The Montana Economic Development Summit Recap – "What would you suggest to some of the speakers to make their presentations more effective?"

Anna & Ken Boynton of Message Glue(TM) http://www.messageglue.com are communication consultants who help executives and companies make their messages stick. They’re executive presentation coaches who’ve also written, created, produced and given presentations for companies all over the United States. They’re based in Seattle and Missoula.

Congratulations to everyone involved for a powerful Economic Summit in Butte! After the event, Russ asked us to share our impressions of the effectiveness of the presentations. We’ll do that below, but since we spoke to many of you, we’ll also share yours.

Overall, most people we spoke to felt it was a very valuable conference, that good ideas were shared in both small and large groups, and a lot of networking was made possible. Our host, Senator Max Baucus, was able to assemble a very impressive group of presenters, which, as it also did in 2007, elevated the experience to something quite remarkable.

There was a lot of excitement and anticipation in the HPER as Max welcomed everyone and set the expectations for the conference. Then, the day began with Steve Ballmer. Steve is a powerful speaker, and he has been described as boisterous, excited, bombastic and very passionate onstage. He certainly didn’t disappoint. From the audience, we heard surprise and gratitude expressed for Steve taking the time to come to Butte. We also heard a few complaints about his presentation. They were all very similar. At a conference subtitled "Montana Solutions for Montana Jobs," it was felt that Steve’s presentation was "mostly a commercial for future Microsoft products."

He did add a slide with the heading "Montana" and some local pictures at the end, but at that point it was too late to connect his presentation to the state and its specific issues. The Q&A helped, but out in the audience most of the comments we heard were about the one "big" question asked: Would Microsoft open a division in Montana? One person remarked, "That question really showed him!"). Steve handled it pretty well, but it’s worth noting the awkwardness that question caused. In the tension of that dramatic moment, an emotional current ran through the audience. And it’s those moments, where we feel rather than think, that stay with us after a presentation ends. For better…or worse.

Contrast Steve’s presentation with Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE. Repeatedly, people told us they thought he was "the best," or that he "made it all worthwhile." Similar very positive reviews were also heard in reference to Governor Schweitzer’s interview with Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney. What set those two presentations apart?

At Message Glue(TM), we’ve seen it proven over and over that audiences prefer conversations to presentations. With Immelt and Iger, we in the audience felt that were being talked to, not talked at. Both CEO’s were also very Montana-centric, and clearly showed love and respect for the state and its people. Even when Governor Schweitzer pressed Iger on the lack of film projects in Montana, Robert’s response was full of respect and humor. He and Jeff (and indeed Warren Buffet, despite appearing on webcam), Sam Gilliland of Travelocity, and Barry Diller all felt accessible to us. They were fellow human beings. They were relatable, almost like peers, who each showed sincere interest in all of us in the audience.

We also heard good things about the ambassadors. Credit Senator Baucus and his staff for giving them a van tour of Montana, because their individual and collective enthusiasm for the state came through and made for a very interactive and interesting discussion. Each of them connected Montana to their corner of the world.

Panels are a difficult format to pull off. Feedback on the panel on the second day wasn’t as positive, and when we compare them, certain differences rise to the surface. While the ambassadors interacted with each other and clearly enjoyed one another, the panel on the second day felt more like a series of individual presentations.

The problem with that is we start to feel overwhelmed by information, and it becomes very difficult to differentiate the speakers. The way presenters connect and impact an audience is through an emotional connection (trust, empathy, laughter, pathos, awkward dramatic moments, etc.). Only when that emotional connection is forged do we in the audience allow information in. That "license" to give us information has to be renewed over and over again throughout a presentation. And when we see 7 people up on stage, each starting from scratch and each trying to get their point across, it simply wears us out. It’s too much and too similar at once and therefore it’s very difficult for any speaker to stand out.

Russ asked us, "What would you suggest to some of the speakers to make their presentations more effective?" That’s a difficult question to answer, because our Message Glue(TM) coaching and messaging philosophy is not a typical "do these 10 things and be a better presenter" program. Our approach is based on working with the unique personality of each individual. Through our process, we take the internal qualities that have already made an executive successful, and help to make those qualities come thru externally in a presentation. Along the way, we also help presenters to be more comfortable (and actually enjoy giving their presentations).

