It happened five days ago.
The annual LBS Mini-Keynote Competition hosted by the Lagos Business School, a Financial Times-ranked top 40 business school in executive education, was as competitive as ever. I know so because, as has been the case for the previous five years, I spent considerable time in two coaching sessions prepping the students before the event. This year, the competition was virtual.
My coaching sessions notwithstanding, the final decision on the speakers was not mine to make alone. I was also a member of the judges’ panel, initially comprising three females and two males. However, a day before the event, a male judge became unwell and couldn’t participate. Therefore, on the day of the competition, the four judges moved ahead.
In the pre-event meeting with the other judges, I led the discussions on what we should do in the deliberation room. I also clarified the scoring criteria and answered different questions. We then agreed that in the case of a tie, we would give the speakers involved a random business topic to speak on for three minutes before choosing a winner.
The fellow judges were industry leaders and professionals, including a career diplomat. Therefore, I knew our discussions on the presentations would be enlightening.
I wasn’t wrong. And just two hours later, we made our selection. Our decision was unanimous, with each judge scoring the winner over 90%. All top three winners were awarded cash prizes, and the winner received a shiny, engraved plaque.
Based on what I observed as a judge, below are three rock-solid tips to ensure success when you’re scheduled to give a high-stakes virtual presentation.
#1: Use superior content to cement your credibility
Go deep with your content. Don’t give the audience superficial information that a quick Google search can reveal.
With an abundance of AI tools (ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, EasyGen, etc.) comes the democratisation of knowledge. While the information you find won’t be hidden under a rock, how you use it to analyse trends, challenge opinions or support your bold recommendations makes you a credible speaker.
Again, as I’ve harped on in the past, using the foundational question is useful to ‘zero in’ on what’s critical for your audience to know — and not what’s simply good for them to learn.
The top three speakers had superior content, but that was not all. They intentionally related their content to the topics and explicitly showed why the audience should care.
The topics covered by the seven speakers were ‘heavy’ themes:
- The Real Estate Boom: Global Best Practices that African Companies Should Emulate
- The Battle for Supremacy in the Financial Sector: The Rise of Fintech Companies
- The Curse of Knowledge: Why Being Smart is Overrated
- Happiness at Work: Surprising Revelations that Challenge Everything
- It’s Lonely at The Top: Radical Support Systems Global Business Leaders Require
- The Allure of Green Energy: What You Need to Know Before You Invest
- Not Too Young to Rule: How the Youths Can Transform Nigeria
So, preparation was vital.
Whenever you’re facing an important audience whom you’ll need to persuade or influence to action, thoroughly research your topic. Next, use the foundational question to streamline your content.
Unpopular stance:
For business presentations, you cannot compensate weak content with good performance.
Your performance is integral to your overall impact, but poor content harms you significantly. It signals a lack of preparedness, low intelligence, and diminished credibility.
If you want to be taken seriously, with or without formal authority, ensure your content is insightful, relevant, and causes your audience to reflect.
Examples from the competition:
(I) The winner tackled the serious theme of the allure of green energy by broadly dividing his presentation into two ‘buckets’ — survival and profit.
Then, he gave practical recommendations on how (everyday) people could invest to secure a prosperous future and thrive. The result? The audience immediately posted glowing reviews of the keynote in the chat section and asked questions about investing in green energy.
(II) The speaker who came in second place spoke on workplace happiness and made three controversial recommendations.
She was brilliant because she owned the controversial premises and confidently challenged us to think differently.
(III) The student who came in third place spoke on the real estate boom in Africa.
She provided intriguing facts from different regions on the continent.
While researching her topic, she went the extra mile to interview her father-in-law, who explained the historical and emotional significance of his ancestral land — revelations passed on from his late father. She then included her grandfather-in-law’s fascinating insights in her presentation. Her plea to do business ‘the good way’ was also memorable. I leaned forward at this point in her delivery.
Bottom line?
