The One Minute Presenter

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on April 16, 2012

in Influence and executive presence

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We have designed a one-day or two-day hands-on workshop that show leaders, managers and service professionals how to use, apply and combine influencing techniques

Influencing is :

Situational; you need to adapt your approach for different people at different times
Needed in combination; no single technique will work in every situation
Value based; you need to offer something of value to the people you wish to influence. No value. No influence.
A catalyst; influential people are able to get more things done quicker.
Dynamic; things change. A technique that worked last year may not work this year if everyone is exposed to it.

Influencing is not:

Manipulation; your intention and purpose should be as transparent and ethical as possible

The Influencing Matrix:

We have researched 15 key influencing approaches that have been tested to consistently work over time and across cultures. They are:

Scarcity
The Force
The Vision-caster
Walk your Talk
The Connector
The Rules
The Give-and-Take
Silent Allies
Do me a Favour
The Vulcan
The Coach
The Robin Hood
Dr Feel Good
Be Likeable
The Pharaoh

To learn more about The Influencing Matrix…

We conduct workshops which are tailored to your industry and leadership challenges. To learn more about how your leaders can apply The Influencing Matrix, contact Warwick at warwick@warwickjohnfahy.com or call on 021 6101 0486.

If you never fail, you’re not pushing your comfort zone enough.

Published

on April 3, 2012

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Effective leaders play a bigger game by pushing their comfort zones. This stressful cycle involves facing a zone of uncertainty, which once mastered, becomes comfortable. For each change, set three targets with the SAS acronym: a survival goal, an acceptable one and a superb target. A single target risks you feeling like a failure if it’s missed. But in reality by working towards a target, you expand your comfort zone. Remember, if you never fail, you’re not pushing your comfort zone enough.

Are you an influential executive?

Published

on March 13, 2012

in Influence and executive presence

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Key point summary:

A. Influence is the number one skill a high performing executive demonstrates

B. Leadership teams need to set and cascade the “story” behind strategy and change initiatives

C. Individual executives must be able to express the message in different formats and lengths

In John C Maxwell’s book “Becoming a person of influence”, he says that “if your desire is to be successful or to make a positive impact on your world, you need to become a person of influence. Without influence, there is no success.”

For today’s executives who project influence and confidence, this means getting more done through their teams. As companies move towards global and matrix organisations, being effective means less command-and-control and more encouraging, advocating and inspiring. The best executives are able to attract people and resources by defining and expressing a purpose. Much like Steve Job’s famed “reality distortion field”, the most influential executives can create an environment where people contribute more, are willing to see things through and ultimately care more about the outcomes.

Challenges are plentiful. The business world is fast moving and complex. Change is hard to predict. While it’s relatively easy to set strategy and announce a new vision, making this a reality takes much more work. The leadership team needs to play an active role in cascading the benefits of change and selling it to the company. Obstacles like resistance to change, confusion over the reason why change is necessary, reluctance to adopt new working styles all play a role in slowing down the implementation of important change projects across global organisations.

Executives need to play a more active role in communication. Today people are looking for a combination of management and leadership from their managers. To fully engage the talents, energy and commitment, a good executive not only delegates a clear package to her team but also articulates the “why” - the importance of the project to the organisation as a whole. Setting the context and connecting it to the individual project gives the team a stronger reason to buy into the project. It also acts as a guiding star for the team as they move forward and handle project challenges.

Degrees of separation reduce your influence. While many leaders like to think that the fact they said something once will engage the whole company to act, often the reality is very different. From my experience, working with leadership team very often there is no clear shared understanding of the direction of the company in terms of how the individual executives talk about it with their peers, subordinates and partners. If there is no shared clarity at the top, how can we expect middle management to be confident in expressing a consistent theme to their reports?

Even a charismatic CEO is not enough. People are most influenced by their line managers and while the CEO may engage his leadership team and inspire them. Unless these executives are also rolling down the same message, it’s impact is lost. What is needed are executives and middle managers who are equally proficient at influence. In large global organisations where a change initiative is planned worldwide this is essential otherwise all the effort into creating a strategy is lost once it drops below the leadership team.

