relentlessPR

You’re making a twenty minute presentation to ten people who may represent various disciplines, tenures, priorities, etc. at your client’s company. You’ve prepared for weeks. The strategy is sound. The ideas are great, and you’re ready to blow them away. At then end of the presentation, you’re less than enthused with their enthusiasm.

Some of your audience enjoyed it and truly got it. Most of them have confused looks on their faces or they start to ask you questions that are beginning to boggle your mind just a bit. What happened? Was it the presentation? The audience? It’s probably a little bit of both.

Issue #1 - You’ve been thinking about this for weeks. They’ve just received a 20 minute download, and you expect the audience to be where you are as it relates to the acceptance of your ideas. It’s rarely, if ever, going to happen. Understand that your presentation is only the kickoff to your audience achieving understanding.

Issue #2 - You’ve been thinking about this for so long, know it so well, and are so convinced that it’s great, that you may have skipped a few steps in your presentation along the way. A familiar trap for the presentation team is to go A, B, C, F - assuming that your audience will fill-in the missing letters or probably not realizing you ever left them out. Get the affirmative nods after each letter, don’t skip one, and if you don’t get the nods, then be sure to clarify your point in the moment. Don’t wait until the end.

Issue #3 - Everyone in your audience brings a unique perspective to the dialogue. They all have what Edgar Schein would describe as basic assumptions, values and beliefs that impact the way they receive the information and ideas you’re sharing. You will never know your audience so well as to understand all of the underlying issues. When they start to ask questions, don’t be boggled. Ask even better questions of them. Crawl inside what is driving any indifference or reluctance. What’s more, be patient. Let them think about it for awhile.

If the information is well presented, they’ll likely begin to adopt your ideas with the same level of enthusiasm you brought to the meeting. And if you’re lucky, they’ll eventually adopt your ideas as their own.