A crocodile walks into a bar…. what makes a great business presenter?
I have just finished reading Dara O’Briain’s book ‘Tickling the English’ (a fantastic read if you enjoy laughing a lot ) and it got me thinking about how exceptional comedians are as presenters. The best are truly engaging, entertaining, and leave a lasting impression, the key to a good presentation.
Great presenters are a joy, they speak to us individually, they hold our interest and they sell to us. Imagine for a minute that you are watching one of the great presenters… Dara O’Briain, Steve Jobs, David Cameron, Billy Connolly. Think perhaps of the celebrity who MC’d and held the show together at an awards dinner you went to recently. Aren’t the comedians often the best. A few years ago Jimmy Carr hosted the Lawyer Awards… I’m embarrassed to say that I can’t remember who won Law Firm of the year that year, but I do remember the jokes he told.
Did we take anything useful away?
So often we sit and watch people present to us. Sit, watch and wait until it’s over. Did we enjoy the presentation? Did we learn anything? Did we take anything useful away? The answer, far too often, is no. No we didn’t , or yes we enjoyed it, but didn’t take anything useful away.
Many one day training programs are also like this. On paper they should be interesting and informative, leaving us with a new set of skills to develop in our business’s. But, the sad reality is that often the reality is not up to much.
Presentation skills are a key skill set
Presentations skills are a key skill set for a modern professional. Presentations take all manner of guises in our day to day roles, be it speaking in front of a new client, pitching an idea to our line manager, or meeting with our staff. Often agenda and content of these meetings and conversations are prepared in advance. The content is prepared, but what about the presentation. How this content is presented.
And the key to a great presentation? Style. It really is not about what you say. And this is a skill set that can be so easily learned. And once it is, it stays with us. It makes us better and better in our day job, but also it allows us to truly enjoy presenting. Gone are the nerves and fears, and in comes the excitement.
www.jamesnathan.com
The James Nathan Experience can help you to become truly great at presenting in all number of situations. And you will enjoy it too! Why not give me a call to discuss or fill in the contact form on my website……… www.jamesnathan.com.
