On this page you will find a number of short videos covering many of the most important aspects of formal communications. These include; making formal business presentations, how to be an effective listener, answering questions, the importance of non-verbal communication (body language).
The videos are all specifically targeted towards helping you win more contract work through bids, tenders and Competitive Dialogue.
The videos are all specifically targeted towards helping you win more contract work through bids, tenders and Competitive Dialogue.
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Transcript of video - How to Prepare a Winning Presentation When you don’t have much time
I’ve said many times that preparation is the key to successful sales presentations. Always start preparing as early as you can.
But what if time is a luxury you don’t have? An opportunity arises to pitch to a client and you have to respond fast. What should you do then?
First, write down as much as you know about the client - their strategic objectives, how does this project fit into these and what concerns them the most about this project?
You might not find this in formal documents and you may have to mine the knowledge of other people who have been involved with the client.
By doing this you can start to build your presentation around the things that matter most to them. Then, create the main section headings linking their issues and concerns and to your solutions.
Next, pull together the specific evidences and proofs that demonstrate that you have the experience to deal with their issues and concerns. Hard facts and real life examples are always more persuasive than general statements about things you believe you are good at.
Avoid getting bogged down in technical detail. There will be a place in a written submission or during the Q&A if it’s needed. The focus for the presentation is to create a positive impression; to be memorable as a potential partner who understands their real needs and offers workable solutions based on real experience.
There’s only so much information people can absorb. So concentrate on fundamental messages and the benefits your client will enjoy by choosing your firm.
Only now create any support materials that you’d like to use. Again consider what format will work best with the client? Keep your support materials straightforward and focused. Pictures and clear graphics work better than lots of text.
Finally, make it your absolute priority to rehearse the presentation as many times as you can, before you deliver it for real. Get organised, and use whatever time you have as purposefully as possible.
Your audience most likely wont remember the detail of what you tell them, but they will remember how you made them feel. To be a success you MUST make them feel confident in you, so that they trust you sufficiently to entrust their project to you!
But what if time is a luxury you don’t have? An opportunity arises to pitch to a client and you have to respond fast. What should you do then?
First, write down as much as you know about the client - their strategic objectives, how does this project fit into these and what concerns them the most about this project?
You might not find this in formal documents and you may have to mine the knowledge of other people who have been involved with the client.
By doing this you can start to build your presentation around the things that matter most to them. Then, create the main section headings linking their issues and concerns and to your solutions.
Next, pull together the specific evidences and proofs that demonstrate that you have the experience to deal with their issues and concerns. Hard facts and real life examples are always more persuasive than general statements about things you believe you are good at.
Avoid getting bogged down in technical detail. There will be a place in a written submission or during the Q&A if it’s needed. The focus for the presentation is to create a positive impression; to be memorable as a potential partner who understands their real needs and offers workable solutions based on real experience.
There’s only so much information people can absorb. So concentrate on fundamental messages and the benefits your client will enjoy by choosing your firm.
Only now create any support materials that you’d like to use. Again consider what format will work best with the client? Keep your support materials straightforward and focused. Pictures and clear graphics work better than lots of text.
Finally, make it your absolute priority to rehearse the presentation as many times as you can, before you deliver it for real. Get organised, and use whatever time you have as purposefully as possible.
Your audience most likely wont remember the detail of what you tell them, but they will remember how you made them feel. To be a success you MUST make them feel confident in you, so that they trust you sufficiently to entrust their project to you!
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TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO: Slides are to help your audience, not you.
Slides can enliven and enrich your presentation for your audience. They can fix your key messages in their minds, and make your presentation more memorable and enjoyable.
So why is this hardly ever the experience we get?
Too often people use slides for all the wrong reasons: because they think it’s expected, because they need the slides to keep their presentation on track, or to provide a sense of security for the presenter.
These are not good reasons to use slides.
The questions you should be asking are these:
Does this slide help the audience understand what I’m saying?
Does it reinforce an important message that I need them to grasp?
Will it help them to remember an important point by associating it with a striking image?
If you can’t answer yes to one of those questions you probably don’t need that slide.
Giving people the option of reading what I’m saying, instead of listening to me, is definitely not a good reason.
