Getting to the Heart and Soul of a Presentation

Now that you've learned a bit about external presentation skills, it's time to get internal—into the heart and soul of a presentation. This chapter takes you to another level of presenting, a level that gets the audience to react to how you think and feel about your message.

Teaching about the body and the voice is somewhat easier than talking about feelings because the body and voice are tangible and very measurable parts of the delivery skill. If you're not moving or no one can hear you, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the problem. If you're not focused or you don't have enthusiasm—people notice that something is not right, but they're not sure what it is. The audience sees external distractions, but they only sense internal ones. External problems make them not want to look at you at the moment. Internal distractions make them not want to watch you again. The mechanics of function are what keep them coming back for more!

Perhaps you've gone to a movie or a play and you left with an empty feeling, unsure as to why you felt that way. This happens because you might not have the expertise to analyze the problems in the performance, but you have the experience to know what a good performance should be. Everyone in the audience has been to a presentation before, and they have the experience of both good and bad events. This is what leads people to arrive at the presentation with a certain expectation.

The good news is that the average audience member at a business presentation expects boredom and talking heads. You can exceed that expectation with well-planned mechanics of form, the external presentation skills using the body and the voice. People are always appreciative of your having given them more than anticipated. If you can take the time to prepare on the outside—you know, dress the part, plan the movements, and work the voice—then you need to make the effort to prepare the inside. The inner plan is your character, shaped by thoughts and feelings.

If you truly want your message remembered and linked directly to your personal delivery of that message, you'll have to use the mechanics of function, the internal presentation skills. The components of these skills include your mind…and your heart.