What is your P.E.P -- Presentation Engagement Power Score?

People think there is magic to engaging people during a presentation, that a Steve Jobs or a President Obama has a special secret to holding listeners’ attention.  It isn’t a secret that they have.  What they and other good presenters have is amazing PEP – strong  Presentation Engagement Power that keeps their listeners riveted to what they are saying.  PEP users routinely wrap four key elements in and around their information so that we as listeners are captivated by what they are saying and are moved to act on their recommendations and ideas.  PEP communicators are masters at “making what they say, pay!”

Below you will find:

• A definition and examples of the four PEP elements
• Trigger phrases to ensure you are using PEP elements
• A unique test to take to determine your own PEP strength
• Suggestions for raising your PEP to put you in the league of great presenters as well

The Four “PEP” Elements

1. Relevance. Relevance is the “so what?” for your audience of every block of information you present. When Relevance is present, people relate to what you are saying. When Relevance is missing, they  tune you out.   If I tell you “My sales programs are tailored to every group with whom I work,” that doesn’t resonate with you or your world.  If I add, “which means your group will buy into what we do and use what they learn afterwards to increase your business,” that has great interest to you. People care about what you have or can do, only when it means something to them.

Trigger phrases/words that give Relevance to your information: “Bottom-line…” “Again…” “What this means to you is…” “The key point here is…” “So, you get…”

2. Visualization. Visualization is what you say to show people what you mean. People need to “see” what you are saying to “get it” as dramatically or as deeply as you want. That means a liberal sprinkling with your information  of examples, anecdotes, metaphors, and analogies.  If I say, “Our research shows your consumer typically has 3.7 years of college, a 2.3 children, and  a Household Income of $67,000,” that information alone will put you to sleep. You hear my words. You may even be looking at a chart of demographic numbers.  But, if I add, “In short, we’re talking about the Bloomingdale’s woman and not the Kmart shopper,” that metaphor instantly helps you “see,” and get excited by, the value of this consumer for your product. Einstein said, “If I can’t see it, I don’t understand it.”

Trigger phrases/words that give your information Visualization: “For example…” “It is just like…” “Think of this as…” “XYZ company had the same problem…They…and we were able to…” Visualization can, of course, also include actual props or pictures.

3.    Involvement. An old Chinese proverb says, “If I tell you something, you forget. If I show you, you remember. If I involve you, you understand.” If I am only explaining the features, benefits, and advantages of a new car to you, you will register that information, but you are not likely to be as excited by it as when you go out for a ride in that car, where you experience those features for yourself. 

Trigger phrases/words for Involving listeners either mentally or actually:  
• The pronoun “you” involves listeners because it draws people into your information. “What you notice as you look at this chart is…” “One of the reasons your group will like this is…”  
• Asking someone to do something is an obvious involvement technique. “Take a guess as to the down time this caused..”  ?” ”As you scan your eye down this page of options, which one do you want to know more about?” “How would you use this?”
• Rhetorical questions pull people into your remarks because they want to hear the answer.  “So, how do we do this?..”  
• The words “imagine” or “think about..” turn your listener’s mental movie camera  on.  “Imagine the following…” “Think of this as…”  
• Referencing a comment your listeners said previously pulls them in, because they care most about themselves. “As you said earlier…” 
• Asking questions gets listeners to think, respond, or reflect.  “We think this is one of our best features. What do you think?”…  “To what extent does this match your expectations?”… “How does this sound?”… “Thoughts?”

4.    Flow. Flow are the words you use to weave a story around your information and move it forward.  If that flow is choppy, you lose listeners.  If that flow has momentum and rhythm, you hold your listeners attention.  A choppy flow sounds like “On the next page…,” “If you turn the next page…” “Moving on…” “Here’s another chart…”  “Now, we’ll look at…” A more robust flow sounds like. “Not only, will you save money, but you will also save time (which takes you to the next page or point)…” ‘’And the story gets even better, when you look at how easy it is to implement this system (taking you to the next page or point)…” “Okay, so you are saving money and time and it is easy to implement (a mini-summary, which makes it easy for them to remember your key points), but who else is using it (which takes you to the next page, section, or point)…?” A movie that stopped, started, stopped, started, stopped, started and repeated that flow would be one very boring and frustrating experience. A movie that moves seamlessly from one scene to the next with good pacing creates excitement for its story and would make you want to hear more. That is the power of Flow in a presentation.

