46. Eight Presentations a Day

Cause and Effect

For each of the past 40 years, the American Electronics Association, under the auspices of TechAmerica, holds its annual Classic Financial Conference at which more than 1,800 technology companies and more than 6,000 investors come together in one venue. Executives from participating companies deliver eight to ten iterations of their corporate pitches in one day, giving existing investors multiple opportunities to get updates on their holdings, and potential investors multiple opportunities to learn about new businesses.¹

Noland Granberry, the Chief Financial Officer of public company Silicon Image, Inc., a leading provider of advanced, interoperable connectivity solutions for consumer electronics, mobile, and PC markets, presented at the one of the conferences. Over the course of his eight presentations, Mr. Granberry experienced a progressive dynamic that provides a helpful lesson for any presenter.

As he delivered each iteration of the Silicon Image pitch, Mr. Granberry felt his comfort zone increase, resulting in what he believed to be a smoother delivery; he also felt he portrayed his company more confidently and authoritatively. This progressive evolution also produced another benefit.

At the end of each presentation at the AEA conference, the presenters open the floor to questions. As a matter of course, most investors ask challenging questions—after all, they want to be sure that their investment is in good hands. Mr. Granberry got his share of challenging questions in his sessions, but he noticed that, as they day wore on, the questions became less challenging—in direct proportion to the improvement in his presentation delivery.

Think about that: Mr. Granberry delivered the identical content each of the eight times and nothing changed but his delivery. He had experienced—in real time—the power of Verbalization, a rehearsal method of speaking the presentation aloud multiple times.

Unfortunately, most presenters bypass any rehearsal at all. If they do rehearse, they either mumble, “Blah, blah, blah...” or they talk about their presentation, “On this slide, I’ll discuss....” Neither of these methods is Verbalization. Verbalization means delivering the presentation in rehearsal as if there were an actual audience in the room, “Good morning. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to....”

This powerful—and yet underutilized—practice technique clarifies the words and the flow of the content, giving presenters the assurance to present with conviction. If you prepare, practice, and deliver your presentation thoroughly, you can not only present your story more effectively, you can also diminish the challenges in your Q&A session.

Verbalization worked for Noland Granberry; it can work for you. You can control your own destiny.