Three tips to transformation
By Chet Gladkowski
You’ve just received that pesky email with “That boring presentation? Make it look brilliant!” as the subject. Without directly saying so, it condemns you and your presentations as boring, stale, old fashion. And all you have to do to fix this tragedy is to click the “Download Now” button. You’ll be mystically and magically transformed to heights unknown. You and your slides will drip with cool; your audience will not be able to take their eyes off you. The promise is that they will be engaged and enthralled, calling you brilliant, insightful, mesmerizing.
Yep, so much for the hype. And so much for the lie.
Yes, slides and visuals can help, they can enhance and hold peoples’ attention. But truth be told, none of it can fix a bad presentation. No matter how much lipstick you put on that pig, it’s still a pig. And no matter what template, graphs, images, and font styles you use, they are powerless to raise a bad presentation from the dead.
Ephesians 5:16 tells us to redeem the time, make the most of every opportunity, make the best use of our time. And a good presentation not only does that for you but for the people listening. Imagine being able to bless all the people watching by redeeming their time, making the most of their opportunities, making the most of their time. Talk about a blessing!
Here are three things that you can actively do to truly make your presentations and communications less tiresome and more memorable
First: Shorter Time. Make everything shorter. Cut, cut, cut. When I say everything, I mean everything: total length of time, time on each slide, length of audio or video clip. I know you have lots and lots of really great information and insights to share, but I’m here to tell you that your audience is not ready to receive them.
Second: Smaller Words. Make every word, every letter count. Your theme song should be, “It’s a Small Word After All (1). Use fewer words, shorter words. I know that you have a great vocabulary with lots of jargon, but I’m here to tell you that they don’t know these things and you’ll lose them faster than my 101-year-old-dad loses his TV remote and cell phone.
Third: Seize Opportunities. While I like the classics as much as anyone, don’t focus on them. Concentrate on what’s new, what’s in the news, what’s fresh, recent events. What’s the big game, the important events that your people are interested in. NASCAR and grandchildren are big with my people. Now, I personally don’t get NASCAR and we’ll never have grandkids. But that shouldn’t stop me from using them as “hooks” and illustrations.
Chet’s Little-Known “Secret Sauce” (2)
If you want to be remembered, if you want to make a lasting impression, if you want to separate yourself from every other presenter and presentation, then follow this one rule. Always, always, always end early.
If you hit that “Download Now” button, be ready to pull out your credit card and then be disappointed. But if you follow these three rules, and Chet’s Little-Known Secret Sauce, they will remember what you said. Which is the name of the game.
- (1) With sincere and deepest apologies to Richard and Robert Sherman who wrote “It’s a Small World,” © Walt Disney Music Company, Wonderland Music Company Inc., Wonderland Music Company Inc
- (2) Question: I wondered how many skipped down to this section first because you saw the heading?
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Chet Gladkowski is the Founder of National Day of Hope(a). His latest book Hope is Like Barbeque Ribs (b) is available through Amazon.