First, prioritise gathering superior content using different formats, data points, lived experiences, anecdotes, etc. Then, focus on your delivery.
You’d impress your audience.
#2: Apply strategic nonverbal and verbal techniques to heighten your delivery
Having excellent content should be non-negotiable in business presentations. But it’s another hurdle to communicate effectively using verbal and nonverbal cues.
Apart from being a judge for this year’s LBS Mini-Keynote Competition, I was also a member of the organising committee. One of my tasks (since I proposed the event and helped launch it in 2019) was to provide the topics from which the shortlisted speakers would choose. To do so, I considered trending themes and evergreen discussions in society. I always crafted topics that demonstrated the MBA students’ critical thinking chops and helped them elevate their knowledge.
The seven topics this year were, therefore, deliberately challenging. Subsequently, the students needed to employ excellent techniques to influence perceptions.
The notable speakers of the competition displayed the verbal and nonverbal techniques below that made them believable, relatable, and persuasive.
Nonverbal cues:
a) They applied pauses to coax the audience to reflect on hard-hitting points/statements.
b) They adopted vocal dynamics, e.g., by varying their tone/volume/pace. This technique provided the ‘entertainment’ value.
c) They used ‘open’ gestures (open palms) and illustrator gestures that made them trustworthy.
d) They held eye contact during strategic moments by leaning closer to the webcam, making them convincing.
e) They smiled warmly and showed they were having fun. Their likeability quickly helped them connect with the audience.
Verbal tactics:
a) They provided clear outlines for their presentations. They also used seamless transitions to move from one point/slide to another.
b) They used rhetorical tools such as analogy, repetition, and rhyming to simplify complex issues or make their points easy to remember.
c) They coined clever frameworks. The speaker who spoke on fintech companies’ battle for supremacy in the industry used alliteration when highlighting the ‘3 Ds’ in her recommendations: Disruption, Democratisation, and Dynamism.
d) They indirectly engaged with the audience by coaxing them to do quick mental exercises — which we did, and then we gave them our full attention.
e) They supported points with simple examples. One speaker included a dialogue between two salesmen where one used a lot of jargon and communicated poorly. The conversation clearly illustrated the point about the curse of knowledge being the reason for weak results.
f) They closed the loop: If they started with a story/anecdote, they referenced it towards the end.
Just like the intelligent MBA students in the competition, become intentional about using the nonverbal and verbal techniques highlighted above in your high-stakes virtual presentations.
You’ll catapult your delivery and become unforgettable.
#3: Dedicate significant time to thorough practice
Don’t just rehearse for 30 minutes and decide you’re ready. When feasible, block time to prepare over a few days. Run through the presentation from the beginning to the end, and stop only when you don’t get anything wrong.
Thorough practice makes you flexible. As a result, you’ll deliver one presentation using different phrases/angles and still perform at your peak.
Important note: Prepare for your virtual presentations as seriously as you would for your in-person stints. Don’t make the mistake that some speakers did in the competition by not practising enough.
The top speakers put in the work, and it showed.
When the LBS Mini-Keynote Competition winner was given time to speak, he highlighted how much effort he spent preparing for the event. He explained that he practised in front of family and friends, got feedback, cut material, and rehearsed multiple times. It’s no wonder his efforts paid off. His presentation was almost flawless, with an average score of 95% from the judges.
Conclusion
You might not need to participate in presentation competitions during your career or business journey.
However, remember an important point:
You could still apply the recommendations in this article to virtual business presentations where you need to make an impact, rally support, or generate results.
Therefore, consider this article a judge’s perspective on the components of exceptional virtual business presentations.
Then, go apply what you’ve learned.
Over to you:
Do you need help boosting your communication skills to get results? Sign up for my transformational speaking, coaching, and training programmes.
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N.B: First image is courtesy of Open Clipart Vectors via Pixabay. Flyer is courtesy of Lagos Business School. Second image is courtesy of Gino Crescoli via Pixabay. Third image is courtesy of Luis Ricardo Rivera via Pixabay.