I was barely a teenager when I first learned the power of getting a group’s attention. My scoutmaster asked me to give a knife and ax demonstration to his wife’s Girl Scout troop. The scouts were sitting before me on a large bleacher as I was showing the proper way to use a large knife. In a dramatic gesture that went horribly wrong I sliced open my left hand and blood poured out. People screamed (and in my recollection several fainted) as I was hurried off to the hospital. That’s one presentation that audience never forgot, but it didn’t meet the meeting objective and it’s not a great technique to use too often.
I suggest there are four better alternatives to get a business group’s attention:
1. Ask a Question
Many presenters stay in the default mode of transmitting as much information as fast as possible. Why not slow it down a little and start with a question? It gets people quickly engaged. Perhaps you could lead off a meeting with something like “What if you could double your market share in six months?” or “What do these market indicators have in common with your business?” Let them think a moment. Then reveal how the answers apply to the information you want to impart. Good questions lead to good answers and good engagement.
2. Tell a Story
Did my opening story get your attention? We’ve all been captivated by stories since our parents first told them to us. Stories engage the emotional part of our brains, making a human connection to whatever we’re talking about. Properly employed, a story that helps your team or your customer identify with a situation keeps your presentation from being another facts and figures dumping ground. Just telling a joke doesn’t cut it (!) I was at a presentation recently and the speaker told four good jokes in a row. We all laughed. Then, without tying them to his presentation, he launched into a dry monologue. I only remember the jokes.
3. Show a Picture
Not all of us learn well by listening. Some of us understand better when we can “see” what the point is. Perhaps you could show a diagram and ask the audience what it means. Or you could present a before and after photo. Or perhaps a roadmap leading to success. One great picture truly can be better than a thousand words. We all like pictures, but more and more we all love videos. A short video can be a knockout opener, but just like a great joke, it can fall flat if not artfully transitioned into the message you want to impart. Videos not only show what something is but also what it does.
4. Have Them Do Something
And not all of us learn well by either words or by pictures. We need to be doing something. One of the most compelling business presentations I ever participated in was by Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic. He said that in business, as in music, we should be selling extraordinary experiences. He had us stand on our chairs and sing … and we loved it. Not many presenters can pull that off, but you could draw on a whiteboard and have the audience participate in its completion. You could have people engage in a brainstorm list. You could have them discuss among themselves how best to proceed and then offer the larger group what ideas they came up with. Everybody’s in the act.
There are a lot of ways you can get your business group’s attention. What fits your audience, the message, and your personal style?
Solving the Sales Puzzle 