Top 5 best-kept Secrets for a Winning Presentation

Last week I was part of a great event where I met Uri Levine. Uri is the co-founder of Waze, (a navigation application). He’s also the co-founder and active chairman of FeeX, as well as many other innovations and startups. 

As soon as Uri started his presentation, I was immediately impressed by how great of a presenter he was; he was articulate and poised. His message really resonated with me, especially when he said,“Investors invest in people and their stories.”

As an expert consultant in body language and nonverbal communication, I can tell you that this statement is 100% accurate. I have watched, mentored and judged hundreds of entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to investors. The ones who go home with an investor are the ones that don’t just sell their business, they sell their story. They don’t just share their business goals, they share the “Why” of their passion.

I’ve seen it a million times; an entrepreneur has a strong and unique business idea, they’ve done all the market research and may even have some sales, but they struggle to find an investor. 

What it comes down to are their presentation skills. In the words of Simon Sinek, “People don't buy what you do; they buy WHY you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”

If a person doesn’t present their business in the right way, no matter how good the idea is, it will be hard to find an investor or clients. This happens all the time on TV shows like” Shark Tank” and “Dragon’s Den”.

If you want to get the “sharks” attention, these 5 tips will help make your next presentation a successful one. 

1.Tell A Story

When you pitch a business idea to investors, the goal is to pique their interest and get funded. To do this, you need to connect with them emotionally and mentally. One of the best ways to do this is through storytelling.

A good story engages more of the brain than a simple recitation of the facts. For instance, if you listen to a presentation that lists the facts in a series of bullet points, only the language processing parts of your brain are activated. This means that your brain translates the words into meaning but it doesn’t really absorb them. 

In other words, your presentation doesn’t make an impact on your audience.

If you instead, tell a story, your audience becomes involved in what you’re telling them. The narrative of a story gets a number of different parts of the brain to activate. The more a person’s brain is activated by what you tell them, the more interested they become in what you’re saying.

A story helps an audience connect and relate to you and your business. So instead of simply listing all the ways your business idea will make money, talk about the story behind your idea; paint your audience a picture of how this idea will benefit the world or how it impacted you. In doing so, they’ll be able to connect with your vision and be more likely to invest.

2.Eye Contact

Eye contact is important but how much of it do we need to make? Who do we make eye contact with?

When people are thinking they tend to look up, to the side, or down. (Hillary Clinton, for example, looks down when she is thinking). It’s okay to do so every so often, but if you’re looking away more than 20% of the time — it’s a problem. 

By not looking at your audience enough you fail to create a bond or connection. To create positive eye contact you should;

• Position your eyes so you’re looking over the entire audience,
• Look at people individually for a few seconds at a time,
• Look at one group at a time. 

3. Open Hand Gestures

When someone hides their hands it can look as though they’re hiding something. When you show the palms of your hands you show your audience that you have nothing to hide. It’s a sign of peace as if to say, “I mean you no harm, I have no weapons.” 

When you’re on stage, make sure your hands are open with the palms of your hands facing up. As well, using your hands to illustrate what you’re saying will immediately build trust and credibility with your audience.

4. Be Grounded and Solid

A big mistake that I see speakers make is pacing. They don’t stand still, they’re always moving up and down the stage. This is very distracting for the audience and instead of focusing on what you’re saying they’ll be busy following your movements.

Pacing back and forth is also a sign that someone is stressed, anxious, and lacks confidence. Try to stand in the center of the stage and plant your feet firmly. As you’re speaking, position your body so you face different parts of the audience. This will allow you to create a connection with people all around the room. Once in awhile, you can move around the stage, but it should be a calculated movement that fits with your presentation and not a mean to relieve your stress. 

5. Your Voice Represents 38% of your Total Communication

People think that when they speak only their words matter, but the words we use represent only about 7-14% of what we communicate. “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” Thirty-eight percent of what we communicate is communicated by how we use our voice.

For example, you’re speaking with your client over the phone and you ask them “Hey, how are you doing?” or “How has your week been?” and they answer ,“It’s great.” By their tone of voice, you can tell whether their week has actually been great or if it hasn’t been so great and they’re just being polite. 

The same thing applies to presentations. You need to use the highs and lows of your voice to engage the audience in what you’re saying. By doing so, you’ll convey not only the words of your message but also the emotion you are trying to impart to your audience.

Think about a great speech you’ve heard. If you pay close attention you will notice immediately how the speaker uses the tone of their voice to create an emotional connection with the audience.

Use the tone of your voice strategically and you’ll keep your audience interested, captivated and wanting more. 

The next time you walk on stage remember these five things and you’ll be sure to impress.