W2IFM

W2IFM – Stands for  What’s In It For Me.

We live in a world of information overload, there is just too much information being circulated and re-circulated for any one individual to take in. One of the strategies people have adopted to cope with this vast volume of information is to only listen to or read information which is relevant to them. In fact most people will only listen if the information and opinions being presented will actually be of used to them. Hence the question “What’s in it for me” (W2IFM).

Right at the start of the presentation you have to answer that question in an attention grabbing manner, otherwise nobody will listen. You then need to keep answering the question throughout the presentation, to keep people involved.

Presentations should not be about you.

Presentations should be about your audience.

There are far too many business presentations that spend far too much time talking about their company, their products and their services. Reeling off lots of facts about how large they are, how long they have been in  place, how much money they have made, etc etc, Most audiences don’t care, they are siting their think W2IFM, What’s In It For Me?  In a sales presentation stop talking about your products and services and start talking about how your products and services can be of benefit to your audience members.

Essentially, this is the same as the difference between a feature and a benefit., see article on FAB.  Lists of facts and features are essentially boring while proven benefits are engaging.

The only way you can tell you audience things that are of interest to them is to know you audience (See A for Audience), and put yourself in their shoes. Imagine going on a first date with someone who dominated the conversation and talked about themselves all night long. Would you really want to go on a second date with that person?

As you develop the presentation keep asking “so what?” , “why should they care about that” and “what’s in it for me”.

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Flip Charts

Flip charts and whiteboards are very useful tools when you are giving a presentation to a small or medium-sized audience. They enable you to be more interactive with your audience and reduce the pre-canned effect PowerPoint can sometimes induce.

Here are 10 top tips on using flipcharts:

1. Make sure all the pens have ink in them and write properly before your audience arrive.
2. If you have pre-created some sheets, keep them covered with a blank sheet until you are ready to use them.
3. If you are not confident in your artistic abilities, draw what you want in pencil on the sheet(s) beforehand, then during the presentation you can go over the pencil lines with a felt tip. The pencil lines will not be visible to your audience.
4. The same works for any text you need to write
5. If you have prepared a number of different sheets which you would like to refer to during your presentation, add a little tag on the bottom of each sheet so you can easily flip to the right page.
6. For whiteboards make sure you have the correct pens (dry markers) and an eraser before you write anything.
7. Don’t talk while you are writing, you are better to turn write what you have to write then turn back to your audience before talking about it.
8. Be aware that it is very easy to keep looking at a diagram that you have just drawn while you talk about it. You should look at your audience not the diagram.
9. Once you have finished with a sheet on the flipchart and starting to move on to a different subject, cover up the flipchart with a blank sheet.
10. To ensure audience interaction, give out paper and pens to everyone in your audience, then ask them to write the 3 most important qualities, aspects,problems,challenges or whatever related to your presentation topic. Then ask people to shout out what they have written and write them up on the flip chart.  This is far more effective than just listing the top 3 in your opinion.

Be creative – All the Best

Graham Young

http://www.businesspresentation.biz

Walking

When you have the opportunity, before you present, go or a walk on your own, this will help you clear your mind so you can concentrate on the presentation and the exercise will also help your body handle the flow of adrenalin.

In general, taking some exercise half an hour or so before a presentation will prepare your body for the event.  It will make you will feel more energetic and this will come across to your audience.

Presentation Training and Coaching is available from the author of this blog. Please visit my presentation training  website.

Give me a day and I’ll change your presentations, forever

Water

Have you ever noticed how all conference organizers always put out a jug of water and a glass for the speakers?

Do not be tempted to drink it, unless it is really necessary.  Having a dry mouth is one of the normal signs of nervous tension, but if you drink the water, you will find that your mouth tends to get dryer and then you will want to drink more and more. You are better to leave it to your body’s natural reaction to a dry mouth, which is to generate more saliva than to wash any saliva that is there, by drinking the water.

Sucking a mint before your presentation will help generate the saliva you need to avoid a dry mouth, and is far more effective than drinking the water. Alternatively, you can gently bite the inside of your cheeks, which will also make you salivate.

It is of course wise to have a drink to hand in case you start coughing or to act as a temporary diversion while you gather your thoughts to answer a question.

All the best

Graham Young

http://www.businesspresentation.biz

 

Way that you say it

It ain’t what you say it’s the way that you say it.  That’s what gets results.’

Hopefully by reading this far you have realised the truth in this statement.  While it is true that the words you use are important, far more so than the 7% quoted by some presentation trainers, the way that you say those words can have far more impact.

Here is a little exercise for you.  Everyone knows what the word ‘Yes’ means don’t they?  Surely, it is just a positive acknowledgement.  But in everyday conversation, we use the word ‘yes’ to convey a lot more than just that.  

Try saying the word ‘yes’ to mean the following:

• Yes – I agree
• Yes – If you say so
• Yes – I’d love to
• Yes – Do you understand?
• Yes – Tell me more
• Yes – That’s surprising
• Yes – I’m really not listening to a word you say
• Yes – No

No doubt, you can think of even more meanings behind the way the word ‘Yes’ can be said.

Hopefully, that little exercise has proven to you that it is not just the words that you use that forms the communication, it is a lot to do with how you say those words as well.

Presentation Training and Coaching is available from the author of this blog. Please visit my presentation training  website.

Give me a day and I’ll change your presentations, forever