Presentation Techniques: In Praise of Informality

I’ve been introduced with fanfare, and I’ve been introduced with a kind of shrug in my general direction, as if to say, “Hey Sims.  You’re on.”

I like fanfare, pomp and circumstance.  But when it’s touting my resume and puffing me up to make me look important, I’m embarrassed.  I wonder if I’m going to live up to the inflated expectations being created.

I like speakers who are capable of disguising their preparedness with a cloak of informality and spontaneity. 

For instance, I just spoke to a guy who sells software to hospitals.  His favorite presentation happened a year ago, when he was alone with the entire C-suite of a major hospital chain—just him, a whiteboard, and the senior execs. 

He was drawing pictures, constructing diagrams, and modeling their IT infrastructure on the board, all the while answering questions and learning about their business.

It was a sales call, but it was really a chalk-talk. 

This guy is a National Sales Director, so he doesn’t need a PowerPoint deck or a pitch book.  His experience gives him the ability to make it look easy.  He knows his product, their business, and how to connect with them

A sense of ease is the mark of a pro.  Watch Tom Brady or Eli Manning in the midst of battle, and they look like they’re on a stroll with their grandma. 

I’m not saying that formality doesn’t have it’s place in presenting.  But a sense of ease that puts the audience at ease is also a powerful technique.

Sims Wyeth is a private speech coach in Montclair, NJ specializing in executive speech coaching and public speaking training in order to give accomplished people the knowledge and skill they need to become accomplished speakers. Learn more public speaking tips at www.SimsWyeth.com.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 1:31 pmand is filed under Attention, Delivery, Elements of presentation style, Presentation Skills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.