How to create a high impact presentation culture at work
The benefits of having a high impact presentation culture at work extend way beyond how your team present to colleagues, clients and stakeholders.
Contrary to popular belief, a presentation isn’t just a formal speech or talk where you present an idea, update or product to an audience. It’s not isolated to having to prepare and speak in a structured manner with or without visuals.
Every conversation is a presentation
At Mindful Presenter we believe that every conversation is a form of presentation.
We owe it to ourselves to get good at communicating effectively.
Communicating effectively does not involve standing in front of an audience reading out bullet points on slides.
Most of us are communicating ‘automatically’. Often without appreciating how complex human communication really is. It’s easy to think that we can simply say something and believe that our listeners will understand and connect with our message
Your presentation culture at work
Whether you are having a conversation in-person or virtually at work, you are presenting. Everything you say will have an impact on the people listening to you; somewhere down the line it will have an impact on you too.
We all want to work in a culture where everyone’s voice is valued and respected. For a business to succeed and thrive it needs to create a culture of trust.
Trust begins with honesty, openness and transparency
An article published in Tribal Impact, suggests that:
‘According to Gallup, 74% of employees feel that they’re missing out on company information and news and other research suggests that only four in ten employees can confidently describe to others what their employer does.’
That doesn’t sound like a healthy communication culture and environment to work in.
It will only change when we change our presentation culture.
If you want your team to:
– Be open, honest and transparent, make sure you are too
– Be clear and concise, make sure you are too
“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” Thomas Jefferson
– Lose the corporate jargon and speak normally, make sure you do too
– Stop dumping data on people, make sure you do too
– Meet your expectations, tell them exactly what they are
– Stop using bullet points on visuals, you stop doing it too
– Respect and value people’s feelings, make sure you do too
– Air their concerns, give them the freedom to do so
– Listen attentively, make sure you do too
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” Ernest Hemingway
– Stop sending unnecessary emails, you stop it too
– Read the room well, show them how to
“Read the room! A little bit of awareness can go a long way.” Vindy Teja
– Be expressive, make sure you are too
– Take feedback well, make sure you can too
– Demonstrate empathy and compassion, make sure you do too
“I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.” Maya Angelou
– Use open body language when they speak, make sure you do too
– Respect the opinion of others, respect theirs too
– Communicate with power and purpose, make sure you do too
– Demonstrate a growth mindset, you demonstrate it too
– Put themselves in other peoples shoes, make sure you do too
“Always put yourself in others’ shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.” Rachel Grady
– Be more self-reflective, make sure you are too
– Embrace vulnerability, make sure you do too
– Navigate conflict well, show them how to
– Do what they say they will, make sure you do too
– Be more mindful, make sure you are too
– Tell you exactly how they feel, allow them to do so freely
– Embrace change, make sure you do too
“Your life does not get better by chance; it gets better by change.” Jim Rohn
– Lighten up and not take themselves too seriously, make sure you do too
– Put people first, make sure you do too
– Avoid information overload, make sure you do to
The challenge
Creating a high impact presentation is a challenge for many organisations.
At Mindful Presenter, every week we help highly talented people to present and communicate with greater confidence, presence and impact.
The people who are already succeeding and need the least help are those who work in a presentation culture which is leading by example. In other words, most of the leadership examples I have shared in this article are already highly prevalent.
We can give your team everything they could possibly need to craft and deliver a presentation with greater confidence, presence and impact but the most important thing they need when they return to work is you!
They need you to create the presentation culture, opportunities and psychological safety to apply the ideas learned.
If you need help creating the right presentation culture
– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.
– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.
– Get yourself some excellent presentation training
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