What is it that makes so many business presentations so boring? And what’s the (magic) trick to overcoming the affliction?

I was chatting recently with someone who had just sat through a whole day’s worth of dreary business presentations. “The trouble is”, he said, “that most people are fundamentally rather boring”. 

I could have gone with the flow and simply agreed with him, but I like to look at life in a more positive way than that and, anyway, I think the situation is a little more complicated. I explained my belief that many people climbing the corporate ladder feel they have to default to a certain type of corporate persona, with the result that they fail to make a significant impact and come across as rather boring. 

In my time as a PR consultant I was constantly frustrated when having to deal with the underlings of real decision makers. They never ventured to tell you what they actually thought themselves. Instead they told you what their boss would probably think; and because they were acting like rabbits caught in a headlight, they invariably got it wrong, making them even more timid in future. This situation becomes markedly worse when they come to do a presentation – they are ‘on show’ to people with influence on their careers so they switch into corporate mode – a bland version of themselves that smothers their personality.

In many cases the switch into corporate mode comes automatically and without the speaker really being aware of it. A very senior IT executive I was coaching recently told me that the feedback he invariably receives is: “you were great in all the meetings and they loved you at the lunch, but when you did the presentation you became really boring”.

In the words of Mark Lee, a fellow member of The Magic Circle who advises Accountants on developing their careers and businesses, ‘boring is optional’. You really don’t have to be like that and there are so many benefits to letting your personality show through.

Anyone presenting a magic trick as part of their coaching in 

Presentation Skills is asked to sign a secrecy agreement 

- to ensure that Nick does not transgress 

The Magic Circle's strict rules

The good news is that you can be cured of slipping into corporate mode and my own treatment often includes getting the ‘patient’ to present a magic trick. Coaching sessions start with the patient giving a business presentation, which allows me to assess the severity of their condition and where the treatment should focus. Then I ask them to present a simple trick – tailored to their own company. Compared with their business presentation earlier a number of changes become immediately apparent:

• Their body language loosens up
• They show greater energy and enthusiasm
• A smile comes to their face and that can be heard in their voice
• They need to interact with their audience, so they start thinking seriously about the clarity of what they are saying and how to display visual aids to best effect
• Furthermore, they discover that they can communicate without the crutch of PowerPoint
• They tell us about themselves – so we warm to them and they become more convincing as a result
• Above all, they realise that the success of the trick depends on a ‘ta-dah’ moment at the climax that they want their audience to remember and talk about

All they need to do then is to apply some of those lessons to their business presentation – in particular the one about building to a ‘ta-dah’ moment that everyone is going to remember and talk about. Back in the world of business presentations this is known as a ‘Call to Action’, which needs to be focused and crystal clear; if it’s not, your presentation is likely to be worthless. Imagine, therefore, how powerful your presentation could be if its Call to Action was as memorable as the climax of a magic trick!

The German translation of Nick Fitzherbert's book 

Presentation Magic was published in April 2014

Sirens, fire alarms and hippos – anticipate the potential for distractions in your business presentation. And don’t even try to compete!

I would like to seize your attention for a moment to discuss the topic of distractions in business presentations.

It follows my recent musings about the benefits of taking a moment at the beginning of a presentation to ‘own’ the space. I added: Don’t, whatever happens, get caught out by the arrival of the coffee. All too often a trolley arrives just as you are delivering your full-on, scene-setting, engagement-designed opening statement. You cannot hope to compete with the clinkety-clink of cups and saucers and the passing of the sugar bowl.

 

Arrival of the coffee is perhaps the most regular and common of all distractions; others include fire alarms and passing sirens. You can’t compete, so stop, making a light-hearted reference if you can think of one, then carry on again once the distraction has passed. That way, nothing you say will be missed and you reinforce the fact that the floor is yours at that moment and you are in control. Indeed, if the coffee arrives, stop speaking and make a point of pouring it yourself. Far from looking servile it will show that you are in charge - you own the space!   

I talk about distractions along these lines when I am coaching business people in Presentation Skills, but what I really hope for is that distractions will occur naturally during the day so that my points become self-apparent. I was delighted, therefore, when at PR client hired a rather inappropriate room – underneath a pub – for a day’s team coaching. As the day went on and delegates had to see past the mirror ball hanging over the table and contend with constant banging in the kitchen, one presenter even had to compete for attention with the arrival of the manager’s dog. I had no need to start talking about distractions as mundane as sirens and fire alarms!

Sometimes the distractions are less apparent because they exist in the minds of your audience. Soon after I started an awayday for a major car manufacturer, news came in about the possible closure of one of the company’s plants. It became very apparent that that was what they were all thinking about, rather than anything I was saying. So I called a halt. “Let’s break for an hour”, I said, “make your calls, see what needs to be done and then when we re-convene we can decide whether to continue or whether to let you all go”. They made their calls, clarified the position, realised there was nothing they could really do and everyone was back and ready to continue within 35 minutes.

So think carefully about what is likely to be on the minds of your audience as you plan a business presentation. If, for instance, you have picked up that they are anxious about catching a specific train, then make that the first and most important item on your agenda. Tell them you are aware they need to get away on time and you have arranged to finish 10 minutes early. Then you can even add a bit of theatre – ask them to come to the window and point to a taxi; “that car is already waiting to take you to the station”.  Now you have the best possible chance of retaining their attention – because you have eliminated the big distraction.

The most unusual distraction (apart form the arrival of that publican’s dog) that I have come across recently was when I was helping a friend who was giving a presentation in a pod on the London Eye. We discussed opening with energy and impact and how to cope with sight lines in an unusually shaped ‘venue’. The real challenge, however, was that as soon as the pod was up in the sky anything I said about eye contact was going to have little value – everybody’s gaze would inevitably be drawn to the view! How can you compete with that?

We decided to plan for it. “Start off”, I said, “with a bit of audience interaction by asking for help from someone who is good at identifying landmarks in South-East London. Say that you will be stopping your story when you get high in the sky so that everyone can admire the view and you will need their help at that point”.  With a specific moment promised for admiring the view, no one would worry about missing it, giving the speaker the the best chance of keeping the focus on herself as she spoke.

Finally, the most extreme distraction I have experienced was with one presenter who thought she could hear hippos! This was a very long way from sirens and fire alarms, but then so were we – because we happened to be on a game reserve in Swaziland. Amusing as it was, I didn’t really want the distraction to continue into Day Two, so I checked it out. While there were hippos nearby – and we got to see them on the final day – the noise turned out to be coming from the local equivalent of a cattle grid. 

The German translation of Nick Fitzherbert's book 

Presentation Magic was published on April 29.