Behold the Power of THREE!

I did five 360 degree review meetings yesterday with my fantastic leaders on loan group.  One of my LOL's this year recognized early in the program that he struggles with improvising and thinking fast on his feet. Sound familiar? This is a common issue for many of the professionals I work with.  It might just be your issue too.

So "Sam" knew he had a problem.  The question is--what's the solution?  Because here is the reality in today's marketplace:

Life moves fast.

There will be times you must think fast

And your ability to improvise just might

save the client

close the deal

get the contract signed

keep your job.

In our coaching session yesterday, I re-introduced "Sam" to a technique that I coach people who struggle to improvise and think fast to use in those moments where they feel overwhelmed by the prospect of planning, preparing and presenting your ideas in a matter of seconds.  I want to share it with you to.  Here it is: (drum roll please)

THREE

Yep.  Three. That's it.  The secret strategy in those moments where you get caught is simply to remember three.  

Here's how it works.  

You are in your department head meeting and out of the clear blue sky your boss says "Can you share with us some updates about the project your team is working on?" Well Yes--give me a week to prepare and put together a 45 slide deck and I will come back and share my updates--you think to yourself.  But it doesn't work that way. Your boss wants the update right now and all eyes are on you. Take a deep breath and think "THREE"  Observe:

"Yes I would be glad to give you some updates about our progress"

"At this point in the project we are looking at THREE important areas to complete in order to tie up the loose ends"

or 

"This project is complex. Let me tell you the THREE most recent developments in this project's life"

or 

"Well as you know, any great project has a clear beginning, middle and end and right now we are in the middle of this project's life.  Here are the three things that we are doing to get to the end of the project"

By inserting structure to your thoughts and ideas, your big ol lizard brain is far more likely to shut the heck up and you can then generate three ideas.   You are a content expert and you know your stuff right?  We use THREE to organize your thoughts and calm your nerves.  

And remember, you don't have to tell them everything you have ever known about everything.  Tell them THREE things and then shut up.  If they want to know more they will ask a question and there is your opportunity to elaborate.  

Practice the Power of THREE and see it's potential for helping you think fast and become a better improviser!  

Power Point is a Back Up Dancer.

What is the most you have ever paid for a concert ticket?  $100, $200, $1000 or perhaps even more?  Well chances are no matter what you paid, the cost of the tickets was not justified in your mind because the back up dancers were going to be so amazing. No!  We pay the money to see Tina Turner (or Britney Spears, or Lady Gaga, or Taylor Swift, or dare I say Barry Manilow) shake her tail feathers and sing her heart out.  And the back up dancers?  Well they are there to make TINA look good.

YOU are Tina Turner.

For far too long we have allowed Power Point to BE the presentation while the presenter simply stands to the side (often with back turned to the audience) reading the dull, lifeless and cluttered Power Point slides that were prepared as nothing more than giant notecards.

Look familiar?  SO BAD! SO PAINFUL! Blech

It is time to put Power Point in it's place--backing you up in the presentation.  It's job is to make you look good; to visually accentuate your message, not be the message itself.  I often get resistance from the "business as usual"professional who simply cannot think about doing a presentation with their good old safety net the Power Point.

Imagine for a moment that Martin Luther King is alive and well in 2011 and is preparing to deliver for the first time his (what will be history making) speech "I have a dream".  Do you imagine he would use a Power Point for the Presentation? I can just see it now--a slide with ten bullet points in 14 point font with a terrible stock image of kids holding hands.  NO!

MLK would not use a Power Point.  Neither would Lincoln to deliver the Gettysburg Address.  Or Maya Angelou to recite why the caged bird sings.  The greatest speakers know that the power to move an audience lies in their words, conviction, passion and ability to connect to the audience.  

So do you abandon Power Point all together?  Not always (but in some circumstances I say yes!  get rid of the Power Point and YOU be the presentation).  If you are going to use Power Point then use it wisely--quit making slides that are nothing more than giant notecards.  Challenge yourself to create a presentation that has ZERO bullet points in the entire presentation.  AND use this rule as your guide: Slides should VISUALLY reinforce the ideas you are communicating.  If your slides don't do that then start over.

To get some GREAT ideas on how to use Power Point more effectively, click on the presentation below and you will get a new appreciation for the POTENTIAL of a KICK AWESOME slide presentation.  Please share this presentation on facebook, leave a comment on slideshare and follow Bravo CC for future presentations.

Power Point is a Back Up Dancer click here

http://www.slideshare.net/BravoCC/power-point-is-a-back-up-dancer

The lesson is clear--when a Power Point doesn't know it's place you get a Kevin Federline type situation.  Too big for his britches, Kevin thought he was on par with his boss Britney Spears.  And shame on her--she allowed it.  Don't let your Power Point act like it's the star.  It isn't. YOU are the Star!

Here's to your next presentation!