xylidin

As someone who spends the majority of the day performing presentations it is easy to get caught generalizing content and not approaching each presentation as if it is the most important presentation you will make in your career.  This past week 14 groups made a presentation that is the final step in obtaining the honor of placing three letters, that I truly value, behind their name.

I was honored to be an evaluating board member for CMA Manitoba’s SLP (Strategic Leadership Program) final board presentation.  I had the role of portraying the President and CEO of a game development company on the brink of a hostile takeover or worse.  The “consultants” were tasked with pitching their strategy to get the company out of the bind it is in.  There were some hard decisions required to keep the business relevant.  It was interesting to see how their business strategy and delivery of their message affected my response to the situation, as I fully assumed the role of shareholder, leader, employee, husband and parent.

One thing that I learned throughout the week is know your audience and what is best for the business and use this to align your approach and tact to the pitch.   It was interesting to see the ranges of style and approach to delivery.  Here are some takeaways:

• Presentations require a strong introduction
• Everything you say and show should build on the overall objective of the presentation and be relevant to the audience
• The conclusion should be stronger than any other area
• PowerPoint slides should always look professional and support what you are saying
• It is okay to be nervous, just remain in control
• Presentations are pitches and use the time to sell (you, your services, solution and/or product)
• Let questions evolve into a conversation
• Do not interrupt a person when they are asking questions, they may answer it themselves
• Verify the question has been answered
• When working as external consultants use the right voice (you do not work there)
• Maintain the right altitude if you are presenting to a board; they do not care about micro details

The last point had the biggest effect on my overall attention.  If you recommend development of a new product that bypasses retail distribution and the strategic reasons why, the next slide cannot be about 15 product names and the analysis of a pricing matrix.  I just went from 45,000 feet to 1,000 feet.

It was a great pleasure to sit through presentations and evaluate for content, delivery and synergy.  I know that for many presenting this process was the means to the end objective; gaining the privilege to place CMA after their name.  However, learning is a continuous process.  I may have learned and gained more over the past week than the groups presenting.

Tyson McMurren, CMA