Seven Pillars Of A Powerful Presentation

Presenters who look and sound weak lose.

Winning presentations are delivered by presenters who look, sound and feel powerful. Winners capture attention, exude credibility and deliver more effective presentations. To be more successful with your presentations include these seven pillars in your presentations.

Avoid The Temptations of PowerPoint

Don't be fooled by the name. There is no implied power in PowerPoint. It's just a clever name. Would so many presenters have been as easily seduced if the product was named FoolsPoint, LoserPoint or BoringPoint?

PowerPoint is software that is easy to use. So, many presenters make the mistake of relying on the software instead of preparing an effective presentation. The next mistake they make is assuming that the PowerPoint slides are the presentation, so they don't bother to improve their own presentation skills. They expect the software to present for them.

Real Power Comes From Within

You The only power that counts in your presentation and everything you do is the power that comes from within you. That is real power. That is recognizable power. That is power that enables you to make things happen.

Your personal power is the culmination of your confidence, knowledge and skills.

This is genuine real power no one can take away from you. You need to develop this presentation power by improving your confidence and skills.

How Do You Convey Power to Your Audience? The first way you convey power is in the confidence that you appear to project. Stand and look good, even when you don't feel good. Projecting power is based on how you look, sound and feel. You might be surprised to learn that most presenters look more confident than they feel. I've trained and coached thousands of presenters to use these techniques to appear more confident than they feel. When you are presenting the only thing that counts is the perception of your audience. If they believe you look confident then you will have more power in their eyes.

Physical Power

Physical appearance is the first way you project power. Smile. That is the look of a confident presenter. Smile. That helps to build trust. Smile. That shows that you know your topic and believe in your message. Too many business presenters make the mistake of thinking, "This is serious business. I must not smile." What a mistake. Every business is about people. And people like to deal with people who convey confidence, warmth and trust. Those qualities are conveyed with a smile.

Your posture is another aspect of physical power. Stand away from the lectern so the audience can see you. Look open and trusting and you will appear more powerful and believable. Stand tall and proud. Put your shoulders back and chest out. Let your hands hang at your side so they move naturally and easily when you gesture.

Sound Powerful

Your voice is the next component to power and believably. You sound more powerful when you sound more confident. You sound more confident when you speak slower and deeper - and say less. Speaking slower shows that you are willing to let listeners digest what you say; that you are not afraid of interruptions. Speaking slower also lowers the tone of your voice, which makes you sound more credible. Who sounds more powerful - the slow thudding walk of the elephant or the skittering of the mouse?

Pause more often and longer. That demonstrates confidence. It allows your listeners to think about what you say. It is never about what you tell them. It is about what they convince themselves. And they convince themselves while you are not talking. You do not convince with your words. They need the silences to think.

Try this in private. Hum the first four notes to Beethoven's Fifth symphony. Feel the power in those clear simple four notes. Compare that to the skittering of rap music. Have you noticed that the only power in some music is from the slow deep thud of the base?

Use Words of Power

Pick words that convey power. Short simple clear words display more power than longer words. Love, hate, grow, kill, stop, go, are more powerful than infatuation, ill feelings, cultivation, exterminate, discontinue, departure.

Simple phrases and short sentences have more power than long, vague convoluted meanderings. Hamlet's "To be or not to be" has more power than "Our mission is to be the supplier of choice to our customers, show respect for our employees, work fairly with our suppliers, be recognized as a leader in the marketplace and generate a consistently above average return on investment to our shareholders."

Compare that to, "We are here to win."

Verbs are more powerful than nouns and more powerful than adjectives and adverbs. Action is power. Talk versus communication. Move versus transportation. Sell versus solicitation. Those words ending in 'tion' are poison. They suck the power out of your message.

You are the Power

Power is the ability to make things happen. The purpose of your presentations is to make things happen. Become more powerful when you speak and you will make more things happen.

Real power is multifaceted. Build your knowledge, improve your presentation skills and project more confidence. You can be a more powerful presenter if you use these seven pillars when you present.