Have you ever sat through a presentation that seemed to be going nowhere?
You knew what the topic of the presentation was, but you had no idea why the presenter was talking about it?
Unfortunately, this is an all too familiar scene in many business presentations and it wastes a great deal of time.
Your Objective Needs to be Clear
Without an objective, aim or purpose a presenter is simply talking about a topic and giving information. But when we can obtain information at a click, why should we bother taking valuable time out of our day to listen to someone who is merely regurgitating the same old information?
No, please don’t do that.
For your presentation to really engage your listeners, you need a BIG IDEA which forms the basis of your talk.
Your Big Idea is your key message.
It’s the one thing that is essential that your audience go away knowing, believing or acting upon when they leave the presentation room.
But let’s go one step further…
For your Big Idea to really take hold it needs to have two components:
- Your angle or point of view
- What is at stake
Your angle on the topic is what makes it interesting and unique. It’s what makes you worth listening to instead of the audience getting the information from a report, book or article.
What is at stake is about pain or pleasure – the two biggest human motivators.
It is about what the audience will gain if they take your idea on board.
It is about what they will lose if they don’t adopt your idea or proposal.
An Example of a BIG IDEA
Let me put this into perspective regarding my own topic – presentations.
Whatever aspect of presentations I’m giving training on, underneath it is my key message.
Presentation skills are simply my topic.
But my key message starts to take hold when I communicate my angle about the need for business people to present effectively. Here’s what I mean…
Topic: Presentation skills
My angle: All presentations should be as simple and concise as possible and include only the information the audience wants/needs to hear.
What’s at stake: If you don’t learn how to communicate your points clearly and concisely you will be putting your career at risk.
Getting clear on your Big Idea and exactly what you wish to communicate in your key message is fundamental for connecting with the audience and creating an impact with your presentation.
Never present without a Big Idea.
