5 Presentation Tips

Whenever we think about an audience, as a sales professional, we need to keep in mind that in this profession, we’re solving somebody else’s problem. So when understanding and preparing your next sales pitch, we need to think about the following three questions:

First question: Who is your audience?
Is it a c-level executive, or is it a middle manager who’s trying to look for a better sales product? The secret sauce is to adapt your vocabulary in your presentation by understanding the way your audience talks.

Second question: what is that audience, and what are their needs and expectations moving forward?
What are they looking for in a product, and how are you best positioned to solve that person’s problem? Learn to put yourself in the position of your audience by understanding the way they think and what is their point of interest.

Third question: how do you present the same information in a way that gets your audience excited to talk about your ideas? We often see presentations illustrated with numbers, facts or statistics, but if you can present the same information in a way that gets your audience thinking, whether it’s the emotions that you use, the changes in your vocal tones or how you think about your slides, you can get your audience thrilled to hear you next time as well.

Vocal tones are used to project the emotion that we want our audience to feel in any presentation. When we use high tones, we think about optimism, positivity, and a vision for the future.
But when we talk with a low tone, we think about sadness, maybe there’s something wrong with your organization, so how are you the best in position to fix that?

Vocal tones are not something we pull out of thin air, but rather something that we decide in advance. So when you’re looking at your sales presentation, you want to look at the specific parts of your pitch and where it’s best to utilize specific emotions.
Whenever you’re talking about a customer pain point, maybe you want to talk about the life of Billy, who is having trouble going through his day because of the problem he has, with a low tone. But, you, being the solution to the problem, you can increase your vocal tones to say: “This is a solution we have for you and this how you can use our product to make your life better.” Master vocal tones, and you’ll be top of the line as a sales professional!

Repetition leads to excellence and excellence leads to impact. As sales professionals, our job is to help others and solve their problems. But, what is the easiest way of doing that? Is it easier to present 50 presentations 50 times, or is it easier to present a single presentation 50 times? The best communicators in the world don’t get there by luck; they do the same presentation over and over and over again until they’re absolutely perfect. So master repetition, and you’ll be able to master your talk as well.

I get it, silences and long stares in presentations are scary. We’re the only person there, and everyone else in the room is staring at us. So it’s very uncomfortable as sales professionals or any professional to look everyone in the eyes, and maybe get a bit more uncomfortable. That’s why you need to master long stares. Whenever you’re practicing with a partner, don’t just pause them for 5 or 10 seconds, pause them for 30, 60 or even 90 seconds. And since you’re the only person in the room, they need to look at you in the eyes for all that time.
But if you do this over and over again, you’ll get so comfortable with prolonged eye contact that when you’re presenting, you’ll have so much confidence that you’ll be able to conquer any presentation. Remember this, the best communicators in the world can pause for an indefinite period of time without making it seem awkward.

Whenever we look at ourselves in the morning, we look at a mirror. And that mirror is a reflection of who we’re going to be that day. If we wake up and we’re angry, and we hate the world, and we see ourselves in the mirror, well, we’re going to walk out of your house or your apartment, not feeling so good about ourselves. So what emotions do you mirror to your audience? Remember, as speakers; we are the mirror.
If you go in that same presentation, feeling calm, easygoing and happy to be there. Then your audience is going to say: “Wow! Such a nice guy, I can’t wait to learn from him and potentially buy his products and services because he’s here to help me”. So in that way, master mirroring, and you’ll be able to master your talk in a way that a sales professional can only dream of.

Special thanks to Brenden for these tips, and please stay tuned next week as we sit down with Brenden for a quick interview.