However, Russ did ask us… and we know that one does not say no to Mr. Fletcher. So here is a list of 10 (9 actually…see #6 about finishing early) things to consider that will help take your future presentations to the next level.

1. Consider the room and the sound system. Try out the microphone you’ll be using beforehand. Have a trusted colleague in the room listen to you and make sure you can speak normally (as you would in a one-on-one conversation) and still be heard over the sound system. Walk the room, sit in a few seats…get a feel for what an audience member will experience. Ask a colleague or staff person to stand onstage, so you can be sure where you’ll have light on your face, and where you’ll be standing in the dark. Also, be sure that you know where you’ll be positioned and which direction you’ll face. For example, Robert Iger was turned to the right to face the Governor, but his lav microphone was on his left lapel. That made his thoughtful, conversational voice hard to hear and much softer than the Governor’s.

2. Think about what the audience wants or needs to hear, not what you want or need to say. Consider "if I am an audience member, what would matter to me?" Get inside their heads and shape your presentation from there. A powerful gathering of powerful people is a great opportunity. You have a chance to not only inform, but to connect and inspire. Once you’re inside the heads of your audience, you can also find ways to connect emotionally with them, through anecdotes, stories, jokes, songs, etc.

3. Package your information. Everyone has a personal style, or personal brand. Be true to it. Betty Crocker sells boxes full of flour, sugar and cocoa, but it’s packaged so you can almost taste the cake. Help your audience make that connection by packaging and delivering your content in a way that helps them come to the conclusion you want them to come to. Your messages don’t automatically connect when they come out of your mouth. Your presentation succeeds when your messages stick in the minds of your audience.

4. Think about the bigger picture. Try to find out what other speakers will cover, so you can look for unique ways to differentiate yourself. If it’s appropriate to refer to what someone else said, do so. It shows us that you’re paying attention to the whole conference, and that you respect others.

5. Own your time, and own the stage. The audience is here to see and hear you. Their attention is yours for the taking. Owning the stage doesn’t mean bringing your ego with you. It comes from the knowledge that you’ve done your homework and you know that what you have to say is valuable enough to hold your audience’s attention while you are sharing your presentation. When you don’t own every second, you may drop the ends of phrases, talk too quickly, forget to breath, clip your words, and/or speak too loudly or quietly.

6. Plan to speak for 5 minutes less than you’ve been asked. A conference schedule always runs over, and audiences tend to fidget when they glance at their agenda and see you’ve gone over. Speakers also tend to speed up when they realize they’ve gone too long, which means most of what they’re saying gets lost. Ending early makes use of the old show biz axiom "Leave ’em wanting more." And it works!

7. Never underestimate an audience’s trust. They’ll yank their attention in a heartbeat if you betray it. That means respect them, respect their intelligence, and respect their time. If you are told that everyone on the stage will have limited time to speak, and then you speak far longer than your allotted time, the audience sees you as someone who doesn’t respect others. At that point, we no longer care about your message.

8. Don’t read a paper, write a speech. It is important to write your presentation first. Formulate what content you plan to include, get the buy off and approval of legal, HR, your boss, the board, etc. But then…

9. Turn it into a presentation. Read it out loud to make sure it sounds like you actually talk. Convert your approved words into a logical, interesting format that’s easy to glance at and follow. Find ways to connect your information emotionally. Decide if using pictures, music, sound effects, or personal stories will enhance your messages. Then, print it in larger type. Use colored markers and highlighters to guide your eyes to places you must quote or emphasize.

Just as finding Montana solutions for Montana jobs requires collaboration, cooperation and discipline, so does a presentation.

Pockets of intermittent inspiration are good, but at Message Glue, we’re idealists. We’d like to see every opportunity taken, on a grand scale, to really connect, elevate, inspire and compel people into action.

Remember how every speaker acknowledged Max and his staff for their tireless work to put on this conference? As presenters, we should all put that same kind of tireless work into making sure our presentations connect and have impact.

Thank you for the opportunity to pass along some of our thoughts. And thank you very much for the summit and the chance to meet and talk with many of you.

Anna & Ken Boynton

©2010 Message Glue

http://www.messageglue.com

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What are your thoughts about the presentations? Please add them as comments to this post.