Nothing sucks more than being reduced to presenting your ideas long distance. There’s no eye contact, little chance of rapport and no way to tell when and if you’re tanking. Add to that, the inability to know whether you’re actually being listened too or if your audience has long since muted you and are chatting about where to go for lunch that day.
Yes, it’s tough. But is it impossible to get your audience’s attention through a phone line? Absolutely not. Here’s Three tricks to getting and keeping their focus on you – regardless of proximity.
1. Work your opening. Most of us forget that the presentation starts even before we’re connected to our audience. From the materials you send in advance to the first thing they hear, everything has to be working hard. So next time you’re joining a conference call and the automated voice asks you to state your name, try spicing it up and instead of dully reciting yours, get them excited instead. “The person who’s about to blow your mind!”, “Creative genius”, “Guy / Girl who is about to make you very happy.” You can also use it to set the tone for the work itself. Offer up a little teaser on what they’re about to hear; “A dramatic showdown of vehicle versus desert.” Or “The secret to what mom’s really want from a cleaner.” Get the idea?
2. Be ‘emphatic and dramatic’. They can’t see your face, so you may need to be slightly over the top to get their attention. Bring out some bold, unequivocal statements about what you’re selling. Be absolute. Be challenging. Say things like; “Here me now – this is the single most (insert appropriate adjective) we’ve presented to date.” Or “I’m going to say this again because it’s incredibly important…”. How about “Let me be 100% honest with you, this idea will do (insert goal) for you if you take the risk.” You get the idea. The phone is no place for wishy-washy.
3. Script yourself to brilliance. The disadvantage of phone presenting may be that you can’t see them but an advantage is that they can’t see you. Now’s the time to use notes to make yourself sound utterly brilliant. But remember, if you’re going to use notes, they need to be written to be READ. Write yourself an actual script. Read it aloud. Hone and craft it until it sounds absolutely natural and 100% you. Only then will they be convinced that you’re an off-the-cuff genius. This is a skill that is so worth developing and will help you in all your presenting, phone, face-to-face or otherwise.
You can be the best stand up presenter in the world; fearless, rich with one-liners and blessed with an irresistible smile. But if you haven’t developed what I call ‘room sense’, you run the great risk of failing big time, and usually when the stakes are highest. Think of room sense as presenter’s intuition. Only this kind of intuition doesn’t come naturally, it’s the developed ability to constantly assess and analyze what’s going on in the room and then act on the data immediately. Sounds simple, right? With a little help, it can be.
So here’s Three ways to develop the kind of room sense that will make you appear to be a presentation mind reader.
1. Know the type. Everyone fits into an audience ‘type’, be they Drivers, Expressives, Amiables or Analyticals. Do some homework. Learn how these types prefer to be interacted with. Then it’s as simple as creating the right mood, content and delivery style to suit them. It’s like opening their pores as wide as possible to ensure your message sinks in. Otherwise, you may be inadvertently alienating them from the word jump without even knowing it.
2. Get your antennae up. The ability to walk into the room and read it as if it were an open book is the foundation of being a consummate ‘room worker’. The clues are in everything that happens from the moment you enter to the moment you leave. Read your audience’s words AND body language, continually take the room temperature, and probe to understand when and if it changes. Look for the little things – eye contact or lack of it, their small interactions, and how your mood and tone affects theirs. Then take the initiative to act on your revelations quickly and assess the results as you go.
3. Get serious about data. There’s no way you could possibly digest, remember and analyze all the interactions you have with every audience. But almost everyone fails to take notes on the nuances, insights, and a-has gleaned through interaction. What made the boss sit forward in her seat? What facts did you learn about who were the real influencers? What specific words seemed to get your greatest detractor nodding her head for a change? Commit to writing down every fact or observation that comes to you and then create a master file on each client. Before long you’ll be able to easily map the appropriate presentation style to their preferences and be far more successful!