Use this checklist to test how influential your leadership team’s messaging is:

1. Does the leadership have a clear vision and strategy for the next three years?

2. Has this message been refined and talked about so everyone is on the same page?

3. Is there consensus among the leadership team?

4. Has everyone agreed to share this message regardless of their personal resistance or objections?

5. Has the leadership team gone through a simulated media-style interview where they are put on the spot and asked to deliver the key message?

6. Can the leadership team deliver the key point of the message without slides?

7. Have the top executives committed to cascading the message to their line managers?

8. Acid test: If you asked five people in your organisation about the strategy or change initiative, how consistent would their answers be?

This polishing and refinement is often overlooked by leadership teams and executives are left to their own devices. This leaves too much up to their own personal opinions. Once the CEO and top executives have committed to the strategy, everyone needs to get on-board. By ensuring that their story is aligned, the change has a higher rate of success. How well are your executives influencing?

All the best,

Feel free to contact us at any time.

Warwick John Fahy and The One Minute Presenter Team

Speech Analysis by The One Minute Presenter on Ginni Rometty, first female CEO of IBM

Published

on December 21, 2011

in Speech Analysis, executive presence and produce your message

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Ginni Rometty is a very well prepared presenter with a clear structure and message. She delivers in an energetic and engaging manner and speaks in way that helps the audience understand her message.

You can watch the video of this speech here. [Tip: if you double click the video, it will play with subtitles in full screen]

Length of speech: Under 12 minutes

Here is my breakdown of the speech. The things that are great about the speech are:

Rapport building from the start
Framing the presentation
Let’s the audience know the purpose
Connecting questions
Vocal Pacing
Uses Taglines to deliver clear messages
Uses statistics and anecdotes to support message
Gestures add energy and impact to key messages
Rule of three

The areas that could be improved include:

Stretching supporting points to make them fit an idea
Fluidity

Here is my breakdown of the speech. The things that are great about the speech are:

Rapport building from the start
Started with a rapport builder about travelling in bad weather and the color purple. Good reaction from the audience. Great ice-breaker. Ginni also uses people’s names from time to time which is part of her personal style. It works to bring the audience closer to the speaker.

09:40 Ginni also employs a call back technique that many stand up comedians use. She sets up her point by citing the study mentioned in the opening.

09:55 Calls back the Drucker quote mentioned earlier. “the best way to predict the future is to create the future”

Uses ‘we’ throughout the speech to include herself in the challenges facing the CIO audience [Ginni was IBM CIO at the time of this speech]

Framing the presentation

This is a good technique which Steve Jobs would employ. Overviewing the talk in 30 seconds:

00:50 Smarter Planet is a Business Strategy, Why is it resonating?, A decade of smart

Let’s the audience know the purpose

03:10 How can you think differently when implementing. Uses examples to add credibility to what is coming with Eindoven’s pilot roll-out 70% pilot traffic, Tennessee Valley Authority - largest public utility, and Shell.

Connecting questions

A higher level skill which involves using a question to connect or engage with the audience [without waiting for interaction] and then delivering a key message or point.

02:25 And you may say, what’s so interesting about that? Except it connects….

06:00 But what do you guess is the number one inhibitor for growth? Lack of integrated information

06:15 As growth returns, what kind of growth? And that’s what I meant by pushing the boundaries

07:05 How do you go make a market? This is where I really assert…

Vocal Pacing

Clear and easy to understand throughout. Shows how to deliver to an international audience.

Uses Taglines to deliver clear messages
03:10 3 Observations
1. The New Normal “productivity while you grow”
2. Pushing the Boundary “through data”
3. New leadership for new economy “compliance”

Uses statistics and anecdotes to support message
Ginni uses a mix of data to support her point. She cites EIU reports, IBM studys, anecdotes, statisitics on CEOs changing position and also historical data referring back to past recessions. She doesn’t use slides and instead deliver short precise anecdotes to back up her points.