My simple advice for using slides is this:
And finally, make them clear and easy to view - strong colour contrasts, large fonts and minimum text.
With fewer and carefully selected slides you can then give your audience the time they need to absorb their meaning.
So why is this hardly ever the experience we get?
Too often people use slides for all the wrong reasons: because they think it’s expected, because they need the slides to keep their presentation on track, or to provide a sense of security for the presenter.
These are not good reasons to use slides.
The questions you should be asking are these:
Does this slide help the audience understand what I’m saying?
Does it reinforce an important message that I need them to grasp?
Will it help them to remember an important point by associating it with a striking image?
If you can’t answer yes to one of those questions you probably don’t need that slide.
Giving people the option of reading what I’m saying, instead of listening to me, is definitely not a good reason.
My simple advice for using slides is this:
- Use as few as possible.
- Use the minimum number of words.
- Turn the slides off when they are not relevant to what you’re saying.
- Make them pictorial, and select memorable images to reinforce your key messages - but avoid abstracts that need interpretation.
And finally, make them clear and easy to view - strong colour contrasts, large fonts and minimum text.
With fewer and carefully selected slides you can then give your audience the time they need to absorb their meaning.
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TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO: How to make yours the presentation they all remember
Anyone who’s been in business for any length of time has been subjected to more dull and uninspiring presentations than they care to remember.
The tragedy is that it doesn’t have to be that way. Any presentation, on any subject, can be made more engaging, enjoyable, and memorable for the right reasons.
One of the best ways to achieve this is through the power of storytelling. Stories are engaging in the true sense - they stimulate the same parts of the brain as real experiences. That’s what makes them so powerful and memorable.
Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end. And your presentation should have an equally clear structure.
The beginning is your audience’s current situation. The issues, challenges and ambitions that are exercising them. Describe these and offer a tantalising glimpse of the journey’s end - how things could be better.
The middle is your solution. Described in a way that is plausible and attainable - how and why it will work. And all the time returning to the destination your audience wants to reach.
And the end is how life will feel once the solution is in place. This is the time to engage your audience’s imagination: just think if you could... imagine what it would be like...
Good stories switch on the parts of the brain that do more than just process language and facts. They reach the parts that trigger emotions and mental images. These are the thoughts that remain firmly in people’s minds.
The tragedy is that it doesn’t have to be that way. Any presentation, on any subject, can be made more engaging, enjoyable, and memorable for the right reasons.
One of the best ways to achieve this is through the power of storytelling. Stories are engaging in the true sense - they stimulate the same parts of the brain as real experiences. That’s what makes them so powerful and memorable.
Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end. And your presentation should have an equally clear structure.
The beginning is your audience’s current situation. The issues, challenges and ambitions that are exercising them. Describe these and offer a tantalising glimpse of the journey’s end - how things could be better.
The middle is your solution. Described in a way that is plausible and attainable - how and why it will work. And all the time returning to the destination your audience wants to reach.
And the end is how life will feel once the solution is in place. This is the time to engage your audience’s imagination: just think if you could... imagine what it would be like...
Good stories switch on the parts of the brain that do more than just process language and facts. They reach the parts that trigger emotions and mental images. These are the thoughts that remain firmly in people’s minds.
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TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO: Practice makes perfect
I am often asked which part of the presentation preparation process is most important – the
answer is that they all are. If I am really pushed then the answer is practice since this is the one which makes the most difference, since this is what the clients see and hear. Do you effectively get across the messages that you’re hoping to deliver?
All the expertise in the world is of nothing if you fail to communicate it effectively.
What should you focus on? Are you clear what you want the audience to do as a result of
seeing and hearing you? Can you give them compelling reasons to do this? How have you done this?
Can you demonstrate that your solutions are best for them – to meet their needs, as they relate to this project? For example, are you making it easy for them to understand you by using words and phrases that they can relate to?
Are you telling your “story” in such a way as to build to a crescendo?
Give them time to absorb what you’re saying – pause, move around, let them give you feedback by nods and smiles, so you know they have got the message.
When you practice - you will find that the words that you have written down won’t be the words that you use when speaking, so re-write your notes to reflect our spoken word.
