We’ve all heard of the 'elevator pitch', right? The one where we find ourselves in the lift (aka elevator) with the CEO/boss/person who can make Big Decisions, and make a winning pitch to them before the lift reaches their (top) floor. In some big cities, that’s going to take quite some time; in others it might be a minute. But you get the point: keep it short, simple and sweet. So how do you create your elevator pitch? Try these 6 tips:

1. Craft a short speech that covers: who you are, what you are currently working on and what the benefits of that project are. Feel free to add in other points such as why you’re excited about it or how it builds on a prior success.
2. Get it written down. You may want to write up some bullet points on an index card, scribble a Post-It flurry, make a Mind Map, or dictate a first draft to a transcription app.
3. Get on your feet and read it aloud. Sitting muttering your elevator pitch will only prepare you for… sitting and muttering. Run through it once or twice and time yourself using a stopwatch or digital timer.
4. Edit and refine your pitch to ensure it’s coming in at about two minutes.
5. Now record your practice pitch, play it back and note where you may be able to add greater emphasis, a killer statistic, a pause or a question.
6. One or two more run-throughs and you’re good to go - all you have to do now is make sure you’re in the right elevator at the right time!

This process gets you in the habit of being succinct and to the point. It’s great if you have a tendency to waffle or find you can get tongue-tied talking to influencers.

“What, presentation tips from my Gran?!” No. Not quite. Presentation tips from the ancient Greeks: specifically for this post, from Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C.). The philosopher has some handy presentation tips for us that have survived remarkably well down the years. To influence and persuade an audience, he said, we need to achieve the winning combination of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Those words sound so familiar: they show up in much contemporary vocabulary. So, in this context, what do they mean?

Ethos - is about credibility with our audience; the reasons why they could and should respect what we have to say. This might be based on our expertise, track record, qualifications, experience and achievements. It’s also about our integrity: ever heard a credible speaker, who knew their stuff, but something just didn’t connect with you? I know I have. And that was probably due to a lack of integrity, or Ethos. Rather than blandish your track record about at the beginning, you can gain credibility subtly through the examples and anecdotes you use to bring your presentation to life. As Aristotle said, “Character may almost be called the most effective means to persuasion.”

If you know your Myers Briggs® Type you can use knowledge of preferences to ensure your presentation works for your audience’s needs.  Much of how our Type turns up in everyday life is second nature to us – we can take it for granted.  When we’re preparing a presentation we may fall into the trap of creating something that will work really well ... for people who are similar to us.  Get ahead by using these questions to prompt your preparation:

How well do you know your audience? If the answer is ‘very well’, chances are you can shape your presentation to the audience’s needs.  Think back to a recent presentation that went really well, and another that didn’t go so well – was your knowledge of the audience a factor? Typically, we know some of the cast of characters better than others.  The larger the group, the more that knowledge can be diluted.  If you’re in any way unsure, the safest option is to appeal to the different preferences that may turn up for your presentation.

Surely it’s obvious, right?  Duh, the people in the room??  Well, maybe.  And who will they be presenting to?  Think about it: the audience for your presentation of course includes the people you will have in the room, but if you want those people to act on your presentation then remember that they in turn have an audience. 

So you need to include them too.  If you need your audience to get a budget approved, what will it take to convince the budget-holder?  If you’d love to get a green light on a new initiative, who in the audience’s organization has the power of veto or approval?  If your audience will have to change the way things are done, what obstacles will they face and from where?  To make sure your presentation is more than just a flourish in the pan, invest some time in thinking hard about your audience(s). 

Thanks to my friend and NLP guru Andie Hemming for this one.  Make sure that all the words in your visuals (powerpoint, keynote, whatever software you use) can be read easily.  Now this might sound like common sense...but it isn’t common practice.  Andie and I heard – and struggled to see – some very clever people give presentations recently, and that was how I tested her assertion that you can really annoy people more than you think by using too small a type size.  Annoy them to the point where they won’t believe you, no matter how persuasive your (small) words are. Why?

When we find the type on a screen hard to read, what do we do?  Most of us narrow our eyes, squinting to try and decipher the words.  Now it’s not just the case that having to do this annoys us, oh no.  There’s rather more to it than that.  We all know (don’t we) that our emotions influence our non-verbal communications, or body language.  So when we’re angry we might stomp about.  When we’re happy we probably smile more than usual.  When we’re relaxed our posture softens, and so on.  But did you know that this works both ways?  So if you stomp about you will feel angrier than before you started to stomp.  When you smile more than usual you will cheer up.  And when you soften your posture, you will feel more relaxed and mellow.  And thus it follows that if you squint and peer through narrowed eyes at a presentation, the emotions that normally accompany that expression will be what you feel.   Which is how those very clever presenters left us feeling annoyed, highly sceptical, disbelieving and downright argumentative.