Alexa was scheduled to give the speech of her life. With her CEO’s urging, she had stepped out on the international stage. In one month, she was going to present the results of her work to a huge audience at a large international conference.
She signed up for coaching to get ready. She had her script prepared and I asked her to give me her talk.
She drowned me in incomprehensible “Corporate Speak.” And the dramatic way Alexa delivered it was overwhelming. Not compelling, overwhelming.
I asked Alexa what she was trying to do. She said, “Create an impact.”
She was intent on impressing them. The one thing she was not trying to do is the one thing she should be doing, and that is to help.
The transformation began.
I asked her, “How is this going to help them?”
Alexa answered, “I want them to see what world-class looks like.”
I acknowledged her and asked the same question again. Alexa was so focused on making them think she is world-class, on HER purpose for giving the talk, it took her five minutes to actually answer the question.
She said, “I want them to know that we are a world leader in our industry.”
I said, “Very good. How is that going to help them?”
She looked at me blankly. “What do you mean? How is that going to help them? That’s a good question.” Long silence.
Alexa: “They’ll know we’re world class.”
Me: “I get that. How is that going to help them?”
She was stumped.
Until you figure out how your presentation is going to help your audience, you haven’t determined how to be valuable.
Your presentation is valuable to the degree that it helps them.
Audiences would rather have presentations that help them than presentations that dazzle them. Wouldn’t you?
Yet so many presenters that I coach want to dazzle and aren’t focused on just helping their audiences.
When people in the audience come to you afterward and tell you, “You really helped me!”, they’re saying that you are valuable to them.
Being valuable will do more for your career than anything else. It’s measured by how much you help. Think about the most valuable people in your career. They’re not the ones who dazzle you. They’re the ones who help you.
Alexa had never thought about it before, but when she put her mind to it, she did figure out how she could help her huge audience. Suddenly, her presentation had much more substance and much more value, and she could see that.
The next thing Alexa said was, “This changes the whole presentation.” She had to re-create her whole presentation from scratch, including her opening statement, from this new viewpoint.
Good! Changing in the direction of really helping and being valuable is a good change.
When you do this, your audience will be engaged and they will want you back.
If you don’t know how what you say is going to help them, you don’t have enough information to construct a really great presentation. If you want to be a true professional, you need to find out. That means talking to people and asking questions. But if you start talking without knowing how what you say is going to help them, you are at risk.
The most popular speakers, the most memorable speakers, the ones who are asked back the most, are the ones who help the most.
It’s a whole different world when your purpose is to help rather than to impress or to dazzle.
The most successful salesman I ever worked with set world records. When I asked him why he was so successful, he looked at me with a big grin and said, “I help them more than anyone else does. Everyone else is trying to ‘sell’ them. They don’t want to be ‘sold’. They want to be helped.”
Alexa worked hard in her coaching, on her key messages and her presentation skills. She nailed mastering presentation skills to the point of being compelling to a large audience.
The combination of helping and having masterful presentation skills would make her unforgettable.
Alexa emailed me right after it was over. “I was voted #1 Presenter at the Conference!”
She beat many “distinguished speakers” and “world experts”.
She didn’t do that by trying to impress or dazzle the audience. She did it by being more helpful than anyone else.
Try it and you will see. Audiences can tell the difference. They know.
Be the cause!