When you practice –- you learn and remember what you need to say. This makes you more confident and more able to focus on connecting with the audience.
When you practice -– you become more consistent with what you say and thus your timings,
again this builds confidence in your delivery.
Keep support materials to a minimum and make
sure they add credibility and don’t distract your audience; they can’t effectively take in information from you and from your support materials at the same time -– so don’t ask them to!
How many times are enough times to practice?
There is no definitive answer for this, but for new materials it should be a minimum of six to eight times -– would be typical for a ten to twenty minute presentation.
For example rock bands, sports personalities and politicians, all practice very long and hard behind closed doors to ensure that their final delivery in as close to perfect a they can get.
Many use a coach to help them make continued improvement to their performance, so they remain at the top of their profession –- they don’t see this as a weakness, they are experts at what they do, but recognise that they are too close to it to be able to identify real and achievable improvements in their own technique.
The same is true in the business world with many firms using external resources to provide
tactical support. This can help you become more confident, professional and increase your chances of success.
answer is that they all are. If I am really pushed then the answer is practice since this is the one which makes the most difference, since this is what the clients see and hear. Do you effectively get across the messages that you’re hoping to deliver?
All the expertise in the world is of nothing if you fail to communicate it effectively.
What should you focus on? Are you clear what you want the audience to do as a result of
seeing and hearing you? Can you give them compelling reasons to do this? How have you done this?
Can you demonstrate that your solutions are best for them – to meet their needs, as they relate to this project? For example, are you making it easy for them to understand you by using words and phrases that they can relate to?
Are you telling your “story” in such a way as to build to a crescendo?
Give them time to absorb what you’re saying – pause, move around, let them give you feedback by nods and smiles, so you know they have got the message.
When you practice - you will find that the words that you have written down won’t be the words that you use when speaking, so re-write your notes to reflect our spoken word.
When you practice –- you learn and remember what you need to say. This makes you more confident and more able to focus on connecting with the audience.
When you practice -– you become more consistent with what you say and thus your timings,
again this builds confidence in your delivery.
Keep support materials to a minimum and make
sure they add credibility and don’t distract your audience; they can’t effectively take in information from you and from your support materials at the same time -– so don’t ask them to!
How many times are enough times to practice?
There is no definitive answer for this, but for new materials it should be a minimum of six to eight times -– would be typical for a ten to twenty minute presentation.
For example rock bands, sports personalities and politicians, all practice very long and hard behind closed doors to ensure that their final delivery in as close to perfect a they can get.
Many use a coach to help them make continued improvement to their performance, so they remain at the top of their profession –- they don’t see this as a weakness, they are experts at what they do, but recognise that they are too close to it to be able to identify real and achievable improvements in their own technique.
The same is true in the business world with many firms using external resources to provide
tactical support. This can help you become more confident, professional and increase your chances of success.
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TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO: How to be a good listener
Why is listening such a difficult skill to master? After all, hearing is something most of us take for granted. But hearing and listening are not the same.
Listening means having a genuine interest in what somebody is saying. We fail to listen effectively when we are more interested in our own opinions, and feel an irresistible urge to share them, or we feel that we need to impress our views on our audience believing this will persuade them to buy from us.
Sometimes having a limited amount of time is our excuse for not listening. OR you might want to make yourself feel better and more secure by proving your superior knowledge or insight.
Not listening properly is not only very disrespectful – it’s also not the way to win business
There’s also no point listening if it doesn’t look as though you are; For example, having your head down taking notes, or looking very passive and not giving any feedback to the speaker. This is almost as bad as not listening at all. The impact on the other person is just the same!
Active listening is critical because people love to be heard. And, it shows respect for them and their opinions.
Through active and careful listening you learn more about what your customers know and think – which is what you want, surely. You’ll understand why they have the opinions they do. You might even learn something to change your own opinions!
And, if you listen to them then they owe you the same. Create a culture of active listening, mutual respect, and information sharing in your meetings. This will build rapport, credibility and trust between you.
Here’s how you show you’re listening: nod in the right places, smile, paraphrase back what you’ve heard, and ask additional, relevant questions AFTER the other person has finished speaking.
