Confident your PowerPoint sales presentation is going to win you lots of new customers? According to a College of Charleston study, average adult retention from a lecture format presentation is about… five percent. In other words, 95% of what you say is often forgotten within just a few days- sometimes hours- of when you said it. The problem of course, is that if that happens, nothing is else will- including a sale.

There is good news though- there are easy methods available to increase retention. If you could get people to listen and remember what you said after the fact- ideally during their decision process, your close rate would increase dramatically. To help you do just that I’ve included a few tips for improving presentations that will help ensure that your next presentation gets results.

Remember that people want to be entertained as well as be informed. First, the bad news- statistics tell us that a majority of people suffer from at least some level of Attention Deficit Disorder- and that's strike one against anyone tasked with presenting. People have a difficult time focusing on much of anything, let alone a presentation on new software modules being released in the coming quarter. People today are inundated with continual requests for their attention- and good marketers realize they must compete for it. As a result, we've become spoiled- only those who truly earn it, get it. It equates to a simple formula: Attention = Opportunity.  Nothing happens until something is sold. Nothing is sold unless a message is presented that is compelling and motivating. In order to do that effectively, presentations must be fun and interesting as well. But how exactly is that done?

Cut the fluff. Time is a valuable resource that few have to spare. Audiences appreciate speakers who get to the point and use an economy of words. Think about the last time you heard someone relate a story- did you really need every minute detail, or simply enough information to understand the general idea? Great presenters focus on what the audience wants to hear and needs to know- and little else. By eliminating such fluff as ‘History Of Our Company’ or ‘Why Technology’- obvious topics that offer little relevant info- speakers can focus instead on the main points of their message- why their offering is unique and solves a problem or addresses a vision that the audience finds relevant and important.

Three's a charm! A simple concept that many people don’t comprehend is that the more information given, the less that will be remembered. The brain simply becomes overwhelmed when it has too much to process. According to memory studies, the optimal number for retention is *three*- and this is an important fact to remember in creating presentations. Speakers should limit their presentations to communicating the three most important concepts they wish to communicate to their audiences. By adding more, effectiveness suffers dramatically. Need proof? Think of the things that we can quickly rattle off in three's- the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Marie, - Winken, Blinken and Nod – Curly, Moe and Larry. Now, think of something in fours

Exactly.

When writing your speech, focus on the top three points you need to convey, and at the end, summarize them again. By telling your audience that "if you only take only three things away from this presentation- these are what you need to leave with", the critical aspects of your message will be remembered- and retained- when purchasing decisions are made later.

Use humor. It’s been said that humor increases retention by about 70% and dullness reduces it by a 110%. Humor engages people. Think of something funny you saw recently and the impact it had on you. It works similarly to a song in that it anchors messages with tie-in’s that allow points to be recalled points more easily. There's a reason that Super Bowl ad's that go for millions a minute are heavy on humor. Which ones did you remember and discuss the following day? Don’t fear that humor doesn’t appear professional- done properly and with good taste, it actually makes the speaker more professional. Those who employ tasteful humor in their presentations are considered some of the best presenters in their fields.

Never give a one-size fits all presentation. There is nothing worse than a generic, canned speech that ignores the audiences concerns. Focus should be put on providing each unique group with insight about how it solves a problem they deal with in their everyday lives. Concentrate on the top two or three issues important to this specific audience and consider who will be in attendance. Are the attendees young or older? Technical or lay-people? Management or workers? If aspects of the presentation have no pertinence or meaning to them, take them out. Professional speakers routinely do at least some level of customization on every presentation they give, and you should too.

Don't waste time on needless details. If you sell software, gloss over the obvious aspects of what your product does. For example, all warehouse management software will have receiving, picking and put-away functionality- so why spend time discussing the obvious and expected? Focus instead on unique value propositions and the differentiation the product brings that competition doesn't, such as proprietary functionality that solves a well-known industry problem. This targets and locks audience’s attention much more effectively – and keeps it.

Charts and graphs do not tell stories. Mark Twain once wrote that there were three types of lies – lies, damned lies, and statistics. Instead of providing loads of boring numbers, why not tell stories that illustrate them instead? Not only will it be more interesting, it will bring the message home much more effectively. People would prefer to hear a story of how a company returned to profitability and increased sales by thirty-million dollars in the fourth quarter, than see a series of pie charts and graphs about how organizational profits were increased by over 27%. Increase the power of your message by relating statistics via stories as much as possible.

Be charismatic. While that that may sound challenging, it can be done fairly easily by using simple techniques, such as varying your voice and inflection, adjusting your timing for emphasis, and slowing down and speaking more dramatically when delivering critical content. Walk around the room and asking questions to the audience. Ask an audience member you’re losing a question they can easily answer. Remember, even though the speaker is giving the presentation, charismatic presenters realize that the true focus is always the audience - and keeping them involved is critical. You’ll find these techniques are quite effective when done in a natural and comfortable manner, and can usually be practiced and learned quickly.

Remember the 4 B's. Be brief, be bright, be entertaining... and be gone. It is better to leave them wanting more than wanting revenge. Always remember the fundamental truth of all sales presentations- that nothing happens if the message is lost. By thinking about how to present as much as what to present, speakers will find their presentations become much more effective and that their sales increase exponentially.

Comments (3)

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regional manager/VP
written by Fernando dominguez, November 03, 2009

greeat article with best practices that can be apply to business line, thanks.

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written by Josh, November 27, 2009

What I like about this article is that you start by telling us that things are best remembered in 3s, and then finish by telling us to remember the 4B's. Anyone else get that?

Now, think of something in fours...
John, Paul, George, and Ringo
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice
Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

Mainly just giving you crap. Actually some pretty good advice. Just remember to follow your own.

Thanks

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Response to Josh
written by E Greene, April 01, 2010

Josh,

Yes, I can definitely see where this would come across as a bit hypocritical- it does seem to be counter-intuitive, but there is a difference. When you're reading an article, you can copy it, review it several times, re-read it, ect. It's a little easier to digest information in this format. It's the primary reason for textbooks that support a teachers lectures as well- you can go back and review the information, meaning you didn't have to retain everything from the lecture itself, thus making it easier to convey more data.

In most sales presentations, we don't have this luxury. Most won't review supporting information or marketing slicks even if you give it to them- especially if they are in initial evaluation stage. You're much more limited as a result, and better off to stick with three items and no more.

So while I definitely agree with you, that three is better for an initial PowerPoints when you are trying to make a memorable presentation, articles and publications provide a little more lee-way on the rule.

But I'm glad you caught this- at least you were reading it- thanks for the feedback!

Errol Greene
Greenmobiletech.com

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