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Business Presentations That People WANT To Listen To
Bob is a really nice guy. Smart. Well-meaning. Good at his work. He was given the opportunity to talk about his industry at a chamber event. He knew that 65% of his audience would be people who could use his services. He was so excited. This was his chance to talk all about his company so that people would understand what he did and want to hire him.
Here’s the problem. Bob is thinking that he should talk about his business like he’s seen so many other business people talk about theirs. Here’s the problem with that approach. If Bob stopped to think about it, he probably could have been a customer of 65% of the business speakers who had gone before him. But he wasn’t. In fact, when his air conditioner went out, he didn’t call the heating and air guy who spoke at the chamber six months ago. He asked his neighbor whom she used. The problem is when people talk about their businesses, they don’t do it in a way that will gain them customers. They treat it like a chance to make a pitch for their services. And that doesn’t really work to build a long-term business relationship.
So what does work? The same things that work with any presentation.
- Know your audience and speak to something they care about
- Showcase your expertise in a way that helps people get to know, like and trust you
- Consider the presentation the first step in building a relationship
Over the next few posts, I’ll discuss each of these elements and how you can use them to refocus your business presentations into something which promotes your business without turning your prospects off in the process.
Speaking Practically 