Tag: first impression

Leave Your Mark: Apply Personal Branding in Presentations

first impression

personal branding

planning

presentation guide

Rick Enrico Blog

SlideGenius

Dec 28, 2015

Attracting audience attention is one of the most difficult tasks in a presentation. It’s likely that they’ve already heard what you have to say from other speakers, and in different media. You might think your pitch is unique, but its general thought may be similar to what others have thought of before.

So how do you apply personal branding in presentations? And how do you make sure you look better than the competition? Setting yourself apart is important in making and leaving a good impression.

Don’t pass by unnoticed. Market yourself and your pitch in three ways:

Keep Your Friends Close, and Your Competition Closer

Studying your audience is a necessary prerequisite to effective communication. Aligning your own vision with your target market’s interests guarantees their attention. To do that, you’ll have to do a bit of research on your part and look up your audience’s preferences.

But getting people’s to stay tuned isn’t enough. Reel them further in and assure them that you’re the best by searching for your competitors as well. We don’t mean backbiting and sabotage, though. We’re talking about looking at premises similar to yours and seeing how you can spin it into something novel and unique. One way of achieving that is taking on the idea from a different angle than those already used before.

Influence & Co. CEO and co-founder, John Hall, cites ways on how to take a unique approach to your brand. These include looking at your company strengths, qualifications, and insight. Another is by looking at your competition’s weaknesses and framing it as your strength. These give you and your presentation a distinct image and a memorable characteristic.

Create a Relatable Narrative

Once you’re sure of your strategy, the next step is figuring out how to deliver your message. Among the most successful methods is framing your presentation in a narrative, preferably one your audience can relate to. People can follow the flow of your speech better when it has a beginning, middle, and end. Incorporating familiar tropes and images also keeps them interested.

However, remember that in relating a story, you have to apply the conversational tone. This establishes rapport and eases built up tension before and during a presentation. Avoid using too much jargon or foreign words, and explain each point thoroughly without talking down to your audience.

Talk to your audience as you would an esteemed friend. They’ll return the favor by responding in the same way.

Gain Believers through Quality

The final and best option to distinguish your presentation over everyone else’s is to be on top of your game. This is a foolproof technique to appear credible and relevant before, during, and after your presentation.

Make a good first impression by maintaining your confidence and composure. Come in prepared and ready to present. Acquaint yourself with the venue and the audience so you know how to set the mood. Don’t get lax with your exposition, though.

An audience will be impressed with consistency in how you handle yourself, especially when you encounter unexpected hurdles mid-speech. Keep your energy up until the end of your presentation. It’s also good to reserve some extra energy in case your audience has further clarifications for you.

No one wants to listen to a drained speaker. Project as much of your liveliness as you can to best engage your listeners.

Conclusion

People are always on the lookout for originality. It may seem tough when plenty of people have had the chance to make their mark. However, it’s not entirely impossible, either. You have to strategically organize your content to be different from your competitors’, converse with your audience, and improve the quality of your performance.

Distinguishing yourself from other presenters isn’t so hard when you know where to start. Strong personal branding also needs to be backed up by a professional PowerPoint presentation. Contact our SlideGenius experts today for a free quote!

References

“4 Ad Agency Secrets for Better Brand Building.” Women on Business. October 11, 2015. Accessed October 14, 2015. www.womenonbusiness.com/4-ad-agency-secrets-for-better-brand-building
Hall, John. “Setting Yourself Apart in a Competitive Industry.” Forbes. October 18, 2012. Accessed October 14, 2015. www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2012/10/18/setting-yourself-apart-in-a-competitive-industry

” by See-ming Lee on flickr.com

3 Lenses of First Impressions During Business Presentation

first impression

Heidi Grant Halvorson

personal image

presentation credibility

presentation tips

Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

Jul 07, 2015

The moment you begin speaking, people start building their own opinion of you. This first impression usually answers the questions “Who are you?” and ‘What do you do?”

Answer these questions accurately to ensure that your business presentation always starts off right.

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There are many interesting ways to enhance your audience’s perception of you and your message. In fact, social psychologist, Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson believes that people see you in different lenses: the trust, power, and ego lenses.

We’ve taken these three lenses of a first impression as an inspiration to help you jump-start your business presentation – all the way through to success.

Trust Lens

You don’t want your audience to perceive you as indecisive and unreliable. Draw people to listen to you by building your credibility and demonstrating warmth and competence.

Presentations that are built on trust have a competitive advantage in establishing strong business relationships.

Looking through this lens not only lands you a positive impression but also protects your brand reputation, increases customer loyalty and gains the respect of your competitors.

Power Lens

This impression lens determines your worth to your audience. Since people seek benefits they’ll get from your presentation, ask yourself: “What does my audience need to hear from me?”

Tailoring your message in a way that serves your audience’s needs is ideal for boosting your discussion’s perceived usefulness. Make this your daily mantra to establish a favorable image and to build new networks.

Ego Lens

The ego lens lets your audience reflect on whether you’re proposing competition or an alliance.

Don’t worry if they happen to see you as both friend and foe. Instead, treat it as a strategic way of making your business grow. If they see you as an ally, they’ll see something in you that they need, hence encouraging them to do business with you.

If they see you as a foe, they’ll find strengths you have that they don’t have – which they also need, increasing their perception of you as the unbeatable expert in the industry.

Experiencing a point of distinction proves that you’re bringing valuable professional insights and strategies to your listeners.

Conclusion

Positive impressions make up a big part in influencing your audience and predicting the success of your presentation. Explore these three lenses of first impression to prove yourself worthy of your listeners’ time and attention.

