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Buy-In starts with the right presentation
We are familiar with the Dragon’s Den formula: innovator comes before the panel of experienced entrepreneurs and tries to convince them to invest in his or her idea. Most fail. Others win and rare ones make such an impression, we still remember their presentation years later, like Levi Roots' "Reggae Reggae sauce" song.
When it comes to negotiation, presentation counts - though it’s not necessary to have a guitar and song writing skills. It starts with preparation. You organise what you want to say, you rehearse and research your audience to find out what makes them tick. Just demonstrating your knowledge is not enough, which is why I’m often called upon to work with young academics.
When you’ve spent so long researching a subject, it’s easy to feel that leaving anything out would diminish the authority of the knowledge gained. All the more so since academic knowledge is as much judged on the methodology as the results. Often slides are used to inform, not illustrate. They are chock full of text that distracts attention from the presenter and their message. A terrible missed opportunity. This is compounded when the message fails to address the audience’s concerns or ignores the point of the presentation – to persuade. It’s hard to step back in a business context and think:
- What problem was this research trying to solve?
- How will the findings contribute to a solution?
- Why should my audience pay it any attention?
Only if you are prepared with this knowledge will you deploy the right skills to win your audience and get your idea the recognition it deserves.
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MY STORY OF THE MONTH:
I was saddened to read this statistic and the fact that nearly a third (32%) said their careers had failed to live up to expectations, blaming primarily poor line management, lack of training and office politics.But it was their lack of confidence that struck me most. The tendency for women to self-deprecate is a well documented reason for lack of career progression. Yet, as a trainer, this is something that I perceive as one of the easiest obstacles to address because it can be changed by good quality mentoring and personal development. It puts women in control rather than as victims of social prejudices. It just needs more people to help them reach out for help.
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Anrah News:
- On 16th of this month, I’ll be presenting “Gravitas as a sales strategy” to the Impact Association - a network for MDs and Sales Directors who sell automotive parts distribution.
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I loved these science superheros and couldn't help but share it with you!
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What you think:
"I found Sarah's mentoring and guidance key in adapting to and making a success of my management role. Her understanding of the key dynamics of communication, relationships and networking at this level and her considerable experience backed by a thorough grounding in many supporting methodologies (including psychology) made for a very effective coach.” Martin Casey former Manager of Regulatory Affairs, Siemens
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