PresentAbility

P r e s e n t A b i l i t y

How to Be More Than Merely Presentable

© Michael Neaylon 2010

PresentAbility is a division of MCME Pty Ltd

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Hello. My name’s Michael Neaylon. As a terrified teenage actor I was abysmal at speaking in public. Since

wishing the stage would swallow me whole over 20 years ago, I’ve gone on to build a successful career as

an MC, actor, facilitator and speaker. These are just some of the things I’ve learnt, applied, and reshaped

along the way.

Let me start by asking you with 3 simple questions.

1. Would you say you’re presenting at your best?

2. Do you think other people would say that you’re a world class speaker?

3. Would you like others to recognize you as an expert in your field?

Personally, my answers to these questions would be…

1. Many of us want to present at our best.

2. People want us to be world class presenters.

3. Many of us are experts in our field.

So what’s stopping us from presenting as the world class experts we – and others - know we are?

I’m glad you asked.


World Class Presentation Skills

For World Class People


I have no doubt that your present ability is far greater than you think; especially if it’s true that we only

use 5% of our brains. Margaret Mead said 6%. Others have said less. But even if we only use 10% that

leaves a lot of grey matter that could matter a whole lot more.

I do think, however, that too much thinking gets in the way of a good presentation. Counterproductive

thinking. We often worry ourselves with needless concerns far beyond our control:

Will they like me?

Is there enough detail?

Is it the right detail?

Perhaps it’s too much detail?

Have they heard it all before?

Do they care?

Should they care?

Do I? Of course I do. But who the hell am I to get up here and preach?

Why didn’t I just tell them I was sick and get someone else to do it?

These are just a few of the symptoms of presenter’s dis-ease. What we’re going to treat are some of the

causes.


Fear

Public speaking is widely reported by many as a fear greater than death. There

are countless theories as to why. Jerry Seinfeld says that most people giving a

eulogy ‘would rather be the guy in the box’. The great orator of Springfield,

Homer Simpson, says ‘If I could just say a few words: I’d be a better speaker’.

One of the more curious ones I’ve heard is that the mere act of being in front of

a group of people taps into our primal fear of being segregated from a group by

being apart from the tribe.

Whilst there might be truth in all of these statements, each person’s fear will be

personal to them, that’s why coaching can be helpful. It gives people the

opportunity to not only conquer fears but also locate their strengths – and build

on them. Whilst we might not be able to delve into your specific fear here, I find

the most effective fear fighters are the ones that take the focus off of yourself

and onto 3 key things:

1. The audience.

2. The topic.

3. The task at hand.

If I have nothing to fear

but fear itself, why do I

feel so afraid?


The Audience

The Topic

We’ll look at the audience first, because, without a doubt, they are the most

important point of focus. I’m sure you’ve worked that out already, however

there are a few things that can get between us and them in the process,

despite our good intentions.

This can be broken down into 3 main areas:

1. Lack of Research - find as much out about your audience as you can.

Survey them, ask the HR Manager about them, google them, know as

much as you possibly can about what makes them tick, and most

importantly, what they most care about – not just what you think they

should care about.

2. Lack of Relevance – you must know how this is relevant to your

audience. How will it improve their lives, or at the very least their

workplace, where most people spend much of their lives?

3. Lack of Confidence - When I recently voiced my concern over bringing

a particular topic to an audience I was reminded by a colleague ‘you are

what you bring’. It’s true. Bring the best of you to the stage. No more,

no less.

‘You must know how

this is relevant to your

audience.’


The Topic

The Task at Hand

‘Find a hot angle.’

A surefire way to be relevant for your audience is to have a hot topic. If it’s an

industry seminar, research what’s wrong in the marketplace. Where are the gaps?

Where are we falling down? Where could we improve? How could we serve more

people? How could we create profit and retain integrity?

But what if you have no say over the topic? What if the topic’s been chosen for

you?

The solution’s easy. If you can’t present a new topic in a new way, present and

old topic in a new way. In short, find a hot angle. You actually have an added

advantage here. As the audience’s expectations are low, you’ll surprise them with

a rigorous, fresh approach, automatically exceeding their expectations.

