Recently I gave a presentation to about 35 POOLCORP dealer-customers. There was a limited amount of time so we compressed entirely too much material into a 75 minute presentation. When the presentation was over, a number of the attendees complimented me on my enthusiasm and how passionate I seemed to be about the subjects covered. It made me remember the key to giving any presentation, whether to a group of customers or one-on-one, is the GUSTO with which it is delivered.GUSTO is more than enthusiasm and optimism though…GUSTO, in my mind, also stands for: Genuine, Unconventional, Specific, Timely and Orchestrated. It is a set of ground rules I try to live by whenever I have to make a presentation.Being “Genuine” only works when you have a really good understanding of the audience. I try to learn as much about my audience (or customer) as possible in advance. I hope to know their average age, experiences and personalities. Are they business owners or sales persons, etc? Then, if I can “put myself in their shoes” and approach the subject matter from a position that I know they understand and appreciate my communication and connection is much stronger. It seems much more genuine to them if the subject is approached from their perspective and with their goals in mind. Whenever possible, I try to use real-life examples to show relevance to them.Being “Unconventional” is about doing something unexpected and unusual in the opening of the presentation, something that delivers the “hook” and immediately wows the audience or has them waiting to see what comes next. In this particular case, I was following a series of technical speakers, all of whom had important information that the audience had asked for but all of them were a bit bland and boring. I am sure that I was expected to open (like all of the other speakers” with, “hello, my name is …” but I had quickly arranged a set of stereo speakers and opened with a 90 second video accompanied by powerful and up-tempo music. The video was very unusual and definitely focused on creativity and unique, remarkable and contemporary change in the world around us. It also showed contrasts through a series of powerful “old VS new” images and suggested to the audience that it was time to develop some “new” in their processes and proposals to consumers. When the video was finished, and my Power Point presentation began, the first slide was proposing an answer to the last question in the video, “Are you ready?” The first slide said, “Let’s Get Ready!” There are dozens of ways that you can create an unusual opening that get’s your customers attention and holds it. Is there a shocking bit of news that ties to our current economic distress and to your audience? Use it. Can you ask a question that poses a real challenge for them? Use it. Can you open with a shocking statement that addresses their competitive situation? Use it. You get the idea, if you want to get and hold their attention during your presentation, you have to do something out-of-the-ordinary and unconventional first.Being “Specific” is what happened next. I immediately walked into the audience and began asking questions of individual attendees. The questions were making sure that all of the audience were drawn into the presentation and had become a part of it. I was also making sure we had established a common ground and were all beginning this conversation from the same place. Because this video focused on “old VS new”, the initial targets of questions were folks who appeared to have been in the industry for awhile. So the questions were about remembering where the industry had come from and how things had changed in the past. We were finding some common ground so that we all realized that just as there had been a lot of changes in the past we now needed to change again to accommodate a whole new group of consumers. We were getting ourselves into a mind set with reference to three areas of change needed for the future, changes in the approach to new business, changes in the process of acquiring new business and changes to the product to accommodate the needs of a new generation of buyers. Getting the audience to participate is critical when we remember one of the tenets of education; adults retain a very small portion of what they “hear”, a slightly larger portion of what they “see” but 90% of what they “do”. Now they were all involved. Asking very specific questions about the customers past and helping to focus them on future goals and dreams is the way to make your presentation specific to your customer’s needs.Being “Timely” in this case, was about two things, making sure the audience could see the need for a new and contemporary way of doing business and also that something had to happen quickly to adapt to change in the marketplace. “Timely” was about presenting statistics and examples showing that the new generation of consumers are much more sophisticated in their methods of learning and information-gathering than previous generations. “Timely” also included a list of things that had to happen quickly for these dealers to have a positive impact on the consumers they deal with. I never shared any of my own qualifications until this time in my presentation but now I needed to add credence to my presentation. Make sure that whenever you make a presentation to one person or a hundred, it focuses on what has to happen now to get the desired results in the future. Every presentation needs to end with an action plan, a clear list of things that need to be addresses so that goals are reached.“Orchestrated” is about making sure that everything goes smoothly and all the elements of my presentation blend with each other. Every presentation has to look really “smooth” to be effective. Some of this is common sense. I always come in early (the day before, in this particular case) to check the venue and make sure my equipment is compatible with the AV equipment I am using. I make sure the seating arrangement works for my presentation. I make sure that if I have handouts, they will be striking, colorful and professional-looking. Does the hand-out tie to the slide presentation in look, color and feel? If I am going to ask the group to participate in an exercise (I try to do this as much as possible) I make sure they have pens or pencils and everything they need to be participants. And very much, I rehearse, rehearse and rehearse…to make sure I can make all of my points in the time I have allotted to me. You need to do the same in every presentation you make, rehearse it in front of a mirror or a friend. Arrange your presentation so that everything flows smoothly. If you have handouts, determine in advance, at which point in your presentation you want to share them. Don’t let the handout take the attention away from your presentation, often it should come at the end. If you are using a projector, make sure you have spare parts, and extension cord and other backup supplies. Think it through and rehearse it often.Making successful presentations that really creates change in your audience, whether that audience is one person or 100, is about a lot more than being a dynamic and powerful speaker, it is about doing each presentation with GUSTO.
Loved your acronym for GUSTO. Excellent article I was appointed Area Governor for Toastmasters and served several years. We as an audience (not as a Toastmaster) forgive "ughs", "kicked words" but that key ingredient of enthusiasm is the essential ingredient - fall in love with your subject - whether it is a product or a service or "just your job". Elevator speaches for a company or for yourself and your career are murdered literally by lack of joy, excitement or as you so elegantly said it "GUSTO". Excellent article. Thank you very much!
I wish I could have been there learning at the foot of the master. Sounds like you did a great job. If and when you get to CA let's get together over lunch and chat. I hope you have been enjoying the boat and the lake this summer.
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I wish I could have been there learning at the foot of the master. Sounds like you did a great job. If and when you get to CA let's get together over lunch and chat. I hope you have been enjoying the boat and the lake this summer.
Scott