Articles

Surviving the Q&A

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We recently discussed some effective strategies for handling audience questions – you can choose to hold them until the end, invite them anytime or try one of the hybrid strategies described in detail. So, someone asks a question. Now what do you do? Here are some Best Practices to help you survive and thrive during Q&A.

  • Look directly at the questioner and listen intently for the concept or main idea behind the question. This helps you deal with the actual question, not the first few words. Wait patiently until the person finishes.
  • Don’t jump in with your answer. Make sure you know what the question is all about. If you’re not sure, ask for clarification.
  • Don’t thank them for the question or indicate, “That’s a good question.” These contrived attempts at courtesy don’t accomplish anything except taking time away from your answers.

Maximize Your Tradeshow ROI

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Many sales professionals and entrepreneurs use business expos and trade shows to market their products and services and network with prospects, clients and colleagues. If that strategy works for your business, here are four Best Practices to help you maximize your trade show experience, ROI and value.

1. Work Your Booth

  • Stand in front of your booth and warmly greet people passing by.
  • Don’t eat or sit – you came to work.
  • Don’t chat with booth mates when you could be chatting with prospects.

2. Ask Good Questions

  • Ask brief, focused questions like “What do you do?” … “Do you use (service or product you provide)?” … “Who provides it now?”… “Would you like some information on our (service or product)?”
  • Ask for their cards and wait for them to ask for yours. Don’t just stuff one in their bag.

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End Strong with a Power Close

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Audience-Centric presentations should end, not just stop. And they should end strong. Previously, we discussed the critically important Introduction and shared Best Practices for ‘Telling ‘em what you’re gonna say.’ Now, we focus on ‘Telling ‘em what you said.

While the audience may be influenced most by what they hear first, they remember most what they hear last. So, a powerful ending can ‘close the sale’. You can quickly restate your Main Point in terms of audience-centric value, remind them of the Sub-Points you shared to ‘prove’ your Main Point and let them know what’s next.

Just as with your Introduction, that’s a lot of important work to do in a very short time, so every word must count here, too. What follows are some Best Practices for your Power Close:

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Harness the Power of Words

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Even though we realize the impact that tone of voice, body language and visuals all have on your presentation outcomes, never forget that Content Still Rules in audience-centric presentations … and the words you use deliver that content.

Before sharing some ‘Best Practices’ in future articles to help you Harness the Power of Words, let’s discuss some of my favorite ‘Worst Practices’ – the poor choices we often make and why we make them. Tpyically, my executive coaching clients fall victim to three flaws affecting the words they use … and don’t use.

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Stuck Behind the Podium?

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A client recently asked what to do when forced to deliver a presentation from behind a podium. I’ve been in that situation a few times and I don’t like it. Even if it makes some sense because of lighting requirements or microphone limitations, I still don’t like it. If you’re ever faced with that situation, … Read more

Making the Varsity Networking Team

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Interact enough with members of the Varsity Networking Team and you’ll quickly realize how they got there and what we can learn from them: Everyone networks, but very few people network with focus, finesse and flexibility. And even fewer with class. Always network with a strategic plan … then work your plan like a pro. … Read more

Handling Audience Questions

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It’s time to consider Best-in-Class strategies for handling audience questions. What they ask and how you respond can make or break your credibility, impact your confidence and influence your outcomes.

Recalling your thorough planning process, you should be able to anticipate 90% of the questions 90% of the audience will ask 90% of the time. Not bad odds for sure. Your Sub-Points can even be phrased as questions.

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Email Excellence

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We often discuss Email Best Practices in my Business Writing Workshops. Here are some recurring themes: Always have something useful in the subject line so busy readers can evaluate if and when to read it just by seeing it in their inbox. Assume every email you send will be printed, kept forever and framed over … Read more

Hand Out Effective Handouts!

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Effectively designed handouts can be excellent tools to add value to your audience and support your presentation outcomes. And effectively designed PowerPoint slides can achieve similar results. But, these are very different tools and one document can’t work at all for both purposes.

PowerPoint screen prints don’t make effective handouts. When the PowerPoint gurus created the tool, they figured the screen print of 4 – 6 slides/page with space for notes on each would be a handy method for creating speaker notes. While the slide copy was too small to read, it didn’t matter because the speaker probably created the slides and knew what was on them. The notes part was for key points the speaker would emphasize on each slide. Very cool idea.

But, when busy presenters who were more lazy than creative or audience-centric saw this option, they figured … ‘no-brainer handout’. And Shazam … a new genre of ineffective handouts was born. The result – Death by PowerPoint handouts.

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Elevator Speeches Revisited

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Here’s the best elevator speech I’ve ever heard, from a good friend who is a financial planner. He doesn’t use that title when he networks, because there’s too much baggage and negative connotation connected with it. When someone asks him what he does, he simply says “I help take people from fear and frustration to … Read more