Get their trust to build a strong relationship with them, reassure them that you’re capable of delivering what they need, and that you are the best person or company to approach to solve their needs. Once you pass through each lens, there’ll be nothing that’ll come between you and landing a sales deal with your client.

Once you pass through each lens, there’ll be nothing that’ll come between you and landing a sales deal with your client.

Need help with your business presentation? SlideGenius can help you craft a professional PowerPoint content and design that leverages your brand.

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References

“10 Ways to Make a Positive First Impression during Presentations.” SlideGenius, Inc. September 10, 2014. Accessed July 7, 2015.
DR. HEIDI GRANT HALVORSON. Accessed July 7, 2015.
“Presentation Tips: 5 Easy Ways to Establish Your Credibility.” SlideGenius, Inc. 2014. Accessed July 7, 2015.

 

Featured Image: Wikimedia

Captivate and Conquer: Mastering the Art of Impressing Your Audience in Just 60 Seconds

first impression

hook

presentation tips

Jul 09, 2014

The first minute of your presentation is crucial. During this short timeframe, your audience will begin to decide if you’re worth their attention. It’ll shape how the rest of your presentation will play out. Will you spend the next hour talking to a room full of people checking their phones for social media updates? Or are you going to be addressing an audience who are engaged, forming their own opinions on the information you’re sharing with them?

Consider these presentation tips to capture your audience right away: 

1. Iron out the details of your presentation before you step up on the stage

People are able to tell if the person that’s about to present is unprepared. They’re fumbling with their notecards or clothes. They’re struggling to get the PowerPoint going. They’re clearing their throats before they even speak. Avoid these awkward scenarios for your presentation. The way to make a good first impression is by exuding confidence. Have every detail ironed out before you step up to the podium.

A few weeks before your presentation, you should have your PowerPoint presentation prepared. You should also practice how you will talk and move. Following that, just a few days before your presentation, plan what you’re going to wear. Make sure that you’ll look respectable, but still feel comfortable.

If you can, you should also take the time to familiarize yourself with the room you’re presenting in. Learn what equipment it has, so you don’t have to struggle with technical difficulties on the day of the presentation.

2. Open your presentation with something interesting

The next tip to make your 60 seconds count is by opening your presentation with a hook. This hook can be anything. You can tell a story, pose a thought-provoking question, or even tell a joke if you have a great sense of humor. Whatever you decide, make sure your hook works coherently with the body of your presentation. Also, consider how you’d feel if you were in the audience. What would be interesting to you?

3. Improvise when you need to

No matter how much you prepare, you can never account for what will happen in the future. Something could happen that will disrupt your crucial 60 seconds, and you need to remain calm in order to reel the situation back to your favor. It could be anything—a power outage, a heckler in the back of the room. Unless it’s a serious emergency, the best thing you can do is to improvise.  Try to think of ways that the unexpected situation can work in your favor. Read up on a few improv techniques before your presentation, so you won’t feel lost when the moment strikes.

 

Featured Image: Ryan Hyde via Flickr

Make The Most of Your Email Pitch

email pitch

first impression

presentation

May 06, 2014

Social media interaction may be the “in” thing these days but email still remains a great way to reach prospective customers. Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly a secret to everyone. So expect tough competition for inbox space whenever you send an email pitch.

To keep your email from landing in the junk folder or being labeled spam, think about giving your email strategy a makeover. You can do this by following these tips:

Create a Good Impression

You can always send hundreds of emails to a prospective client at any given time. It is better, however, to think that you only have one chance to deliver your pitch. This way, you wouldn’t slack off but rather, work hard on making a good first impression on your prospect. Failing to make an impression puts you at risk of losing not only that sale, but also the chance to secure future deals with them.

Engage your prospects better by opening with a question or a scenario and ending with a strong call to action. Whatever it is that you want to say, remember to be clear and persuasive. And as with delivering business presentations in person, the pitch you send over the Web should be short, relevant, and direct to the point.

You may also want to highlight the benefits of using your products or services. Just remember to appeal to the emotion instead of simply spewing facts.

Don’t Pressure Your Audience

Your email pitch doesn’t have to pressure the reader into making a purchase right there and then. Instead, it should draw attention to some important points to promote future conversation. A good pitch compels prospects to say “tell me more,” not forces them to hand over their money.

The purpose of sending an email pitch is to generate some kind of response. So when you write your email, make sure that your goals are clear. Do you want your prospects to fill up a query form? Or you want them to visit your shop?

Regardless of your goals, do not pressure your prospects into buying immediately. Here’s a trick: Whenever a sentence you are writing starts to sound too “sales-like,” consider changing or removing it altogether.

Be Personal but Professional

Sending generic emails is a waste of time. People nowadays don’t take too kindly to receiving correspondences that are straight out of a sales template. Make sure to customize your emails according to a specific prospect. This may take more time but it can certainly help improve your response rate.

Potential clients deserve information that is relevant to them. Success Design‘s Mandy Porta suggests that you do your homework and know what exactly these prospects are looking for. Define your customer base, but also look at your competition.

Don’t rely on canned messages. Make your sales presentation fresh, relevant, and directed to the targeted audience specifically. This means everything – from handouts to copy – should be client specific.

Email is a useful tool for reaching your target audience. As long as you do it right, your email pitch can make a difference in establishing a strong relationship with your customers.

Reference

Porta, Mandy. “How to Define Your Target Market.” Inc.com. June 22, 2010. Accessed May 6, 2014.
Nations, Daniel. “Serious Question: What Exactly Is Social Media?” About.com. Accessed May 6, 2014.