How many times have you heard the advice “Be yourself?” This tip makes it one more time, but with a twist.
When you are giving a presentation designed to persuade, it’s important that the audience leave with one or both of the following impressions of you the speaker. First that you really, truly have a deep understanding of the material that you are presenting, and/or second that you passionately believe the conclusion that you want your audience to believe.
If you are person who can naturally display a passion for a subject, this is your opportunity to shine. Nurture your passion, funnel it, and most importantly, let it show. Your passion is absolutely contagious. Even if you’re not a master of the material, your fervor will often convince the audience of your position. I’ve often seen a presentation and said to myself “I don’t fully understand the details here, but I absolutely understand that the speaker completely believes what she is saying, so I’m tending to believe her conclusion.”
But, if displaying a passion is not part of your make-up, don’t pretend. The audience will see through the facade, and might see you as insincere.
You don’t have to be a master of the material if you have the above, but if you don’t have the zeal it’s essential that you convey your expertise. I recently saw a pitch focusing on nuts and bolts (literally, nuts that screw into bolts). The speaker spoke in a monotone and was lethargic. But, he knew absolutely everything about nuts and bolts and that showed in both his presentation and the Q & A. It was impossible not to agree with his conclusion!
The audience has to believe your conclusion. You can either convince me based on your thoroughly convincing argument, or you can convince me that you so completely believe your conclusion that I do too.
That’s why I say, “Be your best self.”
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