{"id":4607,"date":"2023-11-29T23:38:59","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T22:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/?p=4607"},"modified":"2023-11-30T14:37:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T13:37:49","slug":"the-4-cs-of-captivating-presentations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/29\/the-4-cs-of-captivating-presentations\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4 Cs Of Captivating Presentations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It happened again this quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two key speaking activities excite me every year: the MBA mini-keynote competition and the industry report presentations. I spend considerable time coaching the MBA students of a globally ranked African business school for both programmes. And this year is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the mini-keynote competition, I was scheduled to coach participants from the business school where I worked part-time alongside MBA students from other reputable business schools in Africa. The shortlisted nine contestants were required to deliver their presentations, while I offered feedback on improving the delivery. Each of those two scheduled virtual coaching sessions lasted three hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next came the coaching sessions for the industry report presentations, which were more intense, with each session averaging five hours. I reviewed each of the five industry group presentations, made suggestions to sharpen them, and told the students to repeat sections of their presentations. I was relentless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So much work happened behind the scenes, excluding the practice the students needed to commit to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some students were brilliant during the programmes, while others could have benefited from more practice. But overall, I was proud of their efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a communications trainer and coach, I’ve realised, over the years, that the four factors below are critical to delivering captivating presentations. The exceptional students displayed them for the mini-keynote competition and the industry presentations. And you should, too\u2014if you intend to wow your audience and become memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#1: Confidence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This trait is non-negotiable for every presentation where you must make an impact. And it doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert or an extrovert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confidence triggers trust, and trust is a conduit of believability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the presenter, knowing your content thoroughly should be a constant; otherwise, don’t bother delivering it.  Additionally, you’ll need to champion it well. You don’t need to morph into someone you’re not. But you do need to exude confidence with nonverbal behaviours to boost your credibility and influence the audience<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how you move (or stand still to stress a point), project your voice, vary your tone, use volume, adopt ‘open’ gestures, and incorporate pauses\u2014they all communicate confidence and increase the perception of your mastery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MBA students who used their body language strategically were confident and convincing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you struggle with self-confidence, spend significant time rehearsing until you can present your material five times in a row without making mistakes. In my experience as a communications coach, facilitator, and award-winning trainer<\/a>, I can attest to this: Practice begets confidence and makes you adaptable to changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Harvard researcher and social psychologist, Amy Cuddy, gave an insightful TED talk on how power poses can make you feel confident. Watch her condensed explanation on using power poses to make you feel powerful<\/a>.  Then adopt her recommendations to increase your influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do whatever you must, including making self-affirmations before your next presentation. But ensure you’re confident (or poised to exude confidence) when you get into that room\/conference hall to face your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#2: Conciseness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Being brief but complete is your new superpower in this tech age, where we’re inundated with information and prone to numerous distractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know the big idea of your presentation, and then tweak it until you get one complete sentence. In my book Influence and Thrive<\/em><\/a>. I referenced Joel Schwatrzberg’s ‘I believe that…’ test<\/a>, which he recommends in his practical book ‘Get to the Point’. Joel is a fellow communications expert who has read my book (and I, his) and whom I recommend you follow on LinkedIn or X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MBA students who shone structured their mini-keynotes and industry report presentations to make them easy to follow. They also got to their points quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, being concise is more than just stating the purpose of your presentation early and making it short. It’s about stripping away the extraneous information by focusing on the foundational question<\/a>. It entails respecting the audience’s time and ensuring each slide in your presentation warrants its presence by complementing your big idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re someone who likes to explain every angle of a point\u2014because you worked hard to cover all bases\u2014then understand that approach will reduce your impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, I came across a simple but fascinating psychological bias called the ‘dilution effect’. Watch the TED talk below given by Professor Niro Sivanathan<\/a> of the London Business School on the topic. He explained that introducing irrelevant or weak points dilutes the weight of your overall argument. Less is more if you need your message to have an impact. So now, research supports the need to be concise in your presentation if you want people to pay attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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