Presentation mistakes

What is it that causes that sinking feeling when you realise you're about to sit through another presentation? I've heard people blame PowerPoint: "It just makes everything look so boring". That's like saying all music is terrible because Jedward were on Eurovision.

But when people fire up PowerPoint, they copy other presentations they've seen, instead of engaging brain and trying for something better.

I'm going to attack a few sacred cows here, so you'll need to leave a few prejudices behind. But a lot of my clients have tried that and - guess what - found that boredom doesn't need to feature in any presentation. And when you dump the ennui, what's left is pretty damned persuasive.

Stop copying the Hibernian Malfoy twins and start making music.

At this point someone always pipes up "I was always told to tell 'em what I was going to tell 'em, tell 'em, then tell 'em what I've told 'em".

Great. I was always told that Santa didn't visit bad children, but I grew out of that. Let go.

An agenda makes your presentation look very long. There's also a danger of giving away the punchline before you've told the joke. Worse still, the bits that interest your audience tend to be right at the end. You might as well say, "I'm going to rabbit on about boring stuff now, so try to wake up when I get to point seven."

Here's a better agenda:

• Tell 'em what you're going to do for 'em
• Prove that you can do it for 'em
• Call 'em to action

Pretty short isn't it? So you don't need to put it on screen.

So don't

Not long back I started a presentation seminar with "Before I get started, let me tell you something about my company". I then went on to say that I started the company in 1922. No response. Even my kids don't think I look that old.

When I got to "In 1968, we received a Queen's Award for research into atmospheric fish", someone in the front row finally focussed and said, "Hang on a minute...". Up to that point, they hadn't heard a word.

Now tell me it's a good idea to start your presentation by talking about your company.

Who just said, "Yes, but people want to know who they're dealing with"?

Was that you? It was, wasn't it?

You're going to hate this: They don't want to know who they're dealing with, because they're not dealing with you. Frankly my dear, they don't give a stuff.

I refer to my shortened agenda above. Start with what you can do for them, then prove you can do it. If they need to be convinced further they'll say, "Can you tell us a bit about your company?". Now tell them all that good stuff and they'll actually listen.

Beware logic.

If everyone reacted logically, you'd win every sales pitch you make. And Jedward would be stacking shelves. But you don't, and they aren't.

Your biggest competitor is always inaction. Your proposition may be what they need, but they don't want it enough to go to the trouble of buying it. People buy when they want, not when they need.

Most of us accept that we need life assurance, but we want Sky+. So where does your sixty quid a month go?

Your sales proposition is no different. You've got to make them want your solution personally, not just establish a corporate case. So think about your proposition differently. Instead of thinking "They're an energy supplier, so I'll use my utility company slide deck", try "I'll be talking to the Sales Director, the Marketing Manager and the Purchasing Manager; what's likely to make each of those people tick?".

Pull out the results each of those people will see from your proposition and boredom will go straight out of the window.

Followed by your competition.