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June 30, 2014 Biz Books

Mastering the art of great presentations

“Be the Best Bad Presenter Ever — Break the Rules Make Mistakes and Win Them Over” by Karen Hough (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $17.95).

When it comes to presentations, there's one rule you should never break: “Be yourself.” Hough takes on the myths of good presentations because they not only constrain the personality of the presenter but also dilute the message.

She starts with purpose. Flawless delivery has nothing to do with purpose. “Purpose has to be tied to an outcome — What do you want your audience to do as a result of your work?” Purpose (what) must influence action (how).

What about practice? Practice helps you gauge time and stay on pace. It also helps minimize stumbling over words and “going blank.” Hough also warns those with natural-speaking talent not to believe their ability will overcome a lack of practice.

She cringes at the thought of someone practicing in front of a mirror. Why? Because it's an exercise in watching yourself. You notice things that the audience wouldn't. This makes you all the more self-conscious when you take the stage.

When you practice, do it in an open space. Ideally, have someone familiar with the presentation's purpose for your audience. S/he will provide real-time feedback. When you're done practicing, practice more.

And forget about using a podium. While it's a nice place for notes, it's also a barrier between you and the connection you're trying to make with the audience.

People are influenced by body language and how you verbally convey information. A podium blocks both. There's no body language to see because you're a talking head. Once behind a podium, an unconfident presenter often reads from notes. When you're reading, you quickly lose the eye-contact connection with the audience, and your voice lacks the emotion needed to sell your message.

“Are there any questions?” How many times have you heard deafening silence at the end of a presentation when the speaker asked that question? Instead of this low-note ending, close by reiterating your message and a call to action.

Check out www.improvedge.com/videos for short lessons on the presentation rules you should break.

• • •

“Roadside MBA — Back Road Lessons for Entrepreneurs, Executives and Small Business Owners” by Michael Mazzeo, Paul Oyer and Scott Schaefer (Business Plus, $27).

With time to kill at an economics conference in Boston, three “egghead economists” drove to Maine. Their stop at a shoe store led to interaction with its pushy salespeople, and a discussion with the staff about their jobs and the merits of owner's secret-shopper program.

A year later, they were still talking about that shoe store. It was used as an example in their classes. They decided to hit the road again to see what they could learn from other small businesses. Here's a key takeaway about expansion:

Sometimes owners impede their ability to grow their business — Silk Espresso (Gresham, Ore.) won awards in each of its six years of operation. The owner typically works 12-14 hour days. She once had four locations but scaled back to one because she was “overwhelmed by trying to be everywhere at once.” Because she believed that she was the only one that could run a café the way she wanted, her business couldn't expand.

In sharp contrast, Mugshots (in Hattiesburg, Miss.) a casual-dining restaurant, quickly expanded to four locations. Its owner hired a general manager and armed her with a three-page audit checklist. Unscheduled visits keep the restaurant managers and staff on their toes. To control costs, the owner uses M2M (machine-to-machine) technology that communicates between his beer taps and cash registers and his smartphone — he can tell if a 12-ounce beer was drawn and the customer was only charged for 10 ounces.

Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.

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