I will be heading off to IABC’s International Conference on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon will be leading a few hundred folks through a personal presentation skills coaching session. I know, it seems like an oxymoron. There’s not a whole lot personal about a group that size but for a couple of them, they will have a bit more skin in the game. The rest will help with the coaching and the transformation they all observe will be worth everyone’s time – guaranteed.
But going into it, I already know what some in the audience will be thinking. This session is about perfecting certain skills – but they would be wrong. Perfection has little to do with becoming a great presenter & communicator. As a matter of fact – the more we seek perfection, the less impact we seem to have. (Check out this fun podcast on perfection vs. authenticity.)
To the contrary, things that are genuine are very attractive to us. Not the kind of quasi-reality we see on TV, but the real deal. If you want the key to personal effectiveness – I’m going to tell you. Ready? People are most influenced by people just like them. It’s what makes us credible and relevant. We often find it difficult to relate to the overly polished or those who have embraced the form of being a great communicator and somehow missed the essence of it.
From time to time we’ll have someone in our coaching workshops that goes into “presentation mode”. They seem to be saying all the right things but there is an artificial flavor to what we are seeing and everyone can feel it. Eventually we catch the person during the break and ask them to simply talk to the group and be themselves. Some make an amazing and immediate transformation before our very eyes! Others never break free and their overly orchestrated delivery only manages to create distance from those they had hoped to impress.
Don’t get me wrong – we all have stuff we can work on. But for most of us, the areas that have become distractions to others or that create unintended distance from our audiences – are the things we are least aware of. We simply need an objective set of eyes to help us to the next level.
We are at our very best when we simply talk to our audiences – a series of one-on-one conversations. We share things we are passionate about. And finally, we consider their knothole in the fence in all we do and say. That’s the secret sauce of being a truly great communicator. Perfection is simply the wrong goal.
If you have a moment, check out my blog on making an audiences feel, not just think. It just may change how you approach your next presentation.
