Speaker Savvy By Scott Schwertly

Take Away

The Presentation As a Sandwich

The right way for speakers to build their presentations is to pay attention to three layers.

Fact:Almosteveryoneknowswhattheyneedto say in themiddle of a presentation. I feelnoneed to back this upwith a study, becausewe—the team at Ethos3 Communications, which helps people design and deliver presentations that have an impact—find ourselves in theswampytrenches of content clarificationwith clientsona regular basis. The middle is where the average presenter

shines:Heknows the details.Heknows the tech- nicalities.Hecan speak at lengthabout the subject, and he typically can do so comfortably and natu- rally. It’snocoincidence that the vast majority of indi-

viduals taskedwith a presentation are the same on this front. Presenters are invited to speak because

“I’m presenting the facts, but they’re just not get- ting through.” It’s simple, really: The middle depends on the beginning, and the results depend on the end. What you say is only true if the audi- ence is in amoodto believe youby the time yousay it. The beginning cultivates their minds to believe; the ending hardens their resolve to act. Sohowdoyoulay out your content for the next presentation? 1.Don’ttreatyourcorecontentasanintroduc-

tion. Products and services don’t just appear; they’re developed over a period of time through a series of challenges. Even if you are a household name, you have a responsibility to tell the audience your story. Catch them up on where things start-

The beginning of a presentation cultivates their minds to believe; the ending hardens their resolve to act.

of a core competence in the topic of interest. It’s assumed that their proficiency is accordingly robust. But if presenting the facts was all it took, hair-care aisles at grocery stores wouldn’t be 50 yards long. Truth is viewed through the prism of experi-

ence. There’s lots of gray.Don’t believeme?Think about this simple statement:“World’s BestCupof Coffee.”We don’t sue every coffee shop and din- er in America for making that claim because judg- ments about good coffee aremade through expe- rience. There’s no such thing as “best” in the literal sense of theword, andthat ismost likely true for whatever it is you’re talking about, too. This is why most presenters are exasperated

when the audience doesn’t connect with them. I can’t tell you how many times I hear the words

ed before you tell them where you are or where you’re going. 2. Think critically. Storytelling introductions

are blank canvases.The same story can be funny, sad, or inspiring, according to your treatment. Use the intro andconclusiontogive the audience a clear sense as tohowthey should receive your content. 3.Closehard.Idon’tmeanbepushy, I justmean

you needtoget really sincere at the end. State exact- ly what they need, and restate how you solve the problem. Then, offer a step-by-step roadmap to doing business. Whenwebuild our content from start to finish,

we get better results. If you’re getting straight into the corewithout these elements, you’ve been giving one-third of a presentation—and possibly getting one-third of the results.

ON_THE_WEB: For “the best place to find tips, tricks, and hacks about presentations,” visit The Ethos3 Blog, at www.ethos3.com/blog.

34 pcma convene January 2011 ILLUSTRATION BY GREG MABLY

The Close The easiest way to fin- ish off a presentation is to go back to your introduction. If you opened with a joke or a story, conclude with something similar.You may want to try asking the audience a ques- tion or presenting them with a problem in your introduction. That way, you can pro- vide the answer during your closing remarks. If you haven’t

found a way to incor- porate yourself into the presentation, your ending might be the best place to do so. Use this space for per- sonal stories or to share how the infor- mation you are pre- senting has shaped your life in any way. You can use this as a time to draw the audi- ence in one last time and make it about them.And don’t forget to thank them fortheir time at the end!

Scott Schwertly is founder of Ethos3 Communications, a pres- entation design and train- ingfirm with a client list of companies that includes Google and Pep- siCo, as well as successful speakers such as Guy Kawasaki. This article is excerpted from The Ethos3 Blog.

Look for an article about Ethos3’s Hook: The Presentation Conference, to be held on March 25–26 in Nashville, in an upcom- ingissue of Convene.