All posts by Dinesh Gomaram

05-Creating & constructing good solutions, 07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 07d-Delivering a presentation, storyline structure

Score your Presentations

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I recently came across an article which was published on Forbes on  how keeping a score  of  your presentations   and rating your presentations and I did some research on a company which tracks constantly  presentation score  ranging  from 1-5 of its business executives. It was an idea which was  conceived by  George Chambers  the CEO of Cisco who scores 4.5 on a scale of 1-5.Cisco is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. Many companies tried to be customer friendly or customer oriented but CISCO continues to win many laurels and awards  compared to its peers because its obsession Presentation Skills.

When a Cisco executive delivers an internal presentation at company events and meetings or delivers a customer facing presentation, that executive is rated on his or her communication skills as soon as the presentation is over. Employees or customers are asked to give the executive a score ranging from 1 to 5 on the following:

1.  DELIVERY:  The presentation was delivered clearly

2.  CONTENT:  I understand how this solution/topic can be applied

First, the results offer an executive feedback on how effectively they’re delivering the Cisco story and, second, senior executives review the scores to evaluate a person’s leadership potential. According to Ricci, “The data and metrics motivate people to get better, even a little competitive with each other.

Cisco’s obsession with Presentation Skills

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation, Uncategorized

Art of Persuasion: Tell a story

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Persuasion: /pər-ˈswā-zhən/ The act of causing people to do or believe something.

Persuasion is the centerpiece of any  business activity. Customers must be convinced to buy your company’s products or services, employees and colleagues to go along with a new strategic plan or reorganization, investors to buy (or not to sell) your stock, and partners to sign the next deal.  Persuasion, despite being so critically important, history has shown that  many leaders, business executives  struggle to communicate , too often, the message  gets lost in the accoutrements of companyspeak: PowerPoint slides, dry memos, and hyperbolic missives from the corporate communications department.

Robert McKee , leading screenwriting instructor in his recent article on Harvard business review  suggests that   speakers can engage listeners on a whole new level if they toss their PowerPoint slides and learn to tell good stories instead. According to Mckee, there are two ways to persuade people. First, Using conventional Rhetoric  and second, through Uniting an Idea with emotion.Out of two the latter being the most powerful, and is best accomplished by telling a story.

Storytelling That Moves People

 

07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 07d-Delivering a presentation

Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs

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Steve Jobs was always famous for his style of presentations. His keynote presentations were a vital part of Apple’s  marketing plan to bring in sales.He informed, inspired, and always kept his audience entertained and had them at the edge of their seats with his famous one liner that he always used to conclude his presentation.”Oh and there is one more thing”.  A phrase he had famously used in making announcements of products towards the end of many of his presentations, which would amaze the audience and make them exit on a high. So what made him unique ? why was he so different ? Was it the product ? Was it his delivery style.

Carmine Gallo , communication skills coach in his recent article about steve jobs on business week talks about 10 presentation traits that steve jobs used  to inspire his audience and keep them engaged.
There are three key presentation skills that he references which stand out particularly.

Setting the theme

Jobs crafted the art of setting the theme Every presentation would start on a theme which he would reinforce several times throughout his presentation. 2008: There is something in the air today

Sell the benefit

Jobs would sell the benefits over the products; which I personally think is the reason why apple products are so successful. We all didn’t need the iPhone; before it was introduced. It was also one of the most expensive phones at that time; still many stood in line for as many as 3 days to get their hands on the phone. The benefits of listening to music, watching movies, access to multiple applications on a single device made the benefits outweigh the costs.

Trying for an unforgettable moment.

Every presentation of Steve jobs had one instance or one event which made the whole experience unique to its audience. There was always something new which was never experienced or seen to take away. In 2007, it was the iPhone. In 2009 it was the mobile me and in his last keynote address it was iCloud.

Has anyone else had any similar observations that they may have witnessed about Steve jobs or any other speakers which they admire the most. Do they all share similar presentation skills ? I invite you to share your experiences

Link to the article:  Deliver a presentation like Steve jobs