Tips For A Winning Presentation -- Part One
By Dan Safford

Note: SunCam is an outfit in Florida that video-tapes short list presentations for publicly-funded programs. They've come up with some pointers for making winning presentations. The following is the first of three articles listing their tips.

SunCam has witnessed and videotaped nearly 600 consultant marketing presentations along with the deliberations of the jurors. We have made a few important observations about what it takes to be a consistent winner in this arena. 

Be Interesting!

First and foremost a presentation must be interesting if it is to keep the attention of the jury. You will never read this requirement in a Request For Proposals but, it is nonetheless an absolute (if unspoken) rule of every selection. The only time in the 500 presentations we've filmed that we have seen a selection committee struggling to make a choice is on those rare occasions when two firms have made interesting presentations (or more commonly, when none of the firms is interesting).

Bells and whistles multimedia won't make your presentation interesting. Your message and your people will. A project manager who has a track record, knows and understands the project, is a strong communicator and has some great ideas even before getting started, that's what the client wants! 

What such a project manager has to say about the project will be of great interest to the selectors.

Know Your Audience!

Your presentation doesn't have to be interesting to the whole world, just to that handful of people that make-up your selection committee or jury. Every member of the jury will have a unique set of expectations for your presentation. If a juror has a "hot topic", you will want to know about it before you get to Q&A. 

Make it your business to know the name and job of every person on the jury. Find out their level of education and their knowledge of design and construction. Know how well informed each jurist is about the project.

Unless your jury is all design/construction professionals (something we have never seen), don't use jargon.

Be Selective

Being shortlisted for a project that you can't win is not a blessing, it's simply a waste of your resources. The "Apply for everything and see what happens" approach will kill your bottom line and demoralize your marketing staff. The projects you skip will do as much for your prosperity as the ones you win!

Don't Read, Remember!

You attend a production of Hamlet. When the time comes for the famous soliloquy, Hamlet pulls a 3x5 card from his pocket, puts on his bifocals and reads; "To be or not to be...." At this point he ceases to be Hamlet and becomes, instead, an unconvincing actor trying to play Hamlet. When he steps out of character he loses all credibility (and most of his audience).

When you read from notes in your presentation you are making the same mistake. Your message, won't ring true, it may even be perceived as insincere. A jurist might well ask, "How important is this message if it can not be remembered without prompting?" or "How can we expect this consultant to make good on commitments that are forgotten the moment the notes are laid down?". It is impossible to convince your audience that your message is genuine if they can see you reading it from 3x5 cards.

Of course, you're are not playing Hamlet. To be convincing in your role you must remain "in-character", that is, "be yourself" throughout the presentation. Select the words, phrases and gestures you normally use when you speak. Avoid the stiff language of contracts and proposals. You don't have to memorize every word of the presentation, just the words on those pesky note cards.

It's not enough to just show up and get through a marketing presentation, you must be convincing if you are to win.

Rehearse thoroughly as a group before you get to the presentation!

In addition to learning your lines as individuals, rehearse your presentation as a group. The vast majority of firms never rehearse as a group before a presentation and as a result, their presentations are NOT interesting. They win only when their competition is also unrehearsed and NOT interesting. 

The delivery of a well rehearsed team gives a selection committee a feeling of confidence and well-being. The unrehearsed delivery makes jurists nervous, impatient, bored and disinterested.

The video camera is the ideal tool for effective rehearsal and it will help you overcome presentation jitters. If you have never videotaped your rehearsals before, it will probably make you as nervous as the actual presentation. Many firms report that videotaping their rehearsals actually helps to confront and eliminate presentation jitters.

Speak to your audience, not to your boards or screen.

"Never turn your back on your audience". This important rule is difficult to remember unless you rehearse it. 

Imagine that you have a sign pasted to your back that says "Clients are Jerks!". Naturally you don't want to let the client see your sign so you always keep your shoulders squared to the client. When you want to point to something on the board you use your "near hand" with the palm facing the audience so you don't have to reach across your body and expose the sign. You occasionally turn your head to look at your board but you only turn your shoulders slightly. 

When you speak, your voice is always projected toward your audience, never toward your board. Although this may seem awkward and stiff, wait until you have videotaped this technique in a rehearsal before you make a final judgment. Clients like a "face-to-face" delivery, don't show them your backside.