Your results in 2010 boiled down to two critical factors: how you presented, and how others perceived your presentations.
They either went along with you or they didn’t.
They said either ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Not every presentation was accompanied by a podium, projector, and PowerPoint deck. But you were presenting nonstop in 2010 and you will be presenting nonstop in 2011.
Have you stopped to consider where you went wrong? What about where you went right? What resolutions have you made to communicate more clearly, more engagingly, and more intentionally? Or is that less important than, say, your resolution to be more like Mother Teresa?
The truth is these aspirations are one in the same. We all have a clear idea of who we are on the inside–for many of us, therein lies our best qualities. The trouble is in the execution: we go to transmit the ideas and the values we care so deeply about and suddenly everything comes out wrong. A few failed attempts to change the way we’ve presented ourselves and suddenly we’re robbing banks because we can’t get back to that 6th grade argument about whether or not we had the guts to stand up to a bully. We spend the rest of our lives compensating for miscommunications; why not spend 2011 focusing on learning to say exactly what we mean to say about ourselves, our partners, our businesses, and our times? A world with less confusion is certainly a world Mother Teresa would approve of.
Hook: The Presentation Conference is coming up quickly. You have your list of resolutions–lose weight, be nice, make good financial decisions, forgive a family member, etc.–and you’ll spend a little time on each. Why not spend a little time on your resolutions to communicate better? Over the course of the Hook presentation conference, you’ll glean powerful insights from the leading experts in presentation effectiveness (Gary Vaynerchuk, Scott Stratten, Michael Hyatt, et al.). You’ll rub shoulders with innovators in the business community who understand the importance of public perception on their careers and their businesses. You’ll come away better able to make your way with (dare I say) family, friends, colleagues, partners, adversaries, investors–you name it.
Good communication is more science than art; style is always welcome, but the basics are simple to learn. Make a resolution today to attend Hook: The Presentation Conference and become a better person in 2011.