One of our clients, Steensen Varming, recently did this in a Presentation Skills

Workshop by starting their presentation with a scene from a movie. The MD had

rewritten the scene to address an old issue in a new way; he even acted it out. It

was brave and bold, and it captivated and engaged the audience.

Ask others for their perspective on an issue. They’ll appreciate it, and you’ll find

better material. Google it. Oppose it. Imagine you’re debating the issue for the

opposition. You’ll surprise yourself, and engage your audience.

You might be surprised If your topic is workplace motivation, rather than try to

rally the troops with empty ra-ra, could you instead give


The Task at Hand

If you’re the MC, your overall objective would be to fulfil the event brief. Yet your

task at hand for a particular session might be to energize people after lunch. This

results in an outcome: an alert, responsive audience for the afternoon’s speakers.

If you’re sponsoring a conference, your overall objective might be to raise your

company profile. Your task at hand, however, might be to give the audience a

case study. The outcome is you establish your reputation as a trusted source.

If you’re raising money for a charity you’re objective would be to raise money. The

task at hand could be to tell a powerful story to touch people with humanity and

humour. The result? They dip into their pockets and give generously.

To give you a visual of the task in relation to the objective and the outcome:

Objective Task at Hand Outcome

MC – fulfil brief Energize audience Audience attentive

Sponsor conference to

raise profile

Give a quality case study Positioned as a trusted

resource

Raise money for charity Tell a powerful story People give generously

‘The outcome is to

establish yourself as

a trusted source.’


Surely There’s More to It

All The World’s a Stage

All The World’s a Stage

Yes, there is more. A lot more.

Often the best ways to reach an audience is find as many touch points using as

many tactics as you can. Why? What resonates with one person might not

necessarily resonate with another.

What we’ve looked are just 3 tools in an expansive toolbox. To be a master

craftsperson, you need to keep unpacking those tools, trying them on for size,

experimenting a little and practicing a lot.

Before we explore some effective ways to do just that, here’s a quick overview of

just some of the tools you have at your disposal:

Anecdotes Demonstrations Interview a Guest

Analogies Quotes Personal Stories

Metaphors Slides Stories from History

Case Studies Music Video

Clichés Inter-activities Myths

‘What we’ve looked

at are just 3 tools

in an expansive

toolbox.’


‘Presenting is

focused speaking

– amplified by

your personality

and expertise.’

All The World’s A Stage

Heighten & Extend

One way to conquer the fear of speaking is simply to speak more. Not just on the

stage, at the conference or when pitching to clients, but in everyday life. By

practicing consciously, your ‘speaking’ becomes habitual. Then, when you step up

onto stage it doesn’t feel like such a massive leap into a unknown void.

As the best presentations are conversations, I invite our clients to practice the art

of conversation at every opportunity. I don’t suggest just idle chit chat. I do

suggest speaking with focus. If networking is focused socialising, then presenting

is focused speaking – amplified by your personality and expertise.

To help that process, we often encourage our clients to pick a simple topic or area

of expertise they’re highly familiar with and explore these techniques in:

Heighten & Extend: expand key points of a topic by highlighting key areas,

and ensuring those points hit home.

Elevator Statements: distil your message into an elevator statement that

gives someone its essence in one or two sentences.

Same, Same, But Different: say the same mini-speeches in different ways.


‘It’s tough. It’s fun.

It works.’

Heighten & Extend

Elevator Statements

This exercise is excellent for testing a story’s impact. It’s tough. It’s fun. It works.

This is your opportunity to road test your material for your audience, without them

even being in the room. Simply tell a story from a presentation you’re working on

to a colleague or friend. This person is now your story buddy. Using an accurate

snapshot your audience, brief your buddy so they understand the attendees’ key

areas, issues and concerns. They need to listen as if from that person’s point of

view. Then tell your story. But before you do…

Your buddy has 2 words they can interject with at any time.

