Presentation can be one of the most intimidating things to do, especially in front of a large audience or even high-ranked professionals. More often than not, the responses we receive will stem greatly from how a presentation was delivered and the manner in which the speakers carry themselves. After close to a month of my internship, I have learnt one skill that PR professionals proficiently employ - the art of wordplay. Consider the two statements below:
“I prefer my usual taste but I can explore.
I can explore but I prefer my usual taste.”
Stated with the exact same words but rearranged, the line takes on a whole new meaning. Typically, whether we have said all that is needed, whether we have communicated our ideas across, and just so the overall presentation will be accepted, the way we phrase ourselves makes all the difference.
I learnt this invaluable lesson during an organising committee and client meeting. Meeting with the big guys, none of the vendors (Events, Advertising and Promotion and Public Relations) can afford to slip up. They are a group who will scrutinise our every word, shoot us down with harsh criticism and comments and ultimately make the final decisions.
When the events team was presenting, they struggled with words and were thoroughly grilled by members of the committee. Their presentation took over 40 minutes. When it was our turn, my director delivered our PR part effortlessly, received minimal comments and most ideas were accepted. We took less than 10 minutes!
Gratefully, my director shared her rich experience with me and enlightened me on a few things to note. We should know exactly how we want things to turn out and therefore steer our presentation in that direction. That is, to position our presentation in a way that we will (and must) get our desired outcome. I quote, “We sort of let them think they have the final say, but you know we really have already made our choice and they will agree. It's how you deliver.”
Brilliant!
No comments:
Post a Comment