January 28, 2010

Tis a Gift to Be Simple

Editor's Note: This a guest post by Robert Graham of GrahamComm

We’ve all heard the song that begins, “Tis a gift to be simple…”, but it didn’t really hit me what a gift it is until two weeks ago.

I was leading a presentation workshop with a sales team, and they were each giving talks about new products for 2010. They were all fairly good presenters, as they present to clients on a regular basis.

The talks were only five minutes long, yet half of them were so complicated, I left not knowing what the message of each talk was. And the reason I didn’t know is because they lacked Simplicity.

If you embrace no other concept but this one in 2010 in your quest to present like a pro, make it be Simplicity.

Here are suggestions on how to deliver a message that is clear and succinct in every pitch, meeting or presentation you give:

Question: What is your Main Message? What one thing would you like your audience to remember from your remarks? Is it the security of your site's shopping cart? The importance of refinancing your home in the next 15 days? The need for your group to be prompt to meetings? If it’s not clear to you, it won’t be to your audience either.
Open with it: In your opening remarks, state your point of view for the audience so that they know where you stand and what they can expect from your talk. It need not be the first thing out of your mouth, but it should be clearly stated in the first minute or two.
Repeat it: Throughout your talk, return to your Main Message periodically. Repetition is a great device in speaking.
Leave out the details: If your audience is interested, they can ask questions to drill deeper into your content. Often, however, they just want a high level view of your topic, and then they want to go to their next meeting. Seriously consider removing 25% of your content and focus on clarity and simplicity.
Symbolize your message: Use a symbol or visual to convey your message. Steve Jobs pulled a MacBook Air out of an envelope to show how thin it is. The message of his keynote was: “MacBook Air – The World’s Thinnest Notebook.”
Simplify your slides: Consider, for once, having one word, phrase, number or image on a slide. That's it.
Close with it: The last thing people hear is what they remember most. Don’t clutter your closing remarks with new information or unnecessary fluff. Close with your Main Message.