Presenting to Persuade: How to have impact that drives action!

Presenting to persuade is one of the hardest forms of communication to perfect. Yet it is something we all need to undertake at some point in our lives.

Whether we are speaking to a board of directors, delivering a sales pitch or chairing a meeting with internal team members, the purpose of our communication is to influence the hearts and minds of our audience and affect a specific outcome we desire. What’s important to stress is that the impact rests not just with the content of your presentation, but equally with the way the content is presented.  

The ability to sell our ideas effectively has unarguably become an invaluable skill in today’s hyper-competitive, constantly connected business climate. Whilst the dividends to be reaped for consistently and reliably delivering highly impactful, persuasive presentations are enormous, it is less well understood what makes for a compelling presentation. So how does one develop the capabilities to be a master of this art?

As a global leader in impactful communication for over 108 years, Dale Carnegie London are delighted to offer a few proven suggestions for crafting and delivering a meaningful presentation, based on the ideas from the man who wrote the book on effective public speaking, literally.

Know Your Outcome 

Before writing a single word, the first thing to consider is specially what do you want to achieve from this presentation? A good place to start here is to work backwards from your desired goal. What do you want the audience to think, feel and do immediately after you have finished speaking? Is the purpose of your talk to change existing behaviour, to encourage investment in your idea or to secure commitment to further action? Without knowing where we want to end up, its very hard for us to plan a clear route forward, so explicitly state what the desired outcome is, in tangible and compelling terms, and then build the content around what the audience needs to know, feel and believe in order to trigger the appropriate response.

Have Credibility

Your audience need to be convinced beyond doubt that you know exactly what you are talking about; that you are an authority on the matter and that you have earnt the right to speak to them about it. We do this by having a steadfast and robust conviction in what we are saying, which is accomplished by doing our homework and knowing our material inside out. Demonstrate that you have done your research and utilise an eclectic array of evidence to support your position. Presentations are both aural and visual, so furnish your audience with a multitude of evidence, from graphs, charts, quotes, photographs, report findings, anecdotes and so on. These provide variety and keep the audience engaged. Citing credible sources here is also key. You may not be a certified expert on the subject that you are talking about, but there is no excuse for not including expert opinion and relevant insights from those with proven experience in the field.

As part of your research, you also need to consider the other side of the argument, and show you have a firm respect for this perspective. Delicately address potential rebuttals and challenges you might face and come prepared with answers that show you have considered the analogue to your assertion.

Another common pitfall is to simply read and recite a presentation, which will hurt your credibility.  To be convincing, it is critical that we practice to the point of knowing our material back to front which will allow us to be in the moment as we deliver it. This enables us to be more flexible and to react accordingly to what's happening in the room. It can also assist us in focusing when fielding questions and addressing obstacles. By concentrating on the audience and not the content itself, we are more aware of listeners' body language and the room’s reception of us, so that we can adjust as necessary. This helps to create an emotional connection with the audience, demonstrating that you are responsive to their unspoken emotions.

By demonstrating your credibility early, your listeners will feel confident in placing trust in you and will be more receptive to what you have to say. 

Get a Yes-Yes

Put your audience in a positive and accepting frame of mind from the very start by getting a ‘yes-yes’ response in your introduction. This begins the psychological process of moving your audience in an affirmative direction, that sets the tone for the rest of your presentation. A well-known TED Talk from the lifestyle bloggers The Minimalists begins with two simple questions 1. “Would you like a life of less…” and 2. “Would you like a life of more…”. Finding points of agreement at the very start promotes commonality and unity between the speaker and the audience, and breeds an environment of trust and connection.  

It is also important to combine both logic and emotion within your delivery, but to do so in equal measure. People are moved to action when emotions are triggered, and there is swathes of scientific evidence that asserts a decision cannot be based on facts alone - emotions play a significant role in this process. Appealing to emotion must be balanced against rational logic, grounded in real-world sensibility though, for your message to stick. Otherwise the prefrontal cortex will eventually overrule and dismiss any impulsive reactions initially made. It also has to feel natural and part of your presentation’s progression, or it will come across as manipulative.

Speak with Contagious Enthusiasm

It is extremely difficult to not be moved when someone speaks with genuine passion and commitment about their topic of choice. Such openness and vulnerability enable us to deepen the emotional connection we are forging with the audience. For when we speak with feeling, we reveal how resolutely we believe in something.