Example from section on The New Normal

05:20 Statistics: EIU report 90% of CEOs → focus on productivity. IBM study CFO 70% input to growth agenda BUT lack of integrated information

07:15 Example of health insurer using data

08:00 Statistics on 2,700 CEOs positions change

Gestures add energy and impact to key messages

Ginni uses gestures actively and throughout the presentation. Some gestures include:

00:50 – count to three on her fingers [although the third point was forgotten!]

01:00 risk and efficiencies using the ‘on the one hand, on the other hand’ gesture

02:00 ‘foundation’ ‘rollout’

03:20 Three observations

03:35 ‘pushing the boundary’

Like all energetic speakers, Ginni tends to over-gesture. In other words, many gestures are not linked to a clear point. In my opinion, this does not distract too much and does not detract from her message.

Warwick’s coaching tip:

Note the way that Ginni linked specific gestures to her key message, like ‘pushing the boundary’. This is intentional and most like pre-planned. After you have identified your presentations key message see how you can create a simple gesture to add impact to it.

Rule of three

Structure is made clear at the beginning:

1. The New Normal “productivity while you grow”
2. Pushing the Boundary “through data”
3. New leadership for new economy “compliance”

08:00 New leadership for that new environment and that new economy [repetition of 'new'] adds more impact

08:40 “Bold, open-minded and persuasive” is a good example of rule of three in a message

11:30 for conclusion wrapped up with three main messages

The areas that could be improved include:

Stretching supporting points to make them fit an idea

Ginni used an example of Kraft introducing a product just after Great Depression to support her point that leaders need to be bold, open-minded and persuasive in difficult times. The Kraft example worked but the others felt too stretched.

2001 while Apple launched iPod on 23 October 2011 after the 9-11 event that Ginni alludes to - this launch would have been in plan for months or years. In 1954, Texas Instrument introduced the transistor radio but it had been in development for many years and the bottleneck was around finding a suitable manufacturer.

Warwick’s coaching tip:

It’s good technique to find supporting evidence to back up your message. Ensure that the points you choose are credible and realistic for the audience. Avoid stretching an example to fit your piont. Try to find a point that matches the message. Ginni ’s message here was around leaders being “bold, open-minded and persuasive”. Perhaps it would have been better to find examples of individual leaders who took bold decisions in this tough times. Like for example, Steve Jobs saying we are going ahead with the iPod lauch even though the country and economy was in a state of shock. Getting a personal insight here would better match the point.

Fluidity

Having seen other presentations from Ginni, this one seemed just a little below her usual high standard in terms of the fluidity. At times it seemed like Ginni was trying to recall key messages and this made certain parts seem a little disjointed. But not so much to get in the way of her clear messaging.

Conclusion

A very well structured presentation with clear messages and energetic delivery. Ginni is a great presenter and you should certainly watch this video and her other presentations. This one was a little off-par in terms of smoothness but that it just a small quibble. If everyone presented in such an engaging and clear style, business presentations around the world would be so much better. A solid 8 out of 10.

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

“Warwick helps C-level executives, working in multinational companies based in Greater China, who struggle to get their point across and influence their key stakeholders. Warwick helps the executive project their message with confidence allowing them to express their opinions powerfully and gain respect from senior managers even when under pressure.”Learn more about who Warwick helps here.

Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world”.

Excellence in Public Speaking: A sprint or an Ironman?

Published

on November 29, 2011

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One of my hobbies is triathlon racing. I enjoy the mix of swimming, biking and running as it keeps training interesting and you meet a great bunch of people at triathlon races. Triathlon races come in different distances. For example, sprint, Olympic, half Ironman and the pinnacle of all triathlons: Ironman. These races can take an average racer from one hour in the sprint to up to 17 hours in the full Ironman. I completed the 2010 Ironman China regarded as one of the toughest races on the Ironman circuit due to the extreme heat of around 35 degrees.

As with any endurance sport, the race is really a race of two; you against yourself. Depending on your current fitness levels you need to choose your race carefully. If you are new to the sport, it makes sense to start with a sprint or Olympic distance race. If you are already a solid marathon runner or long distance biker, you could start training for an Ironman.

