Wooing and Winning Business: The Foolproof Formula for Making Persuasive Business Presentations

Acknowledgements xiii

Introduction Wooing & Winning Business 1

Thrills That Change Your Life 4

I’m Just a Plain, Ordinary Person. Do I Have What It Takes? 6

Are You Crazy? Of Course You’re Persuasive 7

Sure, You Can Fake It til You Make It 7

You’ve Got the Guts 8

How to Use This Book 8

Part 1 Wooing the Client 11

1 The Quick Fix Presentation Helper 13

How to Organize your Presentation: The Speechworks Formula 15

A Session with the Speechworks Coach 18

Presentation Power 21

2 What Turns Them On 23

Know Your Listener 26

How Do You Assess Your Listener? 26

Recap 27

3 The Formula: Getting to Yes! Yes! Yes! 29

Tell’Em What’s in it for Them: Preview 31

Tell’Em: Make a Point and Illustrate It 37

Make it Memorable 42

Transitions 43

Keep It Jargon-Free 43

Tell’Em What You Just Told’Em: Recap 45

Use a Wrap-up Story and Then Ask for the Order 46

It Can’t Be This Easy 48

Recap 48

4 Good Visuals, Like Cologne, Linger Longer with the Listener 49

Visuals Work for Your Listeners 52

Visuals Work for You 56

Add POW to Your Presentation 57

Practice, Practice, Practice 62

Recap 64

5 Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Handling Questions and Answers 65

Plan Ahead 67

Control the Mechanics of Q&A in a Large Group Setting 70

The Body Language of a Leader 73

End with Recapping 74

Recap 74

Part 2 All the Right Moves 75

6 Never Let’Em See You Sweat 81

Expect to Be Nervous 84

No Whining 84

Turn Presentation Panic into Presentation Power Using the Three Ps: Preparation, Physical Fitness, and a Positive Mental Attitude 85

Recap 88

7 Confidence Is Sexy: Presence 89

Do a Presence Makeover 91

Taking the Floor 93

Leaving the Stage 93

What to Do When You’re Sitting Down 93

To Stand or Sit, That Is the Question 94

Recap 95

8 Let’s Face It: Eye Contact and Face Energy 97

The Eyes Have It 99

Zero in on One Set of Eyes 100

Avoid Common Eye Disturbances 101

Facial Expression 102

Recap 103

9 Reach Out and Touch Someone: Body Language 105

Avoid Static Cling Gestures 107

One Small Step 109

Get Physical 109

Recap 110

10 It’s Not What You Say, but the Way That You Say It 11

Add Spice to Your Presentation 113

Change the Pace 114

Power Up! 115

The Voice – It’s That Gender Thing 115

Be Conversational 116

Sound Like You Mean It 117

You Want to Do What? Inflection 117

Aerobicize Your Lips: Articulate 118

Exercise 1: Use a Tape Recorder 118

Exercise 2: Lower the Pitch of Your Voice 118

Voice Power 119

Recap 119

11 The Pause That Impresses 121

No One Talk Too Fast 124

Power Pause Exercises 125

Pause to Let Your Listeners Catch Up 126

Pause to Cloak Nervousness 126

Pause to Eliminate the Knocks and Pings 126

Pause to Highlight Sales Points 127

Pause Plus 127

Recap 128

12 Dump the Distractions 129

Physical Distractions 131

Verbal Distractions 132

Psychological Distractions 132

Recap 133

13 It Was One of Those Electric Moments: Microphones 135

Stand Away 137

Don’t Get Caught Amplifying a Dull, Little Voice 138

Recap 139

14 We’re Going to Do It Again Until We Get It Right 141

Lights, Action, On-Camera Exercises 144

Posture Exercises: Video 144

Facial Exercises 145

Eye Contact Exercise: Video 146

Gesture and Movement: Video 146

Voice Exercise: Video/Audio 147

Recap 148

Part 3 Winning 149

15 Red-Hot Competition: Team Presentations 153

It’s a Race to the Finish 156

How to Be a Standout in a Shoot-Out 156

Get a News Producer 156

The Corporate Message 157

Separate Your Team from the Competition 158

Build Credibility 158

Use Visuals to Make Your Team Memorable 159

Close with Conviction 160

Plan for Questions and Answers 161

Beware of Late-Breaking News 161

Adopt a News Team Polish 162

Rehearse to Add Team Polish 162

Rate Your Presentation Like a Prospect 164

Recap 164

6 Seminars That Sizzle and Sell 165

Define the Audience and How You Can Attract It 167

Learn From Seminar Pros 168

Target Your Participants’’ Needs 168

Fill-in-the-Bank Study Guides Reinforce Your Information 169

Rehearse to Insure Polish 169

Make It Interactive 170

Evaluate to Improve 170

Follow up to Win 173

Recap 173

17 The Secret to Getting Involved 175

The Wooing Difference 177

Everybody’s Doing It 178

Why Presenters Fear Participation 179

Nine Ways to Make Your Groups More Interactive 181

Recap 186

18 We Have to Stop Meeting Like This: Meetings 187

The Leader’s Role 189

The Participant’s Role 192

Create Memorable Meetings 194

Recap 194

19 This Could Be the Beginning of a Long-Term Relationship: Job Interviews 195

You Are the Product 198

Organize Your Assets into Three Key Points 198

Make a Point and Illustrate It 198

Overcome Objections 199

Know Your Customer 199

Define the Job 199

Ask for the Order 200

Packaging Is Important 200

Explore the Fit with Confidence 201

Recap 202

20 You Want Me to Do What? Impromptu Speaking 203

Learn to Speak Well on a moment’s Notice 205

Expect the unexpected 205

Follow the Play Action: Listen 206

Develop a Ready Response Plan 206

Keep Your Comments Short 206

Speak Up 207

Recap 207

Appendix A How to Cure a Common Case of Cold Feet 209

Appendix B Using the Formula: Seminar Presentation 213

Appendix C Using the Formula: Introducing the Speaker 217

Index 221