Rowitz On Leadership

Summer is a time for a lighter posting. One of the most looked at postings on this blog was the first one I wrote in December 2008 on HOW (NOT) TO GIVE A KEYNOTE ADDRESS. Last year, I was asked to give a talk as part of an opening session at a national public health meeting. Remembering my first blog article, I opened my talk by providing the audience with a few secrets to giving an opening talk and demonstrated that the two other speakers clearly were aware of six secrets. The first secret is to look at the conference theme and present your comments by constantly referring back to the theme of the meeting. This means that you can probably use old ideas from other presentations as long as you keep referring to the overall conference theme of the present meeting.

The second secret is to not make your speech too long since you will bore your audience. Keep your talk short and concrete. If you are the last speaker, refer to the excellent comments of other speakers since they probably used up half of your presentation time anyway Make sure you give a few specific comments perhaps a short list that the audience will probably remember since you are the last speaker.

Third, put some abstract thoughts into your presentation so that you seem knowledgeable and clearly an expert on your topic. After all, conference planners want experts for their opening and other plenary presentations. The fourth secret is related to Secret three. If you want the audience to remember your talk, present a few ideas that are sticky. You can see the light bulbs go off in the faces of some in your audience as you present a new interpretation of old ideas that clearly impact some people.

Secret Five is to tell a story or two. Good stories often lead to stickiness. Your story can be work related but stories about your children and /or grandchildren bring forth smiles and a chuckle. People seem to remember these stories more than a story about something that happened at work. The final secret is to add a touch of humor to your presentation. It humanizes you and helps the audience remember what you said.

Communication skills are critical to the professional presenter. In fact, good communication skills enhance the presentation of leaders.