Tony Robins shares that we as humans have human needs and they are, certainty, variety, connection, contribution, growth, and significance. In daily life, you can find a mix of certainty, variety, and connection. Then when you chose to willingly put yourself out there, you will experience growth, significance, and contribution. The world wants to know you and I want to recommend you share a talent, perspective, or skill, and here are some tips that will help you do that.
These 5 areas will help you create a useful format for putting together any presentation or information. Whether it is 5 minutes or 45 minutes these five areas can be key in creating a connection with first yourself and then your audience.
Attention
Begin by obtaining your audience’s attention. This will give you a starting point and the opportunity to acquire some audience participation setting the tone for the rest of the content to follow. This step can be overlooked but I want to suggest that it sets the tone not just for your audience but for you. This is where you connect in a way that benefits your audience and helps them to become engaged and therefore interested in what you will be sharing. Some suggestions are asking questions, telling a joke, giving a testimonial from a client, taking a selfie with the audience behind you, or giving statistics. These are just some of the many ways to help your audience get engaged.
Who is your audience?
Knowing your audience will help you feel more comfortable and help you know what they would benefit from. Is it a group of networkers, potential clients, or business professionals, or are they attending for the gift? If you were in the audience, what would you want to learn from someone with your talent? What tips would be helpful, and what style of presentation would be a good fit for that audience? Answer these questions and reach out to those who might be attending or those whom you would want to attend.
Begin with the end
This is taken from Steven Covey’s book 7 habits of highly effective people. Knowing that you gave a great presentation what result will take place when you are finished? Why are you giving this presentation and what is your hope in doing so? Two other questions you will want to answer, what pain are you solving and what connection are you making? We all have pain in life, from work, family, relationships, money, and time, to name a few. We are searching for something to solve or lighten this pain we have in life. How is your presentation going to do that for them? You can make a connection by sharing a tip, becoming a resource, and giving space for people to learn and grow. What will be that connection your audience feels after you present?
Are you selling, telling, or sharing?
Selling, telling, and sharing are similar in that they are ways we give information. The differences are slight but enough to help you decide at which point during your presentation are you selling, telling, or sharing. Share some information, a tip, or maybe half of how you can help, and the other half they can obtain when working with you or buying the product, or applying the talent you share. Telling is giving facts and information and maybe even telling a testimony that a client gave you. Selling is the art of persuasion and selling is both telling and sharing. People buy for a specific reason in hopes that they will receive an outcome that will alleviate their pain and or solve their problem.
What action do they need to take?
What is the next step you will want your audience to take? You gave some great tips shared some insight and sold them on the idea of how you can help, now what? What would you like them to do, go to your website, follow you on social media, schedule a call or meeting, or sign up for _____? Maybe you want a list of businesses they can connect you to. Whatever your next step is make sure to take the time a be clear about it and lead your audience through the steps.
Have fun with it
Presenting can feel scary. Keep in mind that they are there and whether it is one or one hundred enjoy yourself. Your audience will pick up on your energy so decide it will be fun. If it is something you believe in you don’t have to prove it works to your audience you just have to present yourself as a resource.