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Whether you own a business or work for someone else, at some point you will find yourself involved in the kind of networking activity where you are the featured speaker. Called member spotlights, craft talks or commercials, you have the chance to stand in front of your peers and “tell your story” for between three and 15 minutes. A seemingly easy activity, this is meant to be something great. However, the outcome is often less than desired because people fail to follow these five simple rules.
1. Know Thy Venue. Many of these programs take place in restaurants and banquet halls – not ideal for venues presentations of any kind. Besides being noisy and poorly lit, the often lack a formal front of the room. As a speaker, it is up to you to know the weaknesses of the location and work around them. If there is glare, close the blinds. If the front of the room doesn’t work, ask the audience to turn their chairs around. Try and visit the site in advance of your presentation. If that’s not possible, get there early. That way you can exert some control (maybe even reset the room). At the very least, you’ll know what you have to overcome and inform your audience accordingly.
2. Visualize Your Visuals. Just because the presentation seems to be casual doesn’t mean you can forgo professionalism. More talks are blown because the presenter erred in the choice of presentation. If you want to use Power Point with a laptop, make sure there is a screen that the whole room can see. If there are more than 10 people sitting around a large table, leave the flip charts at home. You get the idea. In general, when it comes to visuals, picture yourself in the audience and only use what you would find acceptable.
3. Keep Your Eye On The Prize. The real goal for a presentation of this kind is to get people interested enough in what you’re saying to take some action. Maybe you want referrals for business, you might be looking for a direct sale or perhaps the board has to approve your project. It all boils down to your ability to reach the audience in a very limited time. That means you have to be clear, concise and specific with your message. Tell your audience what you do and what you want from them – in plain English (no industry jargon) – and everyone will be happy.
4. Follow The Scouts. One of the mottos for scouting is “Be Prepared.” This applies to speaking – particularly for these kinds of talks. Among the things that require preparation: know how to use the equipment you bring (the day of the presentation is not the time to use the projector for the first time); have a shorter version ready in case another part of the program runs late; have comfort with the information you’re giving out.
5. Your Mother Was Right. Trite but true, our mothers have told us, “Practice makes perfect.” Even if you are only speaking for two minutes, the more practiced you are, the better job you will do in getting your points across. Besides, one of the best ways you can honor your audience is to be respectful of their time. Some groups don’t give you a chance to go over your allotted time. Others just have the leaders sigh a lot if you run long. So don’t just “wing it.” Rehearse your presentation – and then do it again – and maybe even more time. Your audience will thank you. But more importantly, you’ll thank yourself when all is said and done.
Copyright Randi B Enterprises, Inc., June, 2004. All rights reserved.
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