We can use the metaphor of triathlon to help you become a better public speaker. If career progression is important to you, public speaking needs to be a core skill you develop over time. Here are three ways public speaking is similar to triathlon:

It’s a race. Choose your race. Learn how to race.

To succeed in triathlon you need to know about swimming, cycling, running, how to transition from one discipline to another, managing nutrition in longer races and understanding what equipment will give you the most bang for your buck. In public speaking you also need to combine competency in these various disciplines:

Know your “stuff”: Understand your content inside and out without the need to look at notes.

Shape a Madison Avenue or Hollywood message: Learn techniques from the masters of messaging so that your presentation has a clear, memorable message.

Rehearse like an actor: Dedicate sufficient time to focus more on your delivery than on your content. Dress rehearsing should take at least 60% of your preparation time. Most business presenters spend only 5-10% in real rehearsal.

Deliver like performer and entertainer: Understand that in a world of shortening attention spans, simply delivering information does not result in a change of behaviour. If you are intending to influence your audience you need to understand techniques that create a more engaging and entertaining experience for them.

Handle questions like a media professional: Most people are apprehensive about the Q&A session. As a senior manager you need to be always ready to step up and handle even the most challenging of questions. In fact, you should develop this ability so it becomes your most favourite format.

Success depends on how well you know your “race”. Become familiar with the components of public speaking and start to master them one-by-one.

Choose your intensity level

Every triathlete decides how hard they race. For example:

Just to finish in one piece
Win your age group [amateurs are divided by age]
Top 20 in the whole field
Win the race

This concept of intensity also applies to public speaking. Executives decide how much time and effort they dedicate to improve their speaking abilities. We can see this through the Speak with Executive Presence Pyramid:

0.0 Ineffective
1.0 Competent
2.0 Influential
3.0 Impactful
4.0 Change-makers
5.0 Executive Presence

Executives operating in the “Ineffective” zone just want to get through the presentation without “dying” and don’t show any style. In the “Competent” zone, the aim is to deliver a competent presentation in line with their peer group. Not a stand out but above average. “Impactful” zone executives consistently deliver confident presentations and are “always ready to deliver”. They string together influential presentations. They are the go-to executive when a media interview is called at short notice.

The level of your intensity will dictate how far you can take your influencing abilities.

It’s consistency that makes you stronger.

A myth of endurance sports is the “no pain, no gain” approach. If you wish to avoid injury and perform over a long time frame, there is absolutely no need to put yourself through high amounts of pain in your training. When he visited Shanghai, two-time Ironman World Champion, Chris “Macca” McCormack told me that consistent training is the key to success in endurance sports. I need a target,like a race, to get motivated to train. The target of a race helps me plan and execute a training plan over, a typical 20 week build up for a key race.

With this target, I scour my calendar for pockets of training time. I find the energy to get up at 5am to get in extra training session, and sacrifice weekend time for a long bike ride of up to 4 hours. Just having the race in my calendar helps me become a better time manager. A 20 week build up consists of four phases:

Preparation; low intensity training with a focus on building up endurance.
Base; start to add in longer sessions and sharpen up technique.
Build; weekly focus on different disciplines and plan nutritional needs.
Taper; reduce amount of time training and switch to shorter more intense sessions. Think through race plan and on-the-day details.

When getting ready for a big presentation, you can take a similar approach. In our workshops we use a 16-step guide which can be divided into four phases:

Preparation; purpose, message and organisation.
Base; mastering content, flow and critical moments.
Build; rehearsals.
Polish; final mindset and on-the-day preparations.

Effective preparation is the key to upgrading your skills. Pick an important presentation and work on sharpening up your performance at each phase.

In conclusion

Public speaking is like triathlon racing. Both can be painful if you don’t prepare correctly, but are extremely enjoyable when you commit to improving your performance over the long term. The takeaways:

It’s a race. Choose your race. Learn how to race.
Choose your intensity.
It’s consistency that makes you stronger.