Trigger phrases/words for  Flow: “In addition to…you’ll also ..”  “While that is true…you don’t want to overlook…” “Yes, you’re thinking, but what about…?” “And the process repeats itself whether you look at…or…” “Something else that contributed to this success was…”  “And the story gets even better when you consider…” “In your case, the most critical factor will be…”

Relevance, Visualization, Involvement, Flow. These four PEP elements  guarantee listener attention, involvement, and excitement and ultimately lead to increased business and acceptance for your ideas.

What is Your PEP?

To determine your personal Presentation Engagement Power,
1.    Audio record a 5-10 minutes of your presentation exactly as you would say it to a specific listener or group of listeners.  Imagine them interacting with you.
2.    Play the recording back.
3.    Mark with numbers what you hear as follows:
a.    Every time, you gave the Relevance of your information to your listener, write the number 1.
b.    Every time, you Visualized your information, write the number 2.
c.    Every time, you Involved your listener, write the number 3.
d.    Every time, you used a phrase to Flow from information point to information point, write the number 4.
4.    When you finish, you will have a written line of numbers.  That line indicates your Presentation Engagement Power.

Example: “One of the things clients like about my seminars is that they are tailored to your needs,(3)  so that (1) your team (3) is totally involved and sees the application to their world (3).  For example, (2) when I gave a talk on “How to Make Your Sales Message Come Alive” to a Human Resources group, I couched the whole speech in terms of talent management and professional development.  With a group of company presidents, (2) what terms do you think would have resonated with them? (3)” (Expected answers: Leading in tough times? Keeping morale up?)   “Exactly.  And with your group of market researchers (3), we will make sure that the program is totally about their world as well (1).  Bottom-line, (1) you get a program (3) that will have high credibility with your team (1) and that will meet your objectives at the same time (1).  How does that sound? (3)” (You expect them to respond)   “Not only will it be tailored, (4) but I make sure your folks (3) have a lot of fun as well. I do that by…”

My PEP for this portion:   3 1 3 3 2 3 3 1 1 3 11 3 4 3

What Do Your PEP Numbers Mean?

1.    Do you have a healthy recurring and varied mix of numbers?  Congratulations! You are in the same league as President Obama and Steve Jobs! Your listeners never fall asleep during your presentations. They are fully engaged with your information.

2.    Not a lot of 1s (Relevance)?  Your presentations are probably interesting and entertaining, but not sufficiently relevant to your clients which is likely costing you business.  You may be hearing, “Great presentation!” but you are not getting the business.  They were entertained, but didn’t see how what you said connected to their world.

Suggestion Next time out, think, “I’m telling these people something. What is the point to them???”

3.    Not a lot of 2s (Visualization)? Your presentations are probably clinically correct, logical, and relevant, but boring!  You are not catching fire with your listener’s imagination and emotions. You are not painting enough pictures in their minds of what it would be like to use your products, services, or ideas.

Suggestion Next time out, think, “I’m telling these people something, how can I make them see what I’m explaining?"

4.    Not a lot of 3s (Involvement)? Your presentations are probably relevant and easy to understand, but you are missing an opportunity to clinch them by failing to involve your listener at a deeper level in your meeting.  You may also be racing through the material just to get through with it.  It’s like any human interaction be it a date or a business lunch.  If you don’t get your partner talking, how will you know what they are thinking about what you are presenting?

Suggestion Next time out, think, “I’m telling these people something. How can I involve them in the discussion?”

5.    Not a lot of 4s (Flow)? Your presentations are probably content rich, but don’t hang together.  It is likely that you are not creating the momentum for action that you want.

Suggestion Before you go out next time, put your PowerPoint in slide sorter and figure out the transitions between your slides and between your blocks of slides.  If you use visuals other than PPT or no visuals at all, think how you will connect from one point to the next to create a story that flows for your listener.

Conclusion

Some people are born great presenters, but most of us need to learn how to become great at this critical skill.  One way to do this is by increasing the strength of PEP, your Presentation Engagement Power, as you present your information.  Relevance, Visualization, Involvement and Flow hold listeners’ attention, keep their interest, and create a context for action.

Lee Iacocca said, “Even if you have great ideas, if you can’t get them across, they aren’t worth anything.”  A strong PEP guarantees you will get your ideas across to anyone.

c. 2008 Chiron Associates. All Rights Reserved.  Permission is granted to reprint with the following attribution. Anne Miller, sales and communications specialist This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   Sign up for her FREE newsletters at www.annemiller.com

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