Rule 2: Know Your Audience

This is a continuation of The Rules: Create & Deliver Effective Presentations Every Time, providing detail and depth on the second rule – Really knowing your audience, and what they actually need, is the foundation of your story.

Let me Tell You Your Story

 “Well, what should we tell them?” 

This is frequently the first question asked at presentation kick-off. When we insist on having an established story before building a slide deck to illustrate the message, it's sometimes asked with some tension...or shouting. The answer is actually simple – so simple it can seem difficult.

You know what story to tell by knowing your client, knowing what matters to them most, and then using that knowledge to tell them their story.

First, you need to understand the problem or challenge you’re trying to solve, then you can articulate your solution and its value for the client. You may not always be focused on solving a problem, but you do need to figure out what your audience cares about.

Why would they want to sit and listen to what you want to say?

Answers include: because it’s about them, it’s about a topic that concerns them, they feel emotionally invested in the outcome, or you’re telling them how you’re going to solve their challenges.

Rule 1: Story First

This is a continuation of The Rules: Create & Deliver Effective Presentations Every Time providing detail and depth on the first rule – Story is Everything (and it comes before visuals)

What Does that Even Mean?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a sales professional say, “Just send me a standard deck and I’ll figure out how to fit what I want to tell my client into the slides.” Um, no.

Without a compelling story, all you have is cool wall paper.

There were times we were forced to accommodate this type of request and it never ended well.

The aftermath resulted in two scenarios. Either a panicked call from the sales team one day before the presentation because they realized during the group practice session that they didn’t actually know what they were supposed to be saying. Or, in the final week leading up to the client meeting, the team would begin making extensive edits to the “standard deck” as they tried to manipulate the content into something that would appeal to their client. By the time they were up to version 15, the slide deck was a mess, and they still didn't know what they were supposed to say.

Both scenarios involved a lot of stress, last minute scrambling, blame and recrimination. So, bad things leading to bad presentations.