Ok, I’m never writing about presentations EVER again.
Because Chris Witt says it better.
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I finally got around to buying Chris’s book Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint.
Loved it.
Not being a presentation skills specialist any more.
Here’s why.
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First off, Chris chooses some great quotes…
“Safety first has been the motto of the human race for half a million years but it has never been the motto of leaders. Leaders must face danger. They take the risk and the blame, and the brunt of the storm.” Herbert N Casson.
“Information consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” Herbert Simon, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.
“A confused mind always says no. ” Len Torres, Primus Design
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Then he says so much that’s true, in a pithy way.
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Here’s Chris…
On leaders
Here’s the paradox: Leaders have to be themselves at all times and yet, when they speak, they speak not for themselves, but for their organizations.
Leaders speak to make a difference, and unsettled times are when their words can have the greatest impact.
Their value to the organization isn’t in what they know; it’s in their ability to present what they know to people in a variety of fields in a way that can be understood and acted upon.
Leaders either stand with, stand for or stand against.
On PowerPoint
In all the times I’ve asked the question [What made the most powerful speech they can remember hearing so impressive?], never once has anyone answered, “I liked how the speaker used PowerPoint.’
On knowledge
Knowledge isn’t power. Communicating knowledge is.
On being present
When you connect with yourself, with the audience, and with the moment, you’re truly present. And that kind of presence, when you’re standing in front of an audience, has a power all its own.
On engaging your audience
Your audience doesn’t care what you know until it knows that you care.
I divide audience members into five kinds: (1) advocates, (2) supporters, (3) neutrals, (4) naysayesr, and (5) opponents. Generally speaking, you can at best move people one or two steps higher on the scale.
When I’m preparing a speech, whether for myself or someone else, I find this question – Why would the audience want what I want? – to be the hardest, most time-consuming one to answer. But if I can’t answer it, I don’t have a speech.
On keeping it simple
The bigger the words speakers use, the smaller the ideas they advocate.
Any damn fool can complicate something. But it takes skill and effort to clarify a complex subject.
On your message
It takes moxie to state your idea baldly.
You can’t say the important things too often.
On starting your presentation
Jettison the formalities. Don’t thank the emcee, don’t acknowledge the other dignitaries present, don’t apologize or waste time explaining how or why your time is limited. Don’t explain how you thought of the idea, unless that’s part of what you’re talking about. Just begin.
Don’t waste time on pleasantries. Don’t tell your listeners how happy you are to be speaking to them. Don’t tell them what a great group they appear to be. In other words, don’t introduce your introduction.
On presentation delivery
Delivery involves using your body and your voice to communicate your message. It’s more than technique. It’s about projecting your authentic self as powerfully as possible.
On Q&A
The most important question to ask yourself when you’re brainstorming what queries you might get is this: What’s the killer question that I most want not to be asked?
On fear
There’s another type of fear that rarely gets acknowledged. It’s the fear that wells up whenever we lay bare our authentic self. It’s a formidable challenge to go in front of others and take a stand, giving voice to the truths we’ve learned the hard way, not knowing if we – not just our ideas, but we, ourselves – will be accepted or rejected. No techniques or strategies are known to quell this unnamed fear. The only remedy is courage.
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SEE? I TOLD you.
All questions on presentations now go to
See ya. Off to learn flower arranging or start some other professional endeavour.
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Andrew,
Thanks for your kind words and for summing up my book’s main points so well. But please don’t stop writing about presentations. I value your comments and always learn something.
-Chris