Presentation Show and Tell: Presentation Skills for Senior Executives

The “show” in “show and tell” presentations is slowly making a comeback in American companies. It is a development that should have been done a long time ago. Long, dense, dry text projected onto conference room screens across the country has passed too long for the “show” criteria of executive presentations. The more text and less graphics appeared in the presentations, the more the presenter was congratulated for having prepared well.

For the long-suffering audience who had to endure these presentations, there was little reward in the effort, except making it to the end of them, where expected, some signs of life could still be found in the unscripted question and answer session. .

So why did the coaches start to see some signs of progress? Why is shorter presentations with more graphics and less text becoming increasingly acceptable? Why is it now becoming acceptable to present ideas using some simple visuals or props, or even, on their own merits, no slides?

Call it the rise of presentation personality or just the maturing of that much-ridiculed but necessary business tool: PowerPoint. Maybe it just has to do with the groans emanating from each executive suite when word leaks out of another request to put together, or sit down, one of these old-fashioned presentations.

Whatever the cause, there is growing recognition of another more successful communication method available to executives; one best illustrated by the energy-infused performance-style presentations of dynamos like Apple’s Steve Jobs.

This new wave of presentation skills share some common attributes:

1) The public occupies a central place.

Good presenters wonder what their audience needs and wants from each presentation. Great presenters focus their presentations on those needs and wants and make the audience an integral part of the presentation. Start with what you know about the audience’s perceptions and assumptions about the issues you are presenting. What will it take for them to invest in something new?

2.) Without passion, without presentation.

Each presentation is an opportunity for the presenter to share a passion. If yours is about something else, a mere transfer of data, for example, find another way to get it to the people who need it (like hitting the send button). This is the difference between in-person presentations and other ways of sharing ideas. If people are going to invest their time and energy to come hear you, you will not be successful if you just “tell it.” You must show them your ideas through the passion with which you present them.

3.) Be visual.

Written text projected on a screen is not “visual”. If you use slides, find a way to represent your ideas that has real, instant impact. Never use text to “say” what a visual can “show”.

4.) Presentation is acting.

Don’t present what you haven’t practiced or what you don’t believe in. This is not acting. To present well, be fully involved in your material and ideas before attempting to communicate them well to the audience. Take your preparation seriously. And for God’s sake, get out from behind that lectern.

5.) Show leadership.

Your reputation for leadership improves or diminishes with each presentation. Try to hit a home run then, every time you are “on stage,” regardless of your perception of the stakes. It may seem unfair, but the leadership skills you demonstrate during your presentation are what will be used to judge your entire work. Even if you don’t have a leadership degree yet, your moment in front of people is critical in determining whether and when you will be awarded one. Think about what leadership looks and sounds like to you, and infuse your presentations with nothing less.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *