PRESENTATIONS:

Understanding your audience, the aftermath and keeping it sold

Episode 13 covered the things you need to do to create a powerful presentation and this episode will teach you how you can better understand the clients you are presenting to and what needs to happen after your presentation to keep your work sold.

Listen now:

Show notes:

Know your audience

– There are two parts to any presentations. You. Your audience.

Your presentation style should be like playing golf

– You don’t use the driver or the putter all the time. Tailor your style and storytelling to your audience.

Problematic audience members

– The 4 most difficult types of audience members

The Silent Cynic

• Doesn’t distrust, but is not engaged (on their mobile phone?)
• Not contributing to team activities

Things to try:
• No mobile phones policy?
• Give them a job with a discrete deliverable (note taker, photographer, sketch artist, presenter)
• Get curious about them (casual, 1-on-1)

The Certainty Craver

• Wants to understand every theoretical detail before moving on
• Uncomfortable with ‘learning by doing’

Things to try:
• Have them keep track of their questions (answer them at the end of the day)
• “Let’s see what we can come up with”
• “What do you think?” And “Trust your gut”

The Spotlight Hog

• Wants to show they ‘get it’
• Very enthusiastic
• Can get in the way of others’ sharing and learning

Things to try:
• Acknowledge them
• Cold call others
• Encourage them to help and engage with others

The Tangent Taker

• Enthusiastic, often entertaining but easy distractible
• Processes out loud, gives long roundabout answers
• Loves to tell stories about how they experience things themselves (‘me-search’)

Things to try:
• Fewer open-ended and more bounded questions
• Encourage them to sketch or write their answer first, enforce timing limits

Controlled responses

– Yes but: Brings a positive tone but then moves on to answer the problem.
– Counter questions: Puts the ball back in their court and helps you find out the root of the problem
– Restate objections: Reduces the magnitude of the objection
– You don’t always have to have the answer: It’s OK to not know everything

The aftermath

– Selling creative always takes more than just one meeting
– Its just that you usually aren’t in all the other ones that discuss your work
– Presentation decks vs leave behind decks
– Don’t use abbreviations or assume clients know new technology
– But most of all understand that this will happen and you have to create things to help keep your work sold