"You have to present to the channel marketing team next week", said my Go-To-Market Manager since we were working on a release to introduce our new set of products. As usual, I started collaborating with my team, created a first draft on the background, why should the partners or the customers care, migration options, technical details, etc. It was a one hour presentation and we usually record the meeting for folks who could not attend the call. After the call, the GTM manager was happy and I thought I did great and that my job was done.
That weekend, I was browsing through my emails (the flagged ones - I am sure we all have those!) and came across the email that had a link to the recording. I am not sure what got into me but I just thought of listening to the recording - Never thought that this action would be consuming the next few months of my life. The presentation started well, the audience was engaged, the content was good - but after the first 15 mins, it was pure technical jargon. Sometimes we feel, the more technical the presentation is, the more learned we sound and the better we are as presenters. However, after listening to it, I realized that in order to be a good presenter I should put myself in the shoes of the target audience (Marketing 101 - Anyone?) and then customize my presentation.
I decided to to take this up as a challenge and improve on this front. It took me months to read multiple articles and come up with a cheat sheet that I follow whenever I have to present:
1.Technical presentations need not be boring.
2.Presentations are not just slides on information but also a way to communicate and connect with the audience.
3. Data is used to convince people but in order to make sure that they act on it and believe in the objective, you have to connect with them
4. Humor is important - but don't go overboard with it.
5. Introduce yourself in a way they remember and relate to you.
6. Provide real-life anecdotes - your interactions with someone who belongs to the target audience , a customer failure/success story, a thought leader quote, the power of collaboration (cant emphasize this enough), etc
7. Practice - Record and listen to your presentations to provide feedback to yourself. You can also ask friends, family, colleagues to help you with this.
8. Have a confident body language and move around the stage coupled with frequent eye contact.
This HBR article and this video provide a great way to tie stories to your presentation and become an effective speaker.
Source: https://www.seeuthere.com/ui/18/182292/HBRTellingTales.pdf
Ending this blog with a quote from Dale Carnegie “There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”
Feel free to share the efforts that you have taken to become a better communicator.
Good Luck!
Thanks,
Almitra Karnik
That weekend, I was browsing through my emails (the flagged ones - I am sure we all have those!) and came across the email that had a link to the recording. I am not sure what got into me but I just thought of listening to the recording - Never thought that this action would be consuming the next few months of my life. The presentation started well, the audience was engaged, the content was good - but after the first 15 mins, it was pure technical jargon. Sometimes we feel, the more technical the presentation is, the more learned we sound and the better we are as presenters. However, after listening to it, I realized that in order to be a good presenter I should put myself in the shoes of the target audience (Marketing 101 - Anyone?) and then customize my presentation.
I decided to to take this up as a challenge and improve on this front. It took me months to read multiple articles and come up with a cheat sheet that I follow whenever I have to present:
1.Technical presentations need not be boring.
2.Presentations are not just slides on information but also a way to communicate and connect with the audience.
3. Data is used to convince people but in order to make sure that they act on it and believe in the objective, you have to connect with them
4. Humor is important - but don't go overboard with it.
5. Introduce yourself in a way they remember and relate to you.
6. Provide real-life anecdotes - your interactions with someone who belongs to the target audience , a customer failure/success story, a thought leader quote, the power of collaboration (cant emphasize this enough), etc
7. Practice - Record and listen to your presentations to provide feedback to yourself. You can also ask friends, family, colleagues to help you with this.
8. Have a confident body language and move around the stage coupled with frequent eye contact.
This HBR article and this video provide a great way to tie stories to your presentation and become an effective speaker.
Ending this blog with a quote from Dale Carnegie “There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”
Feel free to share the efforts that you have taken to become a better communicator.
Good Luck!
Thanks,
Almitra Karnik
