Peter Fletcher

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Sunday reflections: A run, Pink Floyd and a presentation

March 2, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

People running

There’s a direct relationship between a healthy lifestyle and success.
Image: Josiah Mackenzie http://www.flickr.com/photos/josiahmackenzie/

Today I presented a 45 minute keynote entitled 6 Things to do that will help you succeed despite the odds. The audience was LED Electrical Distributors. They have outlets in Perth, Kalgoorlie and Esperance.

I spent most of yesterday preparing. I sweated over the images and the contents and the bullet points – or lack thereof. I deleted nearly every slide at least once. Then added them back in. Then deleted them. I was like a cricketer who couldn’t work out whether run or not. Yes, no, wait.

Gahhhh!

I finally settled on what I thought was a pretty good slide deck – 9 slides and only one with bullet points. But – and I always do this – I leave the finishing touches to the day of the presentation. The looming deadline seems to sharpens my focus.

That meant an early start this morning to polish, check and write my speakers bio. By the time I’d finished I was feeling sharp and ready.

I checked the time. There was still enough for the 5 k run I promised to make yesterday. I threw on my Asics then I was out the door, up the hill and around the corner.

For the first couple of k’s I was on top of the world. My breathing was steady and rhythmic. And then it hit me. I’d gone out too hard. For the rest of the run I felt like was running through treacle.

But right near the end something magical happened. With about 300 metres to go my legs suddenly felt free and loose and relaxed. My stride lengthened, my speed picked up and it all felt pretty awesome.

Now that I’d delivered on my promise it was time to get ready. But now I had a problem. I usually run first thing in the morning so by the time I’m getting dressed for work I’ve cooled down. Not today.

By the time I hit the road the day had already warmed up to bloody hot. Now, as I walked through the front door, cheeks red, dripping in sweat I was faced with the dilemma of how I was ever going to cool down enough so I can I pull on a shirt and pants.

I jump in for a cold shower. That oughta do the trick.

Well it did – sort of – until I towelled off. Then it was straight back to the sweat factory. I’m sweating like a camper who’s just found a snake in their sleeping bag. It just wouldn’t stop.

So I pull on a pair of jocks, crank up the ceiling fans under the patio and wait for the breeze to do its thing. Finally, I cooled down enough to pull on the work gear and head for the door.

The drive to The Vines is just long enough to listen to the Disk 1 of The Wall by Pink Floyd. It’s one of my favourite albums. I just love cranking up the volume and getting lost in the angst about unhealthy relationships with authority figures that pour through the lyrics.

Hush now baby, baby, dont you cry.
Mother’s gonna make all your nightmares come true.
Mother’s gonna put all her fears into you.
Mother’s gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She wont let you fly, but she might let you sing.
Mama will keep baby cozy and warm.
Ooooh baby ooooh baby oooooh baby,
Of course mama’ll help to build the wall.

After all that, the presentation went well. Of course there are parts that I want to do better: the transition between points, the way that the two main stories work together, timing (I could’ve gone a little longer) and my conclusion – they all need work.

But overall I was happy with the way I presented and it made me smile when I heard a lady say, “That was brilliant!”

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: journal, Pink Floyd, public speaking, running

5 rules for a great presentation

February 14, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

How to give great presentations mural

Great presentations take planning and practice. Image: Jonny Goldstein http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnygoldstein/

On Wednesday I presented to an audience of 30 real estate agents. The course was about social media policy and email marketing.

I rate myself as an OK presenter. I’m passionate but sometimes that passion leads to a lack of cohesion in the presentation. At other times I get overly technical and bore people with the nitty gritty.

There are times in my presentation where I feel a closeness and connection with the audience. It’s usually when I’m telling a story and I’ll often have people come up to me after the presentation and comment about those parts.

That said I’m keen to improve my presentation skills so when I came across these tips from Inc. magazine I thought they were too good not to share.

  1. Be yourself. Don’t try to be what’s on your business card or pretend that you know more than you know. In the main I do this but sometimes I can feel myself trying to muscle my way through a point, especially if the audience interaction (which I love) gets a bit heated. At that point I can tell (usually later) that I sound a bit shrill.
  2. Tell stories. Whether it’s presenting, selling or writing this is great advice. Stories are what create emotional connection and gives people access to the meaning behind the data. It’s something I need to do more of.
  3. Practice. According to Inc. “even charismatic speakers are tedious when they wing it.” By contrast, great speakers practice until their ideas pop with freshness. Practising a full day workshop is challenging but it’s something I need to do more.
  4. Socialise. Speak to people in person, not as a gigantic collection of faces. Get intimate with a few members of the audience and talk directly to them. That connection with a few will translate into connection with many.
  5. Brevity. Keep to the time allowed. At no time should the presentation run over time. Avoid cramming too much content into the presentation. Keeping to time involves doing lots of Step 3, practice.

With my next presentation – a keynote – in just over 2 weeks it’s time for me to start practicing.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: Presentations, public speaking

About Peter

Speaker, trainer and coach. I write about living, loving and working better. Love a challenge. More...

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