Even a Geek Can Speak, by Joey Asher

Even a Geek Can Speak

Tech people usually have a hard time preparing for and giving presentations. The goal of this book is to teach a simple formula that we all can follow to deliver simple, objective, and powerful presentations. I really liked it. This post is a collection of the main takeaways.

The Speechworks Formula

Before any communication, think about what will be your Message Objective. Limit yourself to no more than three points. Always support your points with solid evidence, including stories (lots of stories), personal examples, expert testimony, analogies, killer quotes, and stats and facts.

• Step One: Come Up with a Message Objective
  • Form the MO by bringing together two things:
    1. What you want. Know what you want to accomplish with the communication. What do you want to happen as a result of what you’re about to say? Do you want to persuade your client that you’re right? Do you want to sell your boss on an idea? Do you want a prospect to buy your product?
    2. What’s in it for the listener. Determine what is in it for the listener. Remember that your listener is always wearing a headset tuned into his favorite radio station – WII-FM. What’s In It For Me? What is it about your idea that will interest your boss? Does your boss want to save money for the department? What is it about your idea that will benefit your client? Does your client want to make sure that his product is installed on time? Why will your prospect benefit from this product? Will it make him richer, thinner or sexually more fulfilled?
  • Formulate the MO by bringing the two parts together. The MO brings together what you want to accomplish with what your listener wants to accomplish. Formulate the MO as follows: ``By [insert what you want to accomplish] you will [insert what your listener wants].''
• Step Two: Come Up with No More Than Three Points in Support of Your MO.
• Step Three: Determine the Evidence to Support Each of Your Three Points and All Subpoints
  • Presentations shall have no more than THREE points given in support of a presentation’s Message Objective. There shall not be four points. Nor shall there be five. Six is definitely out. As are seven, eight, and nine. Ten points? Fuggeddaboudit! While there may be two points or one point, never shall there be more than three points.
• Step Four: Determine Your Hook.
  • A hook might sound like this: Last year, 5,000 companies lost in excess of $1 million as a result of hackers sabotaging their information systems. We have a simple, inexpensive process that will ensure your company doesn’t become the next one.
• Step Five: Determine Your Wrap-Up.
  • The Components of the Message Objective:
    • The Message Objective always brings together two things:
      1. Your goal of persuading the audience to do something, and What’s in it for the listener.
      2. Your Message Objective should sound something like this: By [buying into my ideas or buying my product], you will [achieve your goals].

Keepers

• A clear MO will ensure that everyone knows what you’re trying to accomplish.
• Telling a listener what’s in it for them challenges them to pay attention. Keep in mind that your listener’s favorite radio station is WII-FM.
• Focusing on the listener’s interests will ensure that your message is no more complex than necessary.

The Three Speechworks Principles of Listening to Complex Subject Matter

• Principle 1: Most people want to know how technology (or any other complex subject) will make them richer, thinner, happier, or have better sex.
• Principle 2. If someone wants to know how the new tax law works, chances are that they will give you some indication of interest. An indication of interest'' would be a statement like Tell me exactly how the new tax law works, Jim. I’m interested in details.’’”
• Principle 3. Absent an ``indication of interest’’ (see principle 2), you should avoid explaining the details of your e-mail platform to your listener. Rather, limit discussions or explanations of your area of expertise to those areas described in the first principle.

Options for Organizing the MO

Often you don’t want to organize a presentation around three reasons that the MO is true. Sometimes a narrative form is more appropriate. Here are three we like:

• Past, Present, and Future
• Advantages, Disadvantages, Call to Action
• Situation, Crisis, Solution

Past, Present, and Future: Example

• MO: By revitalizing our relationship, you will be positioning your food courts for maximum profits in the future.
• The past: We realize that there have been problems and we realize what the causes were.
• The present: We are doing the following to correct those past problems.
• The future: As a result of these corrections, you should see increased profits and traffic in your food courts.

Advantages, Disadvantages, Call to Action: Example

• MO: A vote against the union is a vote for security and a happier workplace.
• Advantages of the status quo
• Disadvantages of being unionized
• Vote ``no’’ for the union

Situation, Crisis, Solution: Example

• MO: By buying into my idea, this company will solve a problem that will save it millions of dollars.
• Situation: The situation is [insert brief description of situation].
• Crisis: If the problem isn’t resolved, we will reach a crisis: we will have to spend untold thousands of dollars.
• Solution: The solution is [insert the proposed solution].

Keepers

• Limiting your points to three adds power and memorability to your presentation.
• Boil your points down to three by putting them into three buckets.
• Experiment with different narrative formats for your three-point presentations.

