Courtesy of LeadershipIQ's Mark Murphy--one of my very favorite gurus:
There isn’t a presenter alive that doesn’t want their audience
absolutely riveted; sitting on the edge of their seats with rapt
attention. Yet, the reality in most presentations is that the audience
is sitting back, kind of relaxed and spacing in and out.
Here Leadership IQ CEO and best-selling author, Mark Murphy, shares some ways anyone can deliver a killer presentation.
Q: You say storytelling is a critical element in delivering killer
presentations that really catch and keep an audience’s attention. How
does that work?
MM: It’s all about dopaminergic response. Basically, when
something really interesting, like a good story, happens, the brain
starts to light up. And if the story is really exciting, the amygdala
gets involved (that’s what you want) and says, “Wow! This is fascinating
stuff! I’ve got to start activating some of the other chemicals in the
brain—we’ve got to pay close attention to this!” So it goes and starts
activating dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter for highly pleasurable
things, highly attentive things.
And whoa! Once dopamine gets involved people really start to pay
attention. Plus dopamine helps sear whatever it is folks are
experiencing (in this case, your killer presentation) into their memory
so they don’t forget it. So a great story is a way of getting the brain
to say, “I am really engaged with this. I don’t want to miss a word
that’s being said here. I am going to remember every word I hear.”
Next time you’re listening to someone else’s presentation, pay
attention and see if you experience any moments that leap out at you and
just get seared into your brain. Where you walk out of there quoting
something you just heard to everyone you run into that day. If you don’t
have that kind of experience then it is likely that the person speaking
didn’t get anywhere near activating anything beyond your prefrontal
cortex. They didn’t get into your limbic system, and they certainly
didn’t excite your amygdala.
Q: So what’s the secret to telling a great story that excites the amygdala?
MM: There are a number of different ways to tell stories that really
get people’s attention. Here’s one that uses an unexpected twist.
Imagine you began a presentation by saying, “Six months ago, we upgraded
our servers. Our website visitor capacity doubled. Our website loading
speed tripled. And our profits dropped by 80%.” You can do something
like that. Take your audience in one direction and then all of a sudden
take them in a totally different direction. That’s one of those things
that will make people’s heads spin a bit and get them to think, “Wait a
minute, did I just hear what I thought I heard? I better start listening
more closely.” You can also tell stories that build an emotional
connection or introduce a startling fact.
Q: What’s one big thing to avoid when giving a presentation?
MM: Narcissism. When you talk about others more than you talk about
yourself, that’s good. But when you talk about yourself more than you
talk about others, that’s bad. But that can be challenging in some
presentation situations. Leadership IQ teaches presenters to apply the
Narcissism Ratio which is a little check that signals when it’s time to
tell a story or to talk about somebody or something other than yourself.
That way you don’t spend 20 minutes talking about all of the awards
your company has won – something about which your audience probably
doesn’t care. And it directs you to talk about something about which
they do care, something that’s really going to activate them and get
them on the edge of their seats.
To apply the Narcissism Ratio to your next presentation, keep track
of how many times you say “I” or “me” versus the number of times you say
“customers” or “employees” or “you” or “they” or anybody other than
you. It takes some practice, but it’s really quite an effective way to
keep your finger on the pulse of where your presentation is going as it
happens. That way you are always on track and making sure your audience
stays fully engaged.
For more tips on delivering memorable presentations, join us for our upcoming webinar The Secrets of Killer Presentations.
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