eNewsletter - 3rd Quarter 2010
What the
Old Spice Guy and Your Next Executive Presentation Have in Common (Compare
them!)
By Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, CSP
www.SpeakerSue.com
Copyright 2010
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If you
haven't yet seen The Old Spice Guy commercial, do
yourself a favor. Stop reading now and watch it. It's a brilliant (brilliant!)
presentation laced with benefits and emotion. It engages us not only because
The Old Spice Guy is quite pleasant to look at, but because it's engaging: clever,
funny, crisp, clear and, um, visually stimulating, too.
Now compare
that advertisement with the last presentation you gave, or attended. Maybe it
was the staff meeting this morning, the Board of Directors meeting yesterday,
the professional speaker last week or the sales presentation webinar you're
"participating in" as you read this article! Beyond the obvious (that
most of us can only dream of looking half as visually stimulating as Old Spice
Guy), what are the similarities between your presentation and OSG? In too many
cases, not much.
Look at your presentation...
When
"presenters" present, they often think they need to give the
features, facts and details of the project or product. What if (as gorgeous as
he is) OSG stood with the container of Old Spice and told us about the
properties of Old Spice: it's chemical composition or the year its scent was created or how much money they put into its re-invention? Admittedly, we might
still watch OSG (just because), but would the ad campaign have reached its goal
of selling more Old Spice? Spice up (nice!) your next presentation by omitting the boring details. You can always include them in the
collateral you provide
for those people who want to review those small details.
(Here is a tip: If you ever have to apologize for what you're
presenting, as in, I know this isn't too
exciting but we have to get through it, remind yourself, that you don't
have to. They can read it on their own.)
Eliminate most of the photos of your venue, too. I
mean, really, do your photos look that much different from your competitor's? A
hotel room is pretty much a hotel room. Same thing with an exhibit area, or
carpet samples or an audience reaction shot. Instead, focus on the benefits to
the recipients of what you have to "sell."
Focus on the result of your ideas, products or
services.
According
to One+ magazine, the Bejing 2008 Olympics Planning Committee started planning
with this question: What do we want China's image to be after the games have closed and
everyone goes home? The answer to that question was what they used to sell the
government and sponsors on the creating the venue. If the committee had chosen a
different approach, we probably wouldn't have been treated to the Bird's Nest
or the Water Cube. If they had considered - and sold - only the functionality
of the buildings, surely the result would have been less dramatic both during the
Olympics and after (how many
Olympic venues can you name or remember?).
Add emotion into the buying process.
When you
present the benefits of your idea (attendees will be energized and engaged),
rather than features (the booth size is 5 feet by 6 feet), you elevate the
presentation. But, take it a step further: it's when authentic emotion is injected into a presentation that buyers sit up and
listen. Engage listeners with your story. Go beyond a 'benefit sell' to an
'emotional sell.' View The Traveler's Insurance Dog Bone "presentation"
or the Google "presentation"
played during the SuperBowl. Yes, of course, these are
"advertisements" but they're also smart presentations. They tell the
story of what we can have, what we can gain, what we can achieve. They are
persuasive because they engage us with emotion -- and that is exactly what a great
presentation does.
Picture this
When you're
presenting your vision for your next show, event, meeting or product, begin
your presentation with what your listeners can expect to achieve, accomplish,
receive or do after the event is
done. Rather than starting with humor (which should only be used by presenters
who are comfortable being funny, are funny, and who plan to intersperse humor
throughout the presentation, to avoid a major let down), start by asking your listeners to "Picture" or "Imagine" this. Immediately paint a picture of buyers swarming the exhibition floor, meeting attendees selling
92% more, hotel guests that are relaxed, happy and focused on learning. Be
vivid. The more they can see the end result, the more likely they are to be
engaged in your presentation.
Compare
your presentation with the advertisements you love. If they're as different as
The Old Spice Guy is from the rest of humanity, it's time to use these tips to
re-energize your results.
 YouTube - Videos (3)
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Imagine how
much more successful your organization would be if they could tell a more
persuasive story! SpeakerSue - Sue Hershkowitz-Coore-
is the right speaker for your next meeting if you're looking for amazing
content, great energy and a "female with fire!" Author of two books
(Power Sales Writing, McGraw Hill and How to Say it To Sell It!, Prentice
Hall/Penguin), SpeakerSue provides practical, specific tips and tools so your
participants leave more productive, more professional and more persuasive.
Follow Sue's tweets on Twitter, check out her blog and by all means, book her to speak at your next
meeting.
Call Kristin (480-575-9711) or email Kristin@SpeakerSue.com to find out if Sue
is available to speak at your next event. Your attendees will thank you!
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