Les techniques d’une présentation efficace !

This is the second article written by Linda Fisher for Admirable Design.Linda Fisher is an internationally recognized marketing consultant and founder of this unique firm that works exclusively for design businesses. She educates design firm principals on effective marketing, public relations and sales strategies. Her website is a valuable resource for the design community.

doc-639.jpgEffective Presentation Techniques
Provocative ideas or exercises engage the audience and provide stimulation that touch many senses and connect speaker and audience members. Turkel says a great presentation « Requires a knowledgeable and generous person who knows what can help the audience and is willing to share the information. The energy, style, charisma and skill they present the information with is the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. »

Know your subject.
If you truly believe in what you teach, and believe there is great value in this knowledge, it can really help others. This is where your passion comes from. Truth and passion are an infectious combination. Tom Peters has this magic mix of truth and passion. If you have been fortunate enough to hear him speak, you know that his audience practically gets up and dances ! Success for this motivational speaker brings in $35,000 per presentation-a big return on investment. While you probably can’t expect to bank that kind of fee, the initial investment is well worth it for many design businesses.

Show your passion.
« If you’re passionate about what you do, they feel it, » expounds Angeli about the interface between speaker and audience members. « Be very honest. Get rid of the mystique. Talk one-on-one to the audience. Be honest and make mistakes. Keep it impromptu and off-the-cuff. If you have a memorized speech, they’ll see right though it. »

Deliver confidently and seamlessly.
Turkel claims « If you don’t catch and keep people’s interest and attention it doesn’t matter what else you do-they won’t pay attention and remember. Use props, examples, metaphors, analogies, anecdotes or any special skill you might have to get your message across. » Stimpson recommends you start off by asking a question of the audience, use props if more demonstrative than flat images, use a well-designed slide template rather than standard PowerPoint templates, and « avoid clip art like the plague. » She cautions, « Don’t use lots of mixed media unless you’re really well-rehearsed and confident of the technical back-up. » Jager encourages speakers to use video, sound, motion-mix it up-stimulate as many senses as possible. »

Mix presentation formats.
Davis recommends bringing a client for a panel presentation, which he did recently when he spoke at The Conference Board. Even more than case studies, this shows real live results in not only the work, but in the established client relationship and business acumen.

Know your audience.
Learn about your audience before you speak so that you provide them with the most value and can talk specifically about the issues they face. One of our clients contacts attendees by e-mail before the event and asks which issues they would like to see addressed.

Suzanne Hogan recounts the Forbes Forum on Management and Policy. Immediately prior to each session, audience members were asked two or three questions related to the intended topic via a hand-held device. Responses were immediately tabulated and analyzed, and provided to the speaker. The technique engaged the audience in the topic and the statistics related to their opinions were valuable for the speakers.

Involve your audience.
Jager recalls a memorable AIGA presentation with a client. The presentation was intended to demonstrate an effective designer/client relationship, so they both came out wearing wresting masks. They proceeded to get the audience involved by debating who was the designer and who was the client. Because it got the audience so engaged, they actually kept the masks on longer than planned. It created a great synergy between the audience and speakers for the rest of the presentation.

Sagmeister attended a very effective participation presentation where the World Studio Foundation divided the audience in groups and designed impromptu solutions for an imaginary socially-responsible project.

The Benefits of Speaking
Speaking provides tremendous benefits, both professional and personal. For Davis, speaking « Forces me to stay fresh and remain relevant. It allows me to put enough touchpoints through the marketplace so that when somebody has a need, I’ll be the one they call. »

For Jager, it gives him a chance to give back. His personal commitment is to speak when he can at schools and professional associations, wherever there are students present. This way he shares his knowledge and stays connected to the learning process. Stimpson adds, « Through speaking you develop confidence, gain individual recognition and meet people. You reach new audiences, have opportunities to network and get to hear others speak. »

Sagmeister says he speaks because it is fun ; he gets to travel throughout the world (eleven cities in five countries in the last six months) and meet people, experiences he might have not otherwise had. And he adds, « It’s great for the ego. »

Results Attributed to Speaking
Sensational results can come from speaking. Stimpson is currently talking to five different companies as a result of recent speaking engagements. Says Suzanne Hogan, « We have definitely generated new business from the engagements. On the whole, we feel speaking is a valuable way to keep in front of prospective clients, which often results in new business. »

In addition, there are other results that come from putting yourself out there. Jager made a connection through one presentation with a colleague in India, with whom he has since established a joint studio in Mumbai. Turkel was approached by a publisher after a presentation, with whom he now has a book deal. Karim Rashid cited benefits like « Clients, exhibitions, public interest in my work, more speaking engagements, publicity, and-I get to see the world ! »

Maximizing Speaking Opportunities
Through speaking, there are opportunities for exposure via the audience at the presentation, the marketing of the conference itself and the public relations spin you can put on it. Generate press coverage for the event, include it on your Web site, develop reprints of the talks and send them to prospective clients.

At Lippincott & Margulies, Hogan says, « Speaking is an integral part of our marketing plan, and has been for years. Aside from the obvious benefits, it enables our professional associates to learn, too. » Jager di Paola Kemp encourages its managers to speak at their alma maters and eventually go on to represent the firm at major events. « Speaking engagements form an important part of the PR side of our marketing plan as they are essential for reputation building and networking, » says Stimpson.

Getting into Top Conferences
Plan a strategy that incorporates speaking into your public relations mix. Develop a set of topics and presentations about specific areas of interest. Attend conferences and listen to other speakers. And speak in as many venues as you can. Hogan adds : « Experience…the more you speak, the more you tend to be invited to speak. We have a strong team of public relations professionals who are looking for opportunities they feel are a good match with the talent and expertise in our company. »

Commit yourself to a consistent plan. Position your firm in a leadership role in the design industry. Develop topics that are strongly correlated to conference themes, that will make conferences more appealing to attendees and therefore, more successful. Get and stay connected to conference producers. Manage the process like you would any other project or client relationship. Eventually, conference producers will be seeking you out. The process does require a long-term commitment, but if you develop trust, follow your passion and position yourself, you can expect long-term rewards.

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