1. Heighten. 2. Extend.

If they say ‘heighten’ then this is a cue that they need more detail delivered

in a more interesting or entertaining way. Keep them engaged. Watch their body

language, their face, and adjust your delivery to keep their interest.

Once your buddy is engaged, they say ‘extend’. This means you’ve made your

point and can keep going to deliver the next points in your presentation, until they

say heighten again. Keep having fun.

Debrief at the end, asking your buddy what worked, what didn’t, and why.


Elevator Statements

Elevator Statements are built on the concept of elevator pitches, made famous in

Hollywood by scriptwriters who only have a few floors in an elevator to pitch their

concept to a Producer.

Some screenwriters call this sentence the central idea, controlling idea or the spine.

Advertisers might call it a tagline. In a business plan the sentence might be the

mission statement. Whichever of those strike a chord with you, the key is that the

line needs forward motion, and ideally, emotion. The line needs to be catchy, active,

compelling and concise.

Use this line to encourage, uplift, inspire, influence, intrigue or entertain your

audience. Give it energy. Make it fun. It’s also effective if the line has that effect on

you. In fact I see it as. Here are some other examples:

Rich Dad Poor Dad’s Mission: To elevate the financial wellbeing of humanity.

Coke: The real thing.

This e-book: How to Be More Than Merely Presentable.

So, what’s your presentation’s concept? Can you explain it in one sentence?

But hang on, is one sentence really enough? Yes. And no.

‘The line needs to

be catchy, active,

compelling and

concise.’


Same Same. But Different.

Just as you’d tailor a CV for different roles and different companies, you also need to

tailor your Elevator Statement for different audiences and environments. The

following table is a snapshot of a concept developed by Matt Church and the

Thought Leaders network, giving the 3 ways you pitch yourself in any situation.

SITUATION FOCUS

Dinner Party Personal YOU

Networking event Activity IT

Prospect’s boardroom Outcomes THEM

YOU is obviously all about you; who you are, and what you’ve done. IT is about your

area of expertise or a project. THEM is all about the outcomes you can deliver for

the other person. To tailor this further, think about the appropriate energy level,

which can be divided into low, medium and high. As Matt wisely points out, you’re

best not to begin a high energy conversation all about yourself next to some on a

plane. Unless you want to be perceived by the other person as the guy in the next

seat who yells – ‘HEY. I’M MICHAEL, AND I SHOUT AT PEOPLE ON PLANES!’

‘Tailor your

Elevator

Statement for

different

audiences and

environments.’


In Closing

Same Same. But Different.

One of the areas we work on in detail with many of our clients is the art of closing

their presentation. In general, people fall into two camps.

1. They rush the ending.

2. They drag out the ending.

From the audience’s point of view it can feel like a badly executed 3rd act of a movie.

These are just some of the ways you can finish strong.

1. Summarise – review your 3 key points – or more if you have them.

2. Quick Q & A, asking for comments, questions or thoughts. You don’t want to

make this the very last thing though, as there are too many variables.

3. Call to Action – a great one for sales, giving people a strong cue for what to do

next.

So, in closing we’ve covered quite a lot here. We’ve looked at your audience, how to

engage them and how to deliver your message in ways that ensure they’ll be

receptive, responsive and entertained. If you have any questions, comments or

thoughts please email me at [email protected] Thanks for reading and all the

best for your presentations. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

‘…finish strong.’

’

mailto:[email protected]


About Michael Neaylon

Michael Neaylon is an MC, Presenter, Entertainment Consultant and Presentation Skills Trainer.

He has over 20 years in the entertainment industry, many of which have been spent

performing, designing and marketing events. Michael is the founder and director or MCME, an

interactive marketing, performance and training company that supports you in making your

event, your brand and your people a success.

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Copyright © 2010 Michael Neaylon

Disclaimer

The material contained in this report is general and is not intended as advice on any

particular matter. The author expressly disclaims all and any liability to any persons

whatsoever in respect of anything done by any such person in reliance, whether in whole

or in part, on this report. Please take appropriate legal advice before acting on any

information in this report.

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