First Level Leadership

Persuasive Presentation Skills That Work

Discover Persuasive Presentation Skills in this section

He was young and excited at the prospect of going abroad 

Finally, he had received a tentative offer for a good position he had hankered for a long time. The young face brightened at the cheerful words,but darkened again…. 

The only glitch that 

his presentation skills were about to be tested before a selection board. To communicate his knowledge to a bunch of hawk eyes was not a particularly difficult matter. But to impress upon their piercing looks, and questions, that they were to hunt with, proved a task almost beyond the power of this man.

but in vain; his presentation skills couldn't grab their attention. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, but when confronted by five stern-looking men, he froze. When he thawed, he mumbled the wrong things. He failed to obtain the position, and for a time he was almost hapless. 

But aren’t you wondering

how do I know about his failure? Because he was me. My relevant job experience didn't help me to make out a case for myself.

Was I a windbag?

No

Was I a silent man?

No

I will not hesitate to confess that the selection panel was probably right as far as I was concerned. However, that may not be the case always.There is every possibility that a competent man is ignored because of his inability to express and to leave a startled and impressive hush behind his opinions.

Who is better – an old windbag or a silent man?

The choice, however, is not always between a windbag and a silent man. Sometimes it could be between a first-rate silent man who has the ability to marshal his facts and present them well. It is under these conditions that the job often goes to the latter.

Here was a fact for me to think about:

I can converse quite well with family and friends, explain things clearly and logically to my boss in the office… then why shouldn’t I be able to speak in the same manner in front of an audience?

Isn’t the fellow with the “gift of gab" a good speaker?

Not necessarily… He may not appear to be sincere. Most of us are average in many things.

Why?

because we gather knowledge as we go along and, probably never study fundamentals of things.

I don’t remember the name of the player, who said it,

but it’s worth sharing this pearl of wisdom, “Once you know the fundamentals of each stroke you may lose a game but you will never play really badly."

Looking at the ruined presentation,

I realized that the shortcomings were merely basic and fundamental. In other words, once you know the fundamental techniques of presentation skills, you can never make a bad presentation. May be I lacked the fundamental knowledge of making effective presentations.

At the cost of sounding pompous

but how else can I prove that a " natural born presenter" is a myth?

Any average person with an average vocabulary can make himself a top-class presenter with the right practice. Therefore, you can harness this skill with repeated practice. It is well known that the ability to present well is one of the major factors in achieving success.

Cause of a bad presentation

Before you dive into the various sections of Presentation Skills, it is good to know the fundamental cause of a bad presentation.

Did you know

that eight times out of ten a presentation is bad because the presenter is a selfish man. I don't mean it literally; but I am referring only to the presentation skills.

Many presenters make a cardinal mistake

of forgetting the audience and thinking of themselves all the time.They want to speak well to satisfy themselves. If ever you have to make a presentation, here are the questions you must ask yourself:

What can I teach them?
Can I teach them something?
Can I inspire them?
How can I inspire them?
Can I entertain them?
How can I entertain them?
Can I persuade them?
How can I persuade them?
Can I touch their feelings?
How can I touch their feelings?
Can I educate them?
How can I educate them?

As a presentation investment,

sometimes using old fashioned methods, it is worth it. These questions will remind you to have a message for your audience and convey the same message with clarity.

It's the way to make any trumpery tempting

There has been enough presentation skills hokum on the net than almost any other skill. Therefore, I have not littered this section with ten thousand amusing stories, hundreds of quotations and dozens of speeches made by great speakers of the present or past.

It would be cheesy copout for filling up the section, but it wouldn't help you.

Next Step: Sign Up for the First Level Leadership E-zine and get access to good information without any fluff!