Chapter 40. How to Present with Mastery, So People Take Action

Tony Jeary

Tony Jeary International

All professionals need to present well to insure best results in all areas of their professional and personal lives. The following eight simple presentation practices will dramatically increase your impact on making sales, no matter the size of your audience.

  1. Involve Your Audience. When presenting to an individual or to groups, make sure you involve and engage them. Ask questions, have them write things down, have them talk to each other in a group. Engagement reduces tension and elevates retention.

  2. Prepare Your Audience. Remember, most audiences spend the first three minutes of the presentation sizing up the presenter. A basic, often overlooked element of working with groups is simply connecting with your audience before your presentation or meeting begins. Warm a few people up and warm yourself up, too.

  3. Research Your Presentation Arsenal. Build and utilize a Presentation Arsenal. Your arsenal should include quotes, stories, samples, examples, and even statistics. Save them mentally, in hard-copy form, or on your computer.

  4. Explain the "Why." The single most powerful thing you can do to persuade or convince your audience is to provide a convincing reason why they should do what you suggest (or believe what you say). It's simple: Just tell them why.

  5. State Management. The mental state of the successful presenter or salesperson must be congruent with the message being delivered. All the techniques ...

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