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Why is it that business people often spend so much money on image only to lose all that wonderful first impression on the fact their car looks terrible? Boy it sure seems like a lot of wasted effort to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a professional website, colorful brochures, hairstyles, attire and a gold Rolex only to ruin it all by driving up in a dirty car. In fact if this scenario were not so common, I seriously doubt I would bother to mention it at all. But it is a fact and indeed I have seen it. How so you ask?

Well, for 27 years I ran a company that franchised mobile car wash units and auto detailing rigs and marketed so many cities. We would constantly see this from our business customers. Their cars looked like crap, of course we saw the people who noticed this problem and did something about it, namely paid us to clean up their messy cars.

Yet by the same token as a Franchisor Founder, we noticed sales people, potential vendors and even business partners attempt to do business with us and they parked their dirty cars in our parking lot. Silly really, as they were selling to a company specializing in cleaning cars.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that your car and its cleanliness will be judged and your automobile is very much a part of your business presentation.

· Know your subject: You are the expert.

o Experience: build on your experiences, share with them

o Knowledge: know your subject matter better than the audience.

o Research: learn new facts or information to include.

o Practical Application: help the audience apply what they are learning

· Understand the Purpose: Know What is to be Accomplished

o Selling an idea, concept, project, product

o Informing a group, management, co-workers, customers, others

o Requesting action such as approval for a new concept, change, projects

o Status Reporting such as providing understanding of ‘where we are’ with a task or project

o Other?

· Create the Content: Plan the Content Carefully

o Title: Descriptive of the presentation

o Overview: Let the audience know what to expect

o Organize the Presentation

- Title

- Overview

- Main Points (content)

- Summary

- Action items if appropriate

- Final review

o Content: Stick to the subject, do not expand beyond the topic at hand.

- Keep it simple

- Slides need to convey information, not an exercise in creativity

- Keep words to a minimum on each slide

- Organize your materials

- Do not over power the audience with too many slides

- Remember, it is about content not ‘glitzy’ slides

- Think of any negative objections and preclude them with your content

- Anticipate questions and answer them in your materials

o Summarize: Provide a review of key points

o Action Items: List if appropriate

· Prepare to Speak: Be ready when it is time to take to the podium.

o Practice, know your content

o Know the most important 25% so you can cut out stuff if necessary

o Claim the space, go in the conference room (or other facility) and get your materials ready before the audience arrives; verify A/V equipment works

o Check out the ‘worst seat’ in the room to be sure everyone can see and hear

o Practice, know your content (yes, it’s here twice!)

· Deliver Your Presentation With Confidence: You have prepared.

o You are properly prepared and have claimed the space as yours

o Maintain eye contact with the audience

o Breathe and relax, get ‘the butterflies to fly in formation’ if they won’t go away

o Speak clearly and use the microphone if one is available

o Smile, don’t frown

o Be careful with your hands and how you gesture

o Don’t be bound to the podium, it’s generally o.k. to move around

o Don’t read the screen! Know your stuff, speak to the audience

o Follow the old saying, “Tell’em what you’re gonna tell’em, Tell’em, Tell’em again, and Sit down” This formula is actually what was outlined above! It works.

Let’s say you have a room full of people you are looking to train, or influence. You have a lot of information to convey to this group of people, how should you do it? What is the most cost effective, time appropriate, and let us not forget easiest way to do this? Better yet the most important question to ask one’s self is how can I get this group of people interested, gain their trust and keep it throughout the process.

In either instance, a speech would do, but it may come across as tedious or even worse, boring. If you have information that must be conveyed starting with a “boring” speech type proposal is certainly the quickest way to lose the attention of your audience. Once you lose the attention of your audience, it is gone, working on regaining their attention is also a lost cause, start strong and never lose their attention.

Here is a novel idea make your statement(s) via a presentation. Presentations have the ability to hold the attention of your audience as well as “highlight” or pinpoint any information that must be retained. The intriguing idea behind presentations is that they allow mental stimulation as well as visual stimulation. By combing mental stimulation with audio stimulation, you are entertaining two of the five senses; thus allowing the memory retentive area of your audience’s brain to step in and help the brain “absorb” and process the information provided easier.

Before you start your presentation, there are a two key steps to keep in mind:

1. Know the subject you are trying to convey

Who wants to listen to someone that has no idea what he or she is talking about? If you want someone to listen to you, and find your information valid, make an effort and put in the time dedicated to research your topic(s). If someone asks you a follow-up question or questions the last thing you want to say, “Uh I’m not sure,” all creditability is lost from the time you mutter the word “Uh.” Know your stuff, be able to recite the information in your sleep, and make sure that you are ready for any question or questions that may be thrown at you. Keep in mind that the information you are presenting can only be as credible as the person presenting it, and you will be sure to check and recheck the facts as often as necessary.

2. Know your audience

Who is your audience? Who are the people that you will be presenting to? When making a presentation it is important to keep your audience in mind. They are the people you are looking to “convince”, if you are not able to pinpoint your target audience you are not going to be able to tailor the information accordingly. For instance, a younger audience may do better with an Internet based technology chat, whereas an older audience may get lost in the idea of the Internet. Before presenting any information, make sure you aware of your audience, who they are and the best way to convey your message.

Remember our ultimate goal here is mental stimulation, by stimulating our audience’s brain we can keep them interested, entertained, and help the information “sink” in. By following the guidelines outlined above, we can engage our audience in a presentation that not only teaches them but also allows them the opportunity to advance their knowledge.