Project goes live!

It is no secret that traveling and experiencing new cultures is a part of my life. I would argue that for most IMD MBAs, it's a part of theirs as well.

Our new project is now live, check it out! We are committed to new material every week and there will be more to come on this. Please comment and share!

Technical Presentations #2 - Habits

Now that you have an insight into what kind of a presenter you are, let's look at the kinds of presentation habits you should develop that will help in any situation and style. The 3 basic categories are:

1. Self awareness
Knowing what you are doing is critical when delivering a presentation, every aspect of you is being scrutinized. You ARE in the spotlight. Pay attention to:

• General appearance
• Facial expressions
• Hand gestures
• Voice (pauses, tone, rhythm, volume, speed)
• Space (where you are standing, how you are moving)

Day to day, develop the habit of paying attention to these things. These will be used to increase the impact of your technical presentations.

2. Process orientation
Every time you have a presentation, follow a strict process so you consider everything for the highest impact. Depending on the level of the presentation, you can shorten or speed up this process.

• Preparation
• Goals
• Audience analysis
• Storyline and flow
• Content
• Rehearsals (iterate on 3&4)
• Logistics
• Delivery
• Follow up

As you can plainly see, most of the work is in preparation and rightfully so! If you follow a strict process, you make sure your audience will benefit the most from your presentation.

3. Reflection
A strong habit is to reflect on how you have done through informal or even formal feedback/ metrics. This will help you to continuously improve on your style.

We will go through the process step by step next to see how it can all come together.

Technical Presentations #1 - Style

Before you even start thinking about audiences, I think the first step is understanding what kind of a presenter you are and what kind of a presenter you want to be.

It might feel like you want to give a keynote like Steve Jobs, or rouse the audience with a voice and cadence like Dr. King, but what is important is to fit your own style. We hear about being authentic all the time but what it boils down to is alignment. Alignment between your style, your message and your delivery.

What is your style?
Are you a extroverted story teller?
Do you use your hands?
Are you animated?
Are you a thoughtful presenter?
Are you more calming?
Are you a matter of fact kind of person?

Try to put down a sentence or two about your style. Ask your friends or co-workers to describe your presentation or communication style. Note if there are differences between professional and personal "story telling".

Know what kind of a presenter you are today and work to be yourself, but better.

Next up, bridging between who you are today and where you want to be.

Technical Presentations #0

I believe that a technical audience is somewhat different from a general one. The last technical conference I attended reminded me of how visual aids are perceived. If it is accepted that terrible visual aids are the norm, what would a polished one say about you? Did you spend too much time on the presentation and not on the scientific rigor behind it? Does this slick show make you seem like a used car sales man? Would you lose credibility as a scientist if you deliver a presentation like a TED speaker?

I belive there may be some truth in it, but I also believe that there are steps you can take to improve your presentation while maintaining credibility as an honored member of the scientific community. TED speaker crossed with an MD PhD.

I will share some learnings from gurus like Nancy Duarte, Garr Reynolds, Guy Kawasaki and the many classes I've taken from presentation consultants to stage actors.

Enjoy!

The big deal about Johnnycupcakes

Being safe in your business is a sure way to mediocrity and perhaps even bankruptcy. The big deal about Johnny cupcakes is not because they are making millions selling t-shirts, it's because they turned reason upside down to create a following. And that means doing things that are unexpected and beyond logic (selling t-shirts in stores that look and smells like a bakery?) because they can.

They probably did not require a business case to put a Ninja turtle trading card along with the t-shirt.

Be different, be bold and make a big deal.

Single minded benefit

I have been consulting with a fellow student with a startup on the topic of marketing and branding, and it reminded me of the realities of making the decision to target a specific segment and delivering a single minded benefit. Why is it so difficult?

1. Companies feel that if you target one segment, you are leaving money on the table
2. Business cases do not take into consideration the positive effect on other segments if you are single minded in your message
3. Companies feel that it is less risky to broadly target a $1 bn market than to specifically target a $100 million market

But what is the reality?

1. If you target more than 1 segment, you are confusing the customer
2. Business cases should not be the end all be all
3. It is more risky if you are ambiguous. If you are broad and general, you don't stand for anything.

Stop compromising and pick a segment your product or service can best deliver the benefit! You may then find out that your final plan may in reality impact more than 1segment!!! Actually I am positive that will happen. A crisp clear message appeals to many more than you think.

Prepare for effectiveness

Every meeting that is planned requires what? Planning! The more number of people you have in the meeting, the more time it takes to prepare for effectiveness. A face to face may require jotting down some notes and questions, perhaps thinking how to phrase them to elicit the required information. But once you get into larger numbers... Think about how much preparation went into a keynote by Steve Jobs or perhaps a convention for housands of people by Tony Robbins in order to be absolutely effective!

How much time have you put in to preparation lately? Are you being effective?