Further reading:

What is triathlon? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triathlon

Ironman triathlons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_Triathlon

SWEP Pyramid

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

“I work with senior executives working for multinationals in Greater China who lack the executive presence to effectively influence key stakeholders. While these executives are very smart, very knowledgeable and highly capable, a key piece missing. Their executive communication skills need polishing. I help executives build a strong foundation in executive communication so that they are able to better think, speak and act like a leader to set and implement strategy. Recently, we helped a CEO turn his communication style from being nervous and uninspiring into a more engaging, confident and purposeful executive.” Learn more about who I help here.

Find out whether your executive team is performing to the best of their potential with Warwick’s article “10 Warning Signs Your Leaders Lack Executive Presence”. Email me and I’ll send you a PDF version.

Warwick is the author of “The One Minute Presenter: 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world”. Warwick is author of the forthcoming book ‘Speak with Executive Presence in China’ . Now available on Amazon.com.

What five burning questions will your audience ask?

Published

on November 17, 2011

in Master the Q&A, You the Presenter and executive presence

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One of the most challenging parts of a presentation is the question and answer session (Q&A). Many senior executives get worried and anxious about this inevitable part of the meeting. In fact, I would classify any presentation that did not lead to questions being asked as a complete failure. The main purpose of any communication, especially at the senior level, is to move people to action. This requires a level of engagement from the audience which must include questions that deepen their understanding.

So as it’s an inevitable and desirable aspect to your meeting, why not get ready for it in the best most complete way possible. My mantra is “always be ready”. For those of you who were Scouts, remember the motto of the Scouts? “Be prepared”.

Here is a six step process you can use to always be ready and prepared for your Q&A. Applications include:

Presenting to senior management
Getting ready for a media interview
Participating in a weekly conference call with overseas management
Contributing to a business review meeting
Being on a panel in a shareholder meeting
Keynoting at a town hall meeting

Step 1: The burning five

Write down the five most important questions the audience wants to know on the subject you are going to deliver. Some of these questions will be recurring and easy to answer. But use this time to think about some of the tougher question you have been asked in the past. What questions catch you out? If you wanted to ask the toughest, most difficult question on this topic, what would you ask?

Examples:

Topic: Business review meeting

Burning questions:

How well has the research and development center been integrated into our global product development plans?
What steps are you taking to turnaround a declining gross margin?
How well prepared is the business for a slowing global economy?

Step 2: Trigger your bullet points

For each question, write down your answers quickly using bullet points. Write 4-6 words for each bullet to help you trigger a fuller answer. The skill here comes from not thinking about each question too long. Write down the first five or six bullet points that come to mind.

Example:

Burning questions:

How well has the research and development center been integrated into our global product development plans?

Bullet points:

Quick update on R&D operations
Outcomes from global R&D conference call
Pipeline 2012-2013
Manpower challenges slowing ramp-up
Opportunities we are not taking

Step 3: Make them mobile

Most executives are on the move and you need to be able to capture streams of time to help you get ready. For example, when you are on the road, waiting in the business lounge, taking a flight. These are all opportunities for you to get your Q&A ready.

If you are old-school like me and prefer to think on paper:

Print or write your questions and bullet point answers on some cue cards. Take one cue card for each question. This method works well because you can still work on them when you are taking off and landing. Also, you can move the cards around and see connections between them more clearly than working in digital. Keep blank cue cards handy in your briefcase.

For the people who like to keep everything digital:

Set up a document on your phone or tablet computer that you can come back to and edit. Scan through the questions and rearrange them according to the priorities of the audience you are addressing.

Step 4 : Polish to make them shine

Add, modify and polish your answers. When you have new anecdotes, data or ideas to share add them into the file. If you are using cue cards, you may need to re-print them every now and again. Carry your cue cards around with you in the days before the presentation. Read through them to refresh your answers. You can also keep them close to you in the meeting, especially a conference call and glance at them when a question arises.

Step 5: Flex your Answers

Rehearse so that you can answer each question in a maximum of 2 minutes. Color up your answers with your personal insights, stories and data. Remember most TV media interview expect answers under 60 seconds. Adapt your answers depending on the audience. Senior management prefer concise direct answers. Your company staff in a town hall might like to know more about your personal style or experiences.

