The basic rule of any presentation is:

• Tell Them What You're Going To Tell Them
• Tell Them It
• Then Tell Them What You've Just Told Them

You will have many points you want to make to state your case. Select those that are

• Key for your audience - WIIFM (What's In It For Me?)
• Key for your WIIFM
• Most likely to have an impact now

Then rank the points into order and always put your most important point first. If your presentation is cut short you must ensure you have said the most important item.

Body of Presentation

We have already dealt with your introduction in the previous session; where you have an opportunity to make an impact on the audience. Now we come to the presentation proper.

Each of the major points that you are making in your presentation needs to follow a pattern - reflecting the above "Tell them" statement. Each theme needs to flow as follows:

From theme statement...
      to proofs...
            to invitation to comment...
                  to problem...
                        to restatement of theme

Theme statement

This is the hook for each section of your presentation - the main point of this section. What is the key point you wish to get across to your audience?

"With an annual turnover of £7.2m a switchboard like your current one is probably losing you £30,000 worth of business every month."

Proofs for this statement

Having caught the audience's imagination with your theme statement, you must prove what you have just said - using facts, figures, graphs, charts - anything factual to show you have done your homework. This is the evidence for your comment, the reason why you have made such a bold statement.



State the problem

Explain how the problem could have arisen. Avoid blaming anyone or anything, just explain that times have changed; business has changed. Be careful about pouring scorn on someone's pet project.

"Your switchboard is the FGH version that can only cope with a volume of 30 calls at a time. Monitoring it for 2 weeks we found that it operated at 99% capacity for 6 hours a day - therefore you will be losing callers every working hour of every day."

Invite reactions

Ask if this accords with the audience's own experiences. At this point you are inviting the audience to comment but ensure you are in control of the question. You are asking here for confirmation or negation about the problem as you see it; not opening up the presentation to as full discussion. In some instances you may feel that a show of hands could prove the point. Remember, if you can get your audience to argue your case for you and accept that there is a problem then you have almost won.

"Yes... Every time I try to phone in from a customer site its really embarrassing. I can never get through..."

Restate the theme statement

You are now at the 'Tell them what you have just told them' stage and need to re-state the theme statement. Use different words to get the message across again and re-emphasise your point.

"So from this you can see that without any extra selling effort you could add up to 5% to your bottom line with a more efficient telephone system."

Note: To you it may seem very repetitious and tedious to keep on going over the same information; however, this will be the first time your audience have heard your arguments and therefore this gentle repetition will not be upsetting to them.

Now you are ready to move onto the next theme - but remember to bridge between one statement and the next.

Bridging statements

These make the link between one proof and the other. They make the presentation flow rather than being a series of disjointed phrases and show the overall picture of the presentation.

"Now if we look at your sales effort..."

Theme statement two
"1 in 3 of your sales team cannot make their first outgoing phone call to a customer because they cannot get an outside line."

Proofs for theme statement two
"In two week tests each salesperson was asked to record the number of times they got 'not available' when dialling for an outside line. In ten working days the figure was two hundred approximating to roughly one in three salespeople."

State the problem
"So you have the problem of customers not being able to phone in and sales teams having difficulty phoning out."

Invite comments
"I was asked to ring an important customer at 3.15 exactly as they had only 10 minutes before going into a meeting to get the latest details from me and I couldn't get an outside line. In the end I went to the call box on the corner to ensure I got through..."

Restate the theme "200 wasted attempts to phone out in 10 days leading to frustrated sales teams."

Bridge
"...and talking of frustration..."

By the time you have told of the turnover in telephonists, number of repair calls for the existing switchboard when you come to the call for action your audience will be anxious to agree to it.

Call for Action

This is where you ask the audience to take some specific action - the result of their listening to your presentation is that they will do something. So ask them for that Action:

"Finally ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to agree to my company, ABC Phones, setting up a detailed feasibility study of your system with your Facilities Manager with a report back in three month's time complete with cost figures."

Argument Flow

Each theme should run through

Intro...
      theme statement...
            proofs...
                  invitation to comment...
                        problem...
                              theme restatement
then bridge into the next theme.

Note: During and at the end of your presentation there should be discussion from, with and between the audience, but remember it is your presentation. Ensure that you always have the last word - and this is the call to action.