I am preparing for a workshop that I will be doing at the University of Chicago. It is a workshop on communication and presentations. Many of the attendees will be emerging leaders who need to make presentations. While they do not need to be professional speakers, they do need to be able to communicate their message in a compelling way so that people will listen and follow.

One of the issues that the group wants to address is, "How do I engage my audience? How do I get them to want to listen to me?" Those are good questions. There is no magic bullet. Engaging the audience comes down to a few key things:

• Do you know why what you have to say is important for those attending? If you don't think what you have to say is important, no one else will either.
• Are you excited, passionate and interested in your topic? If you are not excited by your presentation, no one else will be either.
• What feeling and/or change do you want them to experience because of your presentation? This is often overlooked or misunderstood. Many times someone thinks that their presentation is merely about imparting information.

For example, I once worked with a CEO who was leading his company through changes. He was planning an address to his core team at the company and we worked together on the presentation and message. I asked him this question (what feeling and/or change did he want his team to experience?). He replied that he wanted them to know about the changes and what to expect. That answer comes up short (as I told him). What we eventually worked to (through a lot of dogged questioning on my part) was that he wanted to reassure them that even though changes were happening, he was thinking about what was best for all of them as a company and that he would always listen and be there for them. In other words, he wanted to convey trust while he was asking for their trust.

This message goes beyond words. Of course, we talked about language. But, we also talked about things such as room set up and how he would use that space. A quick example: I told him that if he wanted to create an environment of trust and conversation, then he needed to leave the security of the podium and move about the room (it was small enough to work). The podium creates a barrier. It visually, physically and emotionally separates you from everyone else in the room. Too often the podium becomes a pedestal. No one converses with a pedestal.

I've watched a lot of great speakers, a lot of very effective speakers and a lot of horrible speakers. The best and most engaging speakers share the following characteristics: 1) confidence; 2) competence; 3) accessibility; 4) passionate; and 5) they themselves are engaged in the presentation.

When you think of the presentations that you have done, which of these characteristics are strongest for you? Which ones are maybe a bit shakier? How -- if at all -- does that affect you? What can you do to shore those up?

(If anyone has questions on this topic or these characteristics, please send me an e-mail and I can address them in future issues.)

To Your Success,

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