Step 6 : Data-bank your Q&As

Overtime, build up a question and answer data-bank Whenever you get a good question, add it to your database. Ask colleagues to suggest questions on the topic you are preparing. If you ever get stuck by a question, add it to your data-bank. You will be surprised at the relatively narrow range of questions you get on any particular topic.

Conclusion

This is how you get and stay ready. As I tell my CEO clients, you need to “always be ready” so you are not surprised by questions. Use this six step process to become bulletproof in any question and answer session.

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

Can introverted executives lead with executive presence?

Published

on November 7, 2011

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The introverted executive

I work with C-level leaders to help them become more effective leaders by speaking with executive presence. We work on the inner game and the outer game. The inner game is all about the person and is essential to expand the awareness of self confidence of an executive before they then work on polishing their performance in the outer game. Today we will look at the inner game and especially focus on introverted executives.

I mainly work with executives from technical disciplines like finance and engineering and meet many senior leaders who tend to be introverted. One way to spot an introvert is in a crowded room, like at a networking function. The extroverts will be the centre of attention with a group of people around them being kept rapt in the conversation. Introverts tend to be off to the side, perhaps in one-on-one conversation. While there is not right or wrong here, being an introvert can get in the way of becoming an effective executive.

I have been called in to work with executives that were avoiding speaking in public, like at conferences or even at internal events. This limits the executives ultimate career potential in the long term, but in the short to medium term can impact the business. People look to leaders for direction. When a leader shuns public communication this makes his job harder. Successful CEOs like Doug Conant, former CEO of Campell Soup used to spend one hour a day writing handwritten cards to his employees which is an excellent way to connect on a personal level. That requires a real commitment which I don’t seen many people making on a consistent basis. At it’s worse, a void of communication is filled with rumour, uncertainty and indecision as people are not clear on the company’s strategy.

Here are three things to consider for introverted executives:

1. People judge you on what they see

Many senior executives believe that the quality of their technical ability, great ideas or strategic thinking compensates for their unwillingness to go and engage with people. Certainly they are assets, but for senior executives their main job is communication. Without communicating they are not fulfilling their primary purpose.

Doug Conant in an interview with Harvard Business Review said, “People are not mind readers. They don’t know what you are thinking as a leader, they hunger to know. They hunger to know you. And they are going to judge you from what they see, unless you tell them differently.”

This desire to know the CEO means that when you speak, people are paying more attention to the words you use and the way you speak, than when the finance director is presenting. That’s because people want to know, understand and believe in their leaders.

Introverted executives often send the wrong signals. Conant gave this example:

“And when I was in a meeting, I might be off to the side and look very unapproachable and what people didn’t realise was, was that I was very shy and was nervous talking to people.”

People cannot read your mind so if they see you being unapproachable, they assume you are unapproachable. If they see your presentation and you are not being articulate and clear on the company direction. They assume you don’t know the direction.

All executives can benefit from becoming more self aware of how they are communicating with the people around them. Spend the next week, becoming very focused on the words you use every time you are in public with people from your business. Watch what you say just before and after the meeting, ask yourself, “Will what I am about to say help clarify the situation.” don’t speak unless the answer is “yes”.

2. Self awareness leads to self expression

Becoming more self-aware is an important first step. Many executives hit a ceiling in their careers when their technical abilities can no longer compensate for their lack of presence and effective communication.

Introverted executives needs to face the situation head-on. Conant took the brave step in his time at Campell Soups:

“I’m just going to tell them I am an introvert. If you see me standing off to the side, don’t say ‘there’s Doug he’s being aloof again’, say ‘there’s Doug he’s being shy and I am going to bring him into the conversation’.”

If you feel you need support in getting ready with your presenting or managing company meetings or delivering at public conference, reach out to your line manager or HR director. Ask them for help. The impact can be immediate and positive, as it was for Conant:

“And as soon as I did that it was such a freeing feeling. The power of declaring yourself and telling people what was really going on. They were more than willing to engage with me in a different way.”

