I am always striving for the WOW factor!
The people with whom I work deserve that.

This weekend I invested hours preparing for a number of programs I will be fortunate to facilitate in the next few weeks. As I was pulling my presentations together, I reminded myself of something I read twenty or so years ago. A musician followed a particular routine prior to each of his concerts.  During the sound check he would walk into the audience and sit in different seats around the arena.  He wanted to see the stage from the concert goers’ perspective. He did not want to lose sight of their view or their expectations.

That struck a chord in me (pun intended).  Whether I am working with a class of twenty-five students, facilitating a workshop with fifty teachers, or keynoting for five-hundred people I have to provide them with value.  In short, I cannot waste their time.

In an earlier post on this blog (#36 How to Make Ideas Stick)  I passed along six points about making ideas sticky.  Today, consider what I have found to be the “have-to-haves” for a presentation.  Whether you are the person in front of the room or the person hiring the person in front of the room, I present two illustrative checklists as reminders that presenters/facilitators/trainers/teachers don’t ever want to waste the audience’s time.

Here is a shortlist of what NOT to do.  The INEFFECTIVE presenter will

*Talk to the screen

*Read the screen

*Kill the audience with too much of anything (PowerPoint, video, jokes, music, or sound effects)

*Lack voice modulation

*Show a lack of respect for the audience by not being prepared

*Brag about himself/herself

*Insult the intelligence or ability of the audience

*Show a lack of understanding about what the audience needs

*Leave people muttering to themselves, “That was the longest 60 minutes of my life!”

Video recommendation for the week:

Enjoy this spot-on (and funny) video about one example of what not to do. Following the video (below) I have a more extensive list of what to effective presenters do.

Let’s finish with the positive.  Here is a shortlist of what (generally speaking) the EFFECTIVE presenter will do.

Understand the session is about the audience NOT about the presenter

Connect/resonate/engage with the audience

Know his/her purpose for standing in front of the audience

Have a quality message and delivery style

Rehearse before appearing before the audience

Have practical material that can be applied by the audience—NOW!

Have material that is applicable to the audience

Create an energy for the room

Be enthusiastic

Know when and when not to use humor

Consider using a variety of delivery styles

Have a beginning, middle, and end

Use multi-media (as appropriate)

Encourage audience participation

Recognize people in the audience

Leave people exclaiming, “WOW! Can we do this again?”

I am always striving for the WOW factor!  The people with whom I work deserve that.

Enjoy your week—and H.T.R.B. as needed!

REGISTER NOW for my July 10, 2012 Quick Hits Webinar “P.R.I.D.E.: Five Choices for Life Success.” Click here or paste this link into your web browser: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/9q49d/register/1988162557099051008

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