416.604.0000
info@threetraining.com
Hey Bob – thanks for the, ummm, tempered approval *LOL*. Glad you liked some of my thinking. Of course this just challenges me to come... 35 days 2 hours ago
Some great reminders! Thank you for the ideas and insight! The first two are more “eh…” everyone knows stuff, but that last... 35 days 3 hours ago
Great article, Leslie! I’m often on camera for short stints and always looking to improve my delivery. Great points, I will definitely keep... 165 days 22 hours ago
“Leslie is absolutely one of the game-changers. Her expertise and understanding of the creative process is top notch, but the even greater value is in passion and creativity she will ignite in your people and the impact it will have on your organization.” - Mark Ferrier, President, TraffikGroup
"The 2-day session that Leslie delivered to the Pepsico marketing department was one of the best training sessions I've been part of. The content was mind-opening, practical, and useful, and Leslie's ability to engage the crowd was second-to-none. Feedback from the other attendees was off the charts. I would work with Leslie again in a heartbeat.” - Logan Chambers, Marketing Manager – Quaker Bars, Pepsico
“Leslie has reinvigorated one of our existing workshops and transformed it from a good mid-level experience to, as one participant stated, a “mastery level course”. Moreover, her dynamic and enthusiastic teaching style has made her one of our top rated instructors.” - Mark Liebert, Senior Director, Association of National Advertisers (ANA) School of Marketing
“I don't know how Leslie does it, but I've seen the results. Our people are more confident, better presenters and better at selling the work. I have to admit, like all Creatives, I was skeptical about a presentation training course that would be right for Creatives. But Leslie really gets it.” - Judy John, CEO, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett
"Leslie Ehm is amazing, seriously impactful and a huge asset to anyone who comes into contact with her. We are happy to call her a partner." - John Minty, CFO, Venables Bell & Partners
"Leslie Ehm is the marketing industry's best kept secret. Her enthusiastic, yet powerful approach and unique ability to motivate professionals to understand that the client/agency dynamic is most successful when viewed as a partnership is invaluable to anyone who wants to take their business to the next level. Her highly effective and inspiring workshop will have your entire team ready, and willing, to move mountains." - Nancy Modrcin, Mattel Canada
"It made all the difference for a successful learning event to have Leslie Ehm’s massive enthusiasm combined with her keen and personally relevant insight into our industry." - Karen Tilley, SVP, Dir. Account Management, Leo Burnett
"The only way to describe Leslie is "dynamite!" She gets participants to truly look into their core, push themselves, take risks, and do it all in front of a crowd. And then she leaves them with the sense that "I can do anything!”. People like Leslie are a rare breed." - Trina Boos, founder, Ad Lounge, and President, Boost Agents
"Leslie Ehm doesn’t just ‘get it’ – she’s actually done it. And she brings all of her experience, passion and smart teaching to every workshop. My team didn’t want the sessions to end!" - Ron Tite, Creative Director, Sharpe Blackmore
"Leslie Ehm has been a fantastic addition to our learning and development programming. She has a natural gift of being able to take an accurate pulse of your organization, where it is and where you are trying to take it. Beyond delivering very thoughtful off-the-shelf programs that really get to the heart of key issues, Leslie is consistently insightful and innovative in providing suggestions and solutions for how she can partner on customized programming and follow-up that really can change the game." - Ellen Nearman, Director, Talent, Organic Inc.
"We thought we were pretty good at both the creative process and presenting our ideas. That was until we invited Leslie Ehm into our agency. Her training and approach is being embraced throughout the agency, resulting in even better work. I highly recommend her." - Tony Chapman, CEO, Capital C
"Idea Noise was fantastic and thought provoking." - Joe Rand, Director of Marketing, Disney Cruise Lines
"Stand & Deliver was one of those experiences that make an indelible impact. The skill with which Leslie Ehm addressed each person and created individualized development strategies was impressive. The transformation was evident in the room and in the way we now think and interact as a team." - Larry MacEachern, Sr. VP, Managing Partner, Color
“I was stunned by the amount of learning, value and the effectiveness of Leslie’s training. She is such a pro, personally invested into every conversation: advising, teaching, providing input, making sure it all sinks in. It's intense, powerful, eye-opening and you can expect to apply it to your job the next day.” - Gene Jigota, Owner & Principal Consultant, TSBC Consulting Inc.
"I walked away with a tangible and effective system for idea generation. It's gold - a formula that can transform anyone into an 'idea alchemist'." - Lindsey Leese, Director, Second City
“We used Three Training for a client training program and Leslie Ehm was fantastic. She is knowledgeable, engaging and creative in her approach. Leslie is right - good things do come in Three." - Tom Hendrikson, Chief Breakthrough Officer, Sixsense Inc.
"There is a lot of training out there, but not much that focuses specifically on creative challenges. Leslie Ehm gets it. She speaks from years of experience and can offer valuable relevant feedback. She has helped reignite the team’s creative spark and I look forward to re-engaging her in the future." - Joel Trojanowski, Creative Director, Armstrong Partnership
"Leslie is an inspiring instructor - she puts her head and heart into really understanding what will make the biggest difference with students and then she puts everything she's got into crafting a learning experience that delivers beyond expectations. As program director at ICA I've worked with a lot of instructional consultants, and Leslie is a top professional from start to finish." - Suzanne Filiatrault Director of Professional Development, Institute of Communication Agencies
"Leslie Ehm creates and customizes a training regimen that speaks to every individual involved, and from several different perspectives. In a matter of seconds, she is able to formulate the lay of the land, immediately analyze and identify with the group she is training and deliver exactly the program necessary." - Linda Cunningham, VP, Green Apple Children’s Centre Inc.
"When my creative team was stuck for the next big yummy idea, we went to Leslie and Three Training for ideation facilitation and came away with tons of delicious ones. My only issue is that she still won’t give me a family discount!" - Erica Ehm, CEO, publisher YummyMummyClub.ca
"All too often the feedback after a training session is muted and minimal, but in this case it was energized and uniformly positive! More importantly, our staff have begun using the techniques with great success…I can confidently say that our agency could not have put our training dollars to better use and that we will be working with Leslie Ehm again in the near future." - Jeff Plotnikoff, Director, Human Resources, Armstrong Partnership