When you face up to the reality of a situation and tell people, two things are apparent. Firstly, you are now clarifying why you sometimes act the way you do. Once you have told people, they will immediately “get it”. Secondly, you connect with yourself in a way that builds your authenticity – another key competence in executive presence. There is nothing more powerful, more engaging and more convincing than an authentic speaker.

3. It’s never too late to change

In my practice, I work with senior executives who can range from their late 30s to late 50s. Sometimes I am faced with an executive who asks “Can I really change?” The answer is simple, you can change if you decide you can. Conant realised this after he had faced his introversion:

“Then I kicked myself that it took me until I was 49 years old to realise I could say that. I was so self conscious and nervous about it. It’s been incredibly freeing. The more I acknowledge that I am an introvert, the less of an introvert I have been. “

I have consistently found that when people face their problems head-on and work on improving them, great things happen. Shy executives have discovered that they can give engaging presentations to hundreds of people, and enjoy it. The people around them notice and their leadership is viewed in a new, positive light.

Conclusion

Whether you are introverted or not, these three lessons will serve you on the road to becoming a more influential executive:

People judge you on what they see
Self awareness leads to self expression
It’s never too late to change

This blog was inspired by listening to an interview with Doug Conant, former CEO of Campell Soup and Nabisco on Harvard Business Review. You can listen to the interview here. The section on being an introverted leader starts around 9 minutes in.

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

Five ways to know if you are a presentation professional or a presentation amateur

Published

on October 19, 2011

in Resources, You the Presenter and executive presence

. 4 Comments

Professional or amateur?

What is a professional? My key words are high standards, excellence, role-modelling, expertise, high status and remuneration.

The original meaning of amateur comes from the Latin root for love {amo} and used to be applied to hobbies and sports eg Olympian athletes had to be amateurs until the 1970s and today all boxers must still be amateurs. While it does have positive meanings, the word tends to be used more with “sub-par” and shoddy performance. Used as an contrast to professional performance.

I am a keen observer of business presentations, and have seen common behaviours that I think are amateur and should not be employed by business professionals, especially the C-level executives that I work with. If you are doing the following five things in your presentations, you might wish to consider the message you are sending your audience, and consider taking a more professional approach:

#1 You hit the microphone before you speak [to test that it is on].

The message you send the audience: “I have not done a sound check before the meeting and I have no concern at all that blowing or hitting the microphone sounds awful and looks worse. “

The Professional’s approach: You arrive early to the venue. You seek out the technical staff. You check the volume and sound quality from all the microphones. You prepare a backup microphone. You make sure that there is no feedback from the microphones when you move around on the stage.

#2 You run your presentation off a USB stick

The message you send the audience: “I didn’t think through the possibility that there would be a problem. Don’t worry, I’ll take a couple of minutes during the presentation to reload my USB and presentation.”

The Professional’s approach: You realise that it’s quite easy for a USB stick to disconnect, and that the most stable solution causes the least problems. You load your presentation onto the computer’s desktop. You test it by running through all your slides. You still plug in your USB stick as a backup. It’s there in the unlikely event that you will need it.

#3 You read from your slides

The message you send the audience: “I have done so little preparation that I don’t know what I really want to say, so I have written my whole script on this slide. And now I am going to read it word by word, even though you can read it much faster than I can say it.”

The Professional’s approach: You understand that text based slides are boring, dull and result in very poor memory retention. You know that the audience switches off when they see such slides. You rehearse thoroughly so that you have a clear message which each slide supports. You make your slides more visual - using pictures, simple charts and tables - rather than dumping data or cramming text. You prepare a handout if you need to pass on technical details or financial information.

#4 You walk across the screen while you are presenting

The message you send the audience: “I am so unaware of how this looks, that I think it’s fine to walk in front of the screen, stretch across the screen to reach the computer to advance the next slide, or even present with the slide projecting onto my face.“

The Professional’s approach: You understand that a presentation is a performance where you are in control of the stage including the technology and lighting. You use a wireless clicker to remotely advance slides. You practice with the clicker so you know how to use it. You are discreet while using it and point it at the computer - not the screen - when advancing slides. You ‘black out’ the screen when you need to walk across the stage so that the slide is not projected onto your face. You are in control of how and when the audience sees the slides. The slides support you and your message, not dominate the whole presentation.

