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Could that presentation have been better?

People tell you that you did a good job, but you’re not sure you believe them. You covered all the points you wanted to, but it felt like there was something missing. But what? In our public speaking class, we cover ways to make presentations memorable, a few of which are the use of flip chart drawings, anecdotes, and quotes.

Use a visual aid other than PowerPoint. Speakers sometimes use flip chart drawings instead of a PowerPoint slide. So what? We have become so accustomed to PowerPoint and seeing a computer screen every day in our lives. But a flip chart drawing is unique. There’s always a very quiet stillness in the room when a speaker draws a quick flip chart diagram on the spot. It takes a leap of faith on the part of the presenter, but it’s amazing how captivating it can be for an audience to see a human hand creating an image in the moment, as opposed to clicking a button and seeing a computer generated image appear. One presenter I know will prepare his PowerPoint slide deck, and then take out of one his slides from his slide deck and turn it into a flip chart drawing, blacking out the projector screen and walking over to the flip chart on the other side of the room. It’s a nice change of pace and gets the attention of the audience.

Another way to add impact is by including anecdotes. An anecdote is a short story, usually for humorous effect. It doesn’t need to have an underlying meaning. It’s just something that can break up a presentation, especially one that is heavily technical. The saying for Ronald Regan was that he had an anecdote for everything, and he did pretty well for himself.

Quotes are another great way to spice up a presentation. I’ve seen a number of presentations from a woman who commands attention by having her first slide be a quote from a philosopher, or other well-respected famous person. She reads the quote, which is a great idea. I’ve seen countless presentations that have an excellent quote, but the presenter never references it, leaving the audience to interpret in on their own. This particular presenter gives the audience an overview of how the quote relates to her topic at the beginning of her presentation, references the quote in the middle, and then ties in how her main points related to it in her conclusion. This is a great example of how to utilize a quote so that it will make a lasting impression on the audience.

Flip chart drawings, anecdotes, and quotes are just a few ways to make presentations memorable. The Fearless Presentations® class not only covers how to make presentations memorable; it also takes the participant through various exercises to put participants at ease, while delivering presentations with the key ingredients to make them stand out. By practicing these techniques in front of the group, the skill sets become engrained by the end of the public speaking class.

In business to business (b2b) sales there are basically two types of presentations. The first presentation is the capabilities presentation and the second is the proposal presentation. Understanding what goes into both of these presentations is vital to being effective in the sales process. In this article we are going to explore the capabilities presentation.

Before we get into the capabilities presentation, we need to understand the context of why this type of presentation is so important. This means we need to understand the buying process that a prospect goes through before they make a decision to buy your product or service.

In the buying process the prospect goes through four steps. First, they buy you. Then, they buy your company. Next, they buy your product. Lastly they buy the investment for your product. The capabilities presentation fits into the second step of the buying process which is buying your company.

The capabilities presentation is more of a generic type of presentation. You could create a totally customized capabilities presentation for large prospects where it is worth the time and effort. Generally though, the capabilities presentation will be the same for most of your prospects with small “tweaks” that give it a customized feel for each prospect.

What you want to include in the presentation is information about your company. In your presentation, include a historical overview, types of products and services, company vision, company values, and company philosophy just to name a few items. You will also want to include case studies. If you develop several case studies from several industries you can chose which ones to use that you think would resonate well with your prospect. Be sure to include a brief bio of your experience and expertise.

When you present your capabilities presentation to your prospect, the main thing to keep in mind is you want the presentation to be conversational. You do not want to dominate the presentation where you are the only one doing the talking. You want to ask questions that bring your prospect into a dialogue with you.

Some good questions to initiate a conversation are: “In what ways do you see that our values mesh with your values?” Another question could be: “What experience have you had with companies that are similar to ours?” In preparation for your presentation write down the questions that you would like to ask your prospect. Taking the time to prepare the questions in advance will improve the quality of the meeting.

In summary, your capabilities presentation is a key to earn the right to continue in the sales process. It helps you to build your credibility and the creditability of the organization you represent. Follow the tips above and you will be effective in delivering your presentation.