S.P.E.A.K.S.: Stories, Personal experiences, Expert testimony, Analogies, Kwotes, and Statistics (as in numbers and facts)

What Makes a Good Story? The best stories do three things. They are:

1. Detailed. Notice that Optio doesn’t talk about an anonymous ``large Midwestern hospital.’’” It describes Saint Francis Medical Center, a 264-bed hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Detail persuades the listener by helping him actually see the story unfolding before his eyes.
2. Relevant to the listener’s situation. If you’re giving a sales presentation, you want your listeners to be able to put themselves in the shoes of your story’s protagonist. That shipping company salesman wouldn’t tell the story about the Big Wheel racer to a company that wasn’t an Internet e-tailer.
3. Short. The best stories make the point quickly. Too often, we see presenters who fancy themselves old-fashioned raconteurs. Their stories go on forever and only get to the point after much patience on the part of the listener. Set it up fast and then make your point. Don’t drag it out.

Keepers

• The key to making your presentation interesting is the quality of your evidence.
• Detailed, relevant stories make the most persuasive evidence.
• In addition to stories, use personal examples, expert testimony, analogies, killer quotes, and interesting statistics and facts.

The best way to begin is to just dive right in. Get on with it! ``I’d like to start this afternoon with a gee-whiz fact. . . .''

When Do I Introduce Myself?

Once you’ve finished the hook, then introduce yourself if you feel it is necessary. But keep it brief. ``Good afternoon. I’m glad to be here with you today. My name is Joey Asher and I’m the president of Speechworks.’’ Or leave that stuff out altogether, especially if you’ve already been introduced. Most of the time, your listeners know who you are and where you work anyway. And frankly, they don’t need to know that you’re glad to be there with them.

Keepers

• A hook is a grabber that gets the presentation going quickly with a relevant anecdote, a gee-whiz fact, a quote, or a question.
• Skip the introductions and just start. No one cares that you’re ``thrilled to be here.''
• Skip the jokes unless they’re funny, relevant, and not even remotely offensive.

The Presentation Checklist

• Message Objective
  • Presentation has a clear MO.
  • MO explicitly states that the listener’s goals (to get rich, happy, thin, or some combination thereof) will be achieved by doing what the presenter proposes or argues for during the presentation.
• Three Points
  • The presentation has no more than three points in support of the MO.
• Evidence
  • Each point is supported by evidence.
  • Evidence is highly detailed.
  • The presentation uses detailed stories and business examples as illustrations.
  • Statistics are kept to a minimum and explained in a way that helps the listener see the numbers in a unique way.
  • The presentation contains at least one personal example.
• Hook
  • The presentation’s hook grabs the listener with a gee-whiz fact, a relevant story, or a compelling question.
• Recap
  • The presentation concludes by recapping the message objective and the three supporting points.
• Wrap
  • The presentation contains a final motivational wrap-up story or call to action.

Example of the Formula Applied

• First Slide: Hook.
• Second Slide: Message Objective.
• Third Slide: Preview/Agenda Slide.
• Fourth Slide: Elaboration of Point 1.
• Fifth and Sixth Slides: Do the same for your second and third points.
• Seventh Slide: Recap. Use the same Preview/Agenda Slide.
• Eighth Slide: Wrap. This slide reinforces your close.

How to Handle Questions

The key to handling questions, be it from an audience, a prospect, your boss, or in meetings:

• Step One: Determine the Possible Questions
• Step Two: Prepare the Answers
• Step Three: Practice the Answers

That’s it, friends. It ain’t brain surgery.

If there is something you find uncomfortable that the audience may be interested in, you should take control and air the issue before someone else airs it for you. That way you can put your own spin on the issue and you retain your credibility with the audience.

Keepers

• To be good at handling questions, guess the questions and prepare for them.
• Never attempt to fake an answer. If you don’t know, admit it and let the audience come up with an answer, or promise to get the answer as soon as possible.
• Don’t underestimate the importance of letting the audience ask questions. If they have something to say, let them talk. It will make your presentation more effective.

Four Steps to Finding Maximum

You If you don’t know how to find Maximum You, here are four steps that will help.

• Step One: Imagine anything you’re passionate about. Cooking? Fishing? Gardening? Your child’s basketball games?
• Step Two: Replay in your mind a scene in which you are discussing that passion at your highest natural level of animation.
• Step Three: Fix that scene in your mind as a videotape that you can replay at will.
• Step Four: Take that videotape and place an imaginary label on it. The label should read ``Maximum [insert your name].''

Keepers

• To find your best presenting style, find Maximum You.
• Maximum You is you when you’re at your best, when you’re animatedly conversing with friends.
• The best presenters are those who are able to push through the barriers to be Maximum You when in front of a group.

How to Convey Passion

1. Passion in your voice is the single most important factor in getting your audience excited about your ideas
2. To convey passion, make sure that you’re always speaking as if you were speaking to friends during an animated dinner conversation.
3. You can simulate passion if you don’t feel it by teaching your voice to simulate a roller coaster as you speak.