#5 You finish with the Q&A

The message you send the audience: “I don’t mind the presentation finishing with low energy, or the final words being, ‘No more questions? I guess I’m finished then.”

The Professional’s approach: You know that the main purpose of a presentation is for you to deliver a message to your audience that they will remember, take away and possibly act on. You know that question and answer sessions often peeter out and are not a strong way to round off a presentation. You have prepared - and perhaps scripted - your close so that your key messages get reinforced and the audience know exactly the next step they should take upon leaving your presentation. There is a clear and motivating call to action.

About the Author

Warwick J Fahy

Where are you on the “Speak with Executive Presence Pyramid”?

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on September 20, 2011

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As you advance your career, the ability to express yourself effectively - in a concise, precise and memorable way - becomes even more important. Executives from technical backgrounds - like finance and engineering - can benefit from specifically becoming more aware about their communication style. Being able to adjust to different audiences is the hallmark of successful executives.

There are broadly fives types of communication abilities:

0.0 Ineffective

Unfortunately many executives have not addressed their presenting and communication skills and their personal brand suffers as peers and line managers become frustrated by the amount of time and effort it takes for them to convey a message. If complaints about how an executive comes across are raised on a consistent basis, urgent attention is required.

1.0 Competent

Over time many executives improve their communication to a competent level. They are able to deliver their functional presentations like technical reports and financial statements without too many problems. However, as they rise through the ranks more effort is needed to continually hone their ability. As the executives needs to deliver more presentations to senior leaders and to more diverse audiences, they need deeper preparation and rehearsal to effectively convey their message. If they do not work on these skills then they are in danger of slipping back into the ” ineffective” zones. At this stage many executives resist the need to address their communication skills and fall-back on their technical abilities - to the long term detriment of their careers.

2.0 Influential

Executives who are influential are able to shape a clear message and deliver it effectively to a wide range of audiences. These executives are most comfortable on topics closest to their experience. For example, finance executives are able to deliver technical presentations to non-technical senior audiences. Executives are regarded as good presenters and through consistent improvement and rehearsal are able to deliver to larger audiences and engage more diverse audiences.

3.0 Impactful

Executives in this zone consistently deliver confident presentations and are “always ready to deliver”. They string together influential presentations. They are the go to executive when a media interview is called at short notice. They are able to take complex messages and connect it to diverse audiences so that each audience buy-into the intent of the message. Executives with impactful communication skills build significant support from internal and external stakeholders and are invited to represent the company at public events. They have developed their communication skills to a point where they can quickly and effectively prepare and deliver powerful and memorable speeches.

4.0 Change-makers

When your organisation needs to articulate a major change, they turn to executives in the change-maker category of communication skills. These executives can build a case for the change by reaching out, understanding and shaping how the change offers opportunity for each stakeholder. The change-makers play a key role in creating, articulating and cascading the message throughout the organisation. Their ability to clarify, hone and sharpen the message is essential for any large company making an important change. Senior leaders need to advance their communication skills to this category especially when they are operating in a turbulent and dynamic environment.

5.0 Executive Presence

Executives who can speak with executive presence are a key weapon in a company’s communication strategy. Their value to the organisation goes way beyond their communication skills. Executives, like Steve Jobs or Richard Branson become the leading tip of the spear in positioning their companies as thought-leaders and premium brands in their markets. They attract the best talent to work with them and they can attract attention to even mundane presentations - like product launches.

Conclusion

Where would you position your communication and presenting ability on the Speak with Executive Presence Pyramid? Do you have a plan to take a step up to the next level. As executives get to the top of their technical silo, their communication abilities will dictate how much freedom they have to decide on their future career steps. Contact us if you would like to know more about how to ascend the pyramid. We especially help executives from technical backgrounds to become more influential and impactful in their presentation and communication skills.

About the Author: Warwick J Fahy

10 Warning Signs Your Leaders Lack Executive Presence

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