine who they are – age, occupation, gender mix, beliefs, biases, commonalities, and so on. With that information, try to ascertain what the members of your audience need to learn – and what they already know. Don’t waste your time, and theirs, by repeating something they’ve heard before.
To learn about an audience, I always ask event organizers: “What would be the best possible outcome of my presentation?”
I also ask if there are entrenched attitudes, interests or policies that I need to respect or controversies that I should avoid.
– Organize your content
I always prepare an outline to ensure there is a proper sequence to my material so listeners can follow my logic.
I confess to being guilty of wanting to tell audiences everything I know about a subject. However, I’ve learned that you don’t need to include every detail of your topic to deliver an effective presentation. Depending upon the time available, I try to keep my material down to a few key points that I think my audience will retain because those points are meaningful and relevant to them. If my presentation is good, people will ask questions to learn more.
I’ve also learned that it’s important to start and end strongly. There is a natural desire to want to reveal your insights slowly as you build to your powerful conclusion; however, if you fail to capture people’s attention at the start, they may lose interest early and not be listening by the time you make your most powerful statements.
That’s why I often begin my presentation with a shocking statistic or provocative question that identifies a serious problem that, if ignored, will have significant negative implications for the audience.
To build anticipation and keep everyone engaged, I assure my audience that there is a solution that will be exposed through the presentation.
At the end, I try to leave my audience with a vision of what their world will look like when the problem I described is addressed.
– Deliver with confidence
Even if I have the world’s best content, it can fall flat if my presentation style contradicts the message.
If I am imploring people to take action on something that’s important to them, I’d better exhibit energy and confidence in my delivery.
There are steps you can take to build confidence. You have an advantage in that you enjoy speaking in front of groups; however, many people do not.
Know your content. Don’t attempt to present something you just learned the night before. Know your material well enough to answer questions. If you don’t have the answer to a question, admit it, then commit to finding the answer.
Practise. Don’t memorize your presentation, but be so familiar with the content that you’re able to speak fluently and comfortably.
Test your timing. End your presentation on time or even a little early to allow for questions. Exceeding your allotted time can disrupt the event schedule and inconvenience everyone.
Welcome questions. People are much more likely to trust what you say and respect your message if you let them clarify what they think they are hearing.
Keep visuals simple. Don’t use too many pictures, charts or animations. Summarize only a few key points on each slide. You can have lots to say regarding each slide, but don’t put your whole presentation on PowerPoint.
Don’t read your slides. People can read for themselves – and faster than you can speak. Augment what your audience can see on the screen with insight and examples.
– Manage the environment
Although much of a venue’s setup and environment will be beyond your control, there are things you can do to reduce potential risks to your presentation.
Check out the room in advance. Being familiar with the room’s layout and equipment not only builds confidence, it helps you to identify potential sources of risk. Can you access your material easily? Does the microphone reach where you want? Can you move the podium? How are the lights controlled? If there is a stage, stand on it as if you were presenting.
Do your own setup. Don’t assume those in charge will have everything ready the way you want it. Check the setup yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for reasonable changes.
Be prepared for the unexpected. There isn’t much that hasn’t happened at one of my presentations. Medical emergencies, equipment failure, power outages, fire drills, competing noise from the room next door, unwelcome guests, organizers asking me to cut 20 minutes off the presentation time, repetitive cellphone ringing – I’ve seen it all. All I can say is: be prepared, be flexible, be creative and go with the flow.
– Stay tuned in
Your audience will let you know if what you are saying is what they want or need to hear and if your presentation is effective. Nods, smiles or murmurs of agreement mean you’re doing a good job, even if your delivery isn’t absolutely perfect.
The biggest test, however, will be after the event. If people seek you out for more information or, ideally, want to engage you in conversation, you’ll know you’ve done a good job.
George Hartman is managing partner with Elite Advisors Canada Inc. in Toronto. Send questions and comments regarding this column to ghartman@eliteadvisors.ca. George’s practice-management videos can be seen on www.investmentexecutive.com.
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