Touchy, Feely: Presenting Beyond Ideas

We have been posting a lot lately about charisma, body language, and facial expressions. The lessons in many of these articles have been that it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. To a large extent, this is true. In fact, studies have shown that what we convey in a conversation is largely based on what we do with our bodies – not on what comes out of our mouths. However, while our subjects matter, the actual words we use to get our messages across are crucial.

Remember the biggest criticism Al Gore faced during the 2000 election? He was described as an egghead, robot, boring, droner. Why? Was it because he didn’t have an interesting voice? Not really. Was he an unattractive man? Not particularly. Was he ill-informed and stupid? Actually, he was eloquent and displayed moments of brilliant insight paired with deep understanding and experience. So what was the problem? Al Gore only talked about ideas.

For the most part, ideas are boring. Ideas are great to read from a book. They are fun to bounce around in our own head when we are contemplating our new approach to PowerPoint presentations, but when we take the stage, the time for ideas has passed.

While many of us are intellectuals who are turned on by complex intellectual notions, most people are not. They find little engaging drama in facts and figures. People literally elected George Bush because they wanted to “sit down and have a beer with him.” This is not to disparage the former President or his supporters, on the contrary, it demonstrates an important strength that has been overlooked: He moved people.

If someone is going to sit through a presentation of any kind they don’t want to be overwhelmed with ideas. They want to feel engaged and connected. As a presenter, one of the most important ways to accomplish this is to use the right type of language.

By referring to the senses – instead of the models in your head – you engage your audience at a common ground, involving them at a deeper level. Bruce Springsteen once said, “Move their asses and their minds will follow.” Take some of these ideas to heart and you’ll be The Boss of your next PowerPoint presentation!

The Mind’s Eye

Project images into your audience’s imagination by appealing to their sense of sight.

  • “Get the picture?”
  • “Is that clear?”
  • “Can you see how that works?”
  • “Visualize these circumstances…”

Hear and Now

When appealing to your audience’s sense of hearing you are reinforcing the power of presenting a lecture instead of handing out a reading assignment.

  • “Listen to this…”
  • “Does that ring true?”
  • “Let’s talk about…”
  • “That sounds difficult.”

Feel Your Way

When you refer to kinetic space you reinforce sensations like safety, comfort, pleasure and excitement. Reach out and touch your audience and they’ll be tickled by your next presentation.

 

  • “Can you feel how that works?”
  • “Let’s touch on this subject…”
  • “Does this rub you the wrong way?”
  • “Has this irritated you too?”

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