One extremely popular and proven way of doing so is to inject personal and relatable stories into one’s presentation. The power of communicating through the means of storytelling is a time-honoured and globally respected method for conveying important messages with inherent meaning, dressed up as an enjoyable tale. Countless research studies have illustrated that compelling story-telling can leave a significant imprint on an audience, by appealing to the senses, the imagination and the heart strings. Stories stimulate interest, increase engagement and help the audience understand what's being said, and can be used to bolster other factual evidence that may come across as dry or hard to relate to on its own. The use of relatable anecdotes can help soften the mood in the room too, which is particularly helpful if the room is in opposition or indifferent.

Show Respect and Enthusiasm for Your Audience

Dr Norman Vincent Peale once said that “The human personality demands love and it also demands respect”. As an audience member this is what we are demanding from the person at the front of the room. When a presenter demonstrates that they have spent time and effort to learn who is in the audience, and has considered this factor when crafting their presentation, the level of human connection increases exponentially.

A speaker cannot expect to persuade a group of people if they don’t know how to appeal to them in the first place. Its thus imperative that you do your research on your audience as part of your presentation development. Get to understand who you will be speaking with – their job title, company, age, likes, dislikes, interests, values and what they know about the topic you are speaking on.   

By better understanding the recipients of your communication, you can also craft your presentation so that is more tailored to their needs and resonates on a deeper level. Customising slide decks, using industry examples and tailoring the vernacular used can all help to resonate on a deeper level. Through spending time seeing through your listener’s eyes you can also more effectively prepare for questions and objections your audience might have, equipping you with more considered and intelligent responses.   

Another key element of a successful presentation is making firm eye contact with your audience throughout the presentation. Scan the room, acknowledge individuals and focus on specific people for short bursts. This gives the impression of dialogue, drawing them further into your transmission, whilst building trust at the same time.   

Organise In A Clear Way

Use a clear and easy to follow structure and be deliberate with the content you choose to include when designing your presentation. Restrict your pitch to 3-4 key points that add credence to your overall assertion, guiding the audience to your way of thinking. Brevity is key as people will lose interest if taking too long. Projecting a concise and considered argument is much more effective than drowning your listeners in a flood of complex information that needs to be processed on a cognitive level. Make your points and arguments clearly and succinctly and offer to provide more in-depth information, if required, after the presentation.

Be ruthless with cutting out the extraneous non-critical detail too, focusing solely on the information that holds most effect, and carefully gauge the technical level of those listening, removing jargon or complicated terminology where necessary. As Albert Einstein once said, “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.”

Finish Strong

Just as important as your opening few sentences, your summation will tie together your arguments and deliver a strong call to action that inspires and incites your audience to respond the way you intended them to. In some cases, this may be the last thing they hear from you so it’s important to keep it powerful and brief, reinforcing the key learnings and leaving a lasting impression that compels them to act. You want these last few words to really bring home your argument and to resonate with your listeners long after you have finished. Where you can, make it as memorable as the beginning by reconnecting to your introduction, closing the circle in a tidy fashion.

Conclusion

A presentation can be a daunting and intimating prospect, with public speaking often cited as the world’s number one fear. If you approach your presentation with the right attitude, properly prepare, use a clear and focused structure, and employ some of the suggestions above, however,  you are certain to win the hearts and minds of your audience as you deliver a persuasive and powerful argument that achieves exactly what you set out to do. You might even enjoy it. 

To Find Out More:

Presentations are an essential part of business communication. Every manager and leader can benefit from developing their skills in the art of delivering persuasive presentations. Since 1912, Dale Carnegie has been helping businesspeople at all levels of their career to develop the tools needed to successfully navigate complex business environs, especially in the realm of delivering High Impact Presentations. Our 2 day intensive programme provides the skills that empower you to communicate confidently and capably to any audience. You’ll receive proven methods and techniques to develop compelling presentations with universal appeal --yielding consistent, positive results.

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If you wan to find out more about the training Vertical Evolutions provides please contact us via the contact page or call on 020 8016 3668. Have a good week.

You may also like to download our dedicated ebooks on The Art of Storytelling (https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en/resources/the-art-of-storytelling) or Speak More Effectively (https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en/resources/presentation-effectiveness-a-free-guide-to-effective-public-speaking).