{"id":5043,"date":"2024-10-31T18:10:21","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T17:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/?p=5043"},"modified":"2024-11-02T10:11:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T09:11:57","slug":"how-to-win-virtual-business-presentation-competitions-a-judges-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/31\/how-to-win-virtual-business-presentation-competitions-a-judges-recommendations\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Win Virtual Business Presentation Competitions – A Judge’s Recommendations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It happened five days ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The annual LBS Mini-Keynote Competition<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fellow judges were industry leaders and professionals, including a career diplomat. Therefore, I knew our discussions on the presentations would be enlightening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#1: Use superior content to cement your credibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Go deep with your content. Don’t give the audience superficial information that a quick Google search can reveal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an abundance of AI tools (ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, EasyGen, etc.) comes the democratisation of knowledge. While the information you find won\u2019t be hidden under a rock, how you use it to analyse trends, challenge opinions or support your bold recommendations makes you a credible speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, as I’ve harped on in the past, using the foundational question<\/a> is useful to ‘zero in’ on what’s critical <\/em>for your audience to know \u2014 and not what’s simply good for them to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The topics covered by the seven speakers were ‘heavy’ themes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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