All the Bells and Whistles II

December 2, 2009 by Jerry 

bells_whistles_2

In the prior post you read about the importance of making every presentation you ever give fresh and alive with customization. This important technique is applicable to one-time presentations or to multiple iterations of the same presentation. There are seven ways you can customize:

            1. Direct Reference. Refer to one or more members of your audience by name. If you can, mention a
                well-known fact or figure about that person or his or her company or market. “Just before the
                presentation, I was chatting with Linda whose company has just experienced …”

            2. Mutual Reference. Refer to individuals, companies, or organizations familiar to your audience. “You’re
                all aware of how successful that company has been with their …”

            3. Back-, Forward-, and Cross-Reference. If you are part of a larger agenda with other speakers, refer
                to preceding or following speakers and their content. “Earlier today, you heard Steve tell you…” or
                “Later on today, you’ll hear Bill talk about…”

            4. Contemporize. Refer to relevant events in the news on the day of your presentation. “This morning’s
                Wall Street Journal has an item about…”

            5. Localize. Refer to the venue of your presentation. “Right here in this city, there are a number of
                companies that …”
                (To help find contemporizing and localizing data, you can go to the Newseum website and see the
                current day’s front pages of more than 850 local newspapers from 80 countries.)

            6. Data. Refer to specific information that links to your audience and/or supports your message. “According
                to a recent survey by IDG…”

            7. Graphics. Display the current date and location on your first slide. Where ever you can, insert the logo
                or brand identity of a company in your audience.

Customization is one of the most powerful and yet least implemented tools a presenter can use. The extra effort will add very little to the length of your presentation, but a great deal to its impact. All the bells and all the whistles of the most elaborate Big Tent production or the most informal PowerPoint session are nothing more than noise if you do not make the human connection.

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