The Art of Selling Ideas

“Good Ideas are so frequently undermined by bad presentations that it is almost tragic”

Shelly Lazarus, Chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

So why is presenting so important

• Work poorly presented is frequently work that is rejected.

• Work rejected is work that has to be revisited at the agency’s expense.

• Work that’s rejected wears people down with disappointment and the need to revisit the same brief over and over again.

• Poorly presented work doesn’t do much for the client relationship either.

Xyour

Xtask

Xany

The Value of Well-Presented Work

The Value of Well-Presented Work

• Well presented work gets approved, the job moves on, we can all go back to focus on the work.

• Even if the client rejects the work, your professionalism is respected and in turn you’ll receive a professional response directed at improving the job.

• Well presented work also develops trust. By presenting well you show that you believe in what you do, and your sincerity becomes the foundation for trust.

• ...and there’s the excitement factor.

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A CONCEPT: an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances

small brown things that move...

MICE!

AN IDEA: the specific result of your cognition, what you have in your mind.

It is Not What You Say It is What Other People Hear

• One of the most difficult things about presenting, is that we’ve already done the work and our heads are into the next three jobs. “We know why we did it the way we did,” we moan, “It should be obvious.” But the fact is, it’s not obvious.

• You have to guide people through your thinking, get their buy-in. By explaining where you’ve come from, you include them in the process, giving them a share of the work .

• In covering-off the thinking that lead you to your recommended concept, you put an end to the question, “What if we did this..?” because you have generally already tried it, and in showing how you reached your conclusion, you’ve already shown why you’ve moved on from that point.

Try to imagine them using PowerPoint...

• PowerPoint undermines good thinking by forcing the imprecise use of language, by fragmenting information, and by encouraging the triumph of order over content.

• These inherent problems are then compounded by slavish devotion to an array of tools (clipart, transitions, templates etc.) that are supposed to help, and a widely embraced presentation slide that involves reading every last word on the slide.

• PowerPoint over-dependency represents intellectual lethargy on the part of the presenter, and generally includes something similar in its audience.

• ...by the way I am using Keynote.

The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint

• Frank Sinatra was one of the great presenters.

• He presented in his own style. And you can present in your own style.

• Today you will learn a few techniques. But you must present in your own way.

• As Frank used to sing “I'll state my case, of which I'm certain”.

Your Way

• Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. So make sure you’ve covered all eventualities.

• You need to spend way longer preparing than you do presenting. Way, way longer.

• Make sure you present it all the way through with all the technology and charts and stuff, to a critical audience.

• Only through presenting it will you see where the flaws and weaknesses are.

Homework

Energy

• Be confident. If you’re happy with the work you should be confident.

• Be happy. A happy presenter is one who knows no fear, and clients can smell fear.

• Don’t do a presentation just communicate with passion and imagination.

• Stand up. Walk about. Talk naturally. Tell jokes. Tell stories.

• Be a natural, warm energetic person telling people about interesting stuff.

Know Your Audience

• Who are you presenting to?

• What do they want from you?

• What mood are they in?

• Are they words people or pictures people or numbers people?

• Do you need to establish your credibility somehow?

• The presentation isn’t about you. It’s about them.

Distill

• Picasso was one asked how he could turn a large block of rock into a sculpture of a lion.

• “It’s easy,” he said. “Just take a chisel and chip off all bits that don’t look like a lion”.

• Maybe you can see the idea, but to others it still looks like a large, ugly boulder.

• You have to reduce it to make it simple. Less is always more...

Purpose

• If it’s a purpose you can share then state that purpose right upfront.

• Make sure your presentation is geared to that purpose.

• If you’re trying to get a decision made don’t spend 20 minutes diverting to something else…

• Let people know what you expect of them. What are you expecting them to do?

Reveal

• You’re now ready to show the BIG IDEA.

• Paint pictures in their minds that will form the perfect backdrop to those you are about to reveal.

• Then reveal. It’s your work – it’s gold.

• Take them through the concept slowly, Once you feel everyone understands the idea, then go over it again, this time explaining the detail.

Ideas not Executions

• The idea does not limit itself to being the literal expression of the strategy. It does not stop there.

• The idea expresses the benefit in an engaging, distinctive way. The execution is the way the idea is presented, explained and depicted.

• An execution is an idea about the idea. In other words, the selling idea dramatizes the benefit, and the execution dramatizes the idea.

• Is the art of selling ideas not executions...

The Finish

• People pay disproportionate attention to the end of things and they remember the end of things better.

• Most people’s presentations just fizzle out at the end because they run out of energy before the end.

• Make conclusions. You’re an expert. Don’t be afraid to make your recommendation.

• Summarize – recap everything you’ve just told them in your presentation.

Defending

• Now it’s time for someone else to have their say. Usually it’s the client.

• Some like to comment straight away. If they’re straight into their comments – listen.

• Others like to mull it over. If they’re a muller, leave them to mull.

• Defend your work in line with the thinking you’ve already presented.

• But whatever happens, never, ever, create answers on the spot.

Always Remember

• It is not what you say that counts it is what other people hear.

• One of the most important truths of any presentation is that it does not exist in a vacuum.

• Every presentation must have a theme and a narrative structure. Be thinking as much about the drama of what you have to say as about the content.

• People don’t care how much you know, unless they know how much you care.

• The key to all story endings is to give the audience what it wants, but not in the way it expects.

An Example

KING AGAMEMNON’S BRIEF:

Others presented...

• Military Strategies

• Attack Plans

• Overviews of Resources Required

• Broad Costings Depending on Length of Battle

• Widely Varying Casualty Estimates

Odysseus presented...

• Trojans Are On Alert - Waiting for Attack

• Troy is well defended

• Conventional Attack is Dangerous

• Time consuming (10 years)

• Capital intensive

...an analysis

Odysseus presented...

• In Trojan Culture You never refuse a gift

• In Trojan Culture the Horse is totally revered

...an analysis

ONLY DECEPTION WILL GIVE US THE ELEMENT OF

SURPRISE THE CONCEPT

AN IDEA

• The Perfect Pitch, by Jon Steel.

• The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, by Edward Tufte.

• Envisioning Information, by Edward Tufte

• Presentation Zen, by Garr Reynolds.

• How not to come Second, by David Kean

• ...and many more.

Reading

Antonis Kocheilasantonis.kocheilas@me.com

As Managing Partner / Planning for LOWE Athens, I am responsible for agency’s acknowledged strategic prowess. LOWE Athens is the 2nd most effective agency office in Europe according to the Effie Effectiveness Index (http://www.effieindex.com)

THANKS A LOT