Focus on real listening, on what you’re being told and on providing the right kind of feedback. Don’t think about other things, or interrupting, or changing the subject, or what you want to say
People respect good listeners and see them as great conversationalists. Being a really good listener makes you become an even more effective influencer – you’ll then succeed and win more often!
Listening means having a genuine interest in what somebody is saying. We fail to listen effectively when we are more interested in our own opinions, and feel an irresistible urge to share them, or we feel that we need to impress our views on our audience believing this will persuade them to buy from us.
Sometimes having a limited amount of time is our excuse for not listening. OR you might want to make yourself feel better and more secure by proving your superior knowledge or insight.
Not listening properly is not only very disrespectful – it’s also not the way to win business
There’s also no point listening if it doesn’t look as though you are; For example, having your head down taking notes, or looking very passive and not giving any feedback to the speaker. This is almost as bad as not listening at all. The impact on the other person is just the same!
Active listening is critical because people love to be heard. And, it shows respect for them and their opinions.
Through active and careful listening you learn more about what your customers know and think – which is what you want, surely. You’ll understand why they have the opinions they do. You might even learn something to change your own opinions!
And, if you listen to them then they owe you the same. Create a culture of active listening, mutual respect, and information sharing in your meetings. This will build rapport, credibility and trust between you.
Here’s how you show you’re listening: nod in the right places, smile, paraphrase back what you’ve heard, and ask additional, relevant questions AFTER the other person has finished speaking.
Focus on real listening, on what you’re being told and on providing the right kind of feedback. Don’t think about other things, or interrupting, or changing the subject, or what you want to say
People respect good listeners and see them as great conversationalists. Being a really good listener makes you become an even more effective influencer – you’ll then succeed and win more often!
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Transcript of video: PREPARING FOR THE PRESENTATION AND Q&A SESSION
When you and your team need to prepare for an important presentation and Q&A session it’s crucial that you deliver a structured presentation confidently, professionally and passionately. Remember, your client can only assess your competence based on what they see – they are relying on you to convince them.
To win the confidence of your client you’ll have to communicate your key win themes with total clarity, highlighting tangible benefits that your prospective client understands, confirming to them why they should trust you.
How do you do this? By focusing on three key elements of the process:
First, have a structured approach for identifying and expressing the key messages that your client needs to hear. This includes focusing on the structure, content and delivery of the presentation materials. It also means thorough preparation so you’re ready for any question the client might throw at you.
Second, give your client the chance to appreciate the specific subject expertise of each team member. Each person in the team needs to develop their individual presenting style – one that feels comfortable and natural - so they can all play a full part in building your client’s confidence.
Third, your team has to work together as one effective unit - giving your prospective client confidence that this unity and team effort is what they will get when they engage you to deliver the project.
In other words, develop your individuals into a team. One that will build rapport, credibility and trust with your prospective client.
So in summary, aim to have a team that will confidently, professionally and memorably communicate your business solutions. A team which answers the client’s questions accurately, concisely and confidently. And a team which gives the client the confidence to trust your firm with their important project.
To win the confidence of your client you’ll have to communicate your key win themes with total clarity, highlighting tangible benefits that your prospective client understands, confirming to them why they should trust you.
How do you do this? By focusing on three key elements of the process:
First, have a structured approach for identifying and expressing the key messages that your client needs to hear. This includes focusing on the structure, content and delivery of the presentation materials. It also means thorough preparation so you’re ready for any question the client might throw at you.
Second, give your client the chance to appreciate the specific subject expertise of each team member. Each person in the team needs to develop their individual presenting style – one that feels comfortable and natural - so they can all play a full part in building your client’s confidence.
Third, your team has to work together as one effective unit - giving your prospective client confidence that this unity and team effort is what they will get when they engage you to deliver the project.
In other words, develop your individuals into a team. One that will build rapport, credibility and trust with your prospective client.
So in summary, aim to have a team that will confidently, professionally and memorably communicate your business solutions. A team which answers the client’s questions accurately, concisely and confidently. And a team which gives the client the confidence to trust your firm with their important project.