Set The Stage

1. You should be speaking on a regular basis. You are a leader of your consulting business. You are also the "rainmaker" of your business.  It's your job to attract the larger clients and close big sales. (Aren't you involved in every major sale you company makes? Well then you might as well set the tone, right?)  You should be in the speaking business and it should be an active part of your marketing mix.
2. Second, you may not be paid to speak. Not every profitable speaking engagement involves payment up front. There are many ways for an unpaid speaking opportunity to end up becoming a profitable one. The most important part is that you consider your audience. If the audience fits your target, you should strongly consider saying yes to the engagement.
3. Third, speaking publicly is not about YOU speaking. You've been invited to entertain, inform, and add value to the audience. Be very careful of allowing your excitement (or anxiety) of being on stage drive you to preparing the wrong message.

 

Note: Consultants are known for over-coaching, over-training and overwhelming their audience. Slow down. Think clearly about what your audience needs to hear. Share those insights.

 

Who Is In The Room?

In most cases, you can define your audience in terms of their comfort with the topic. Are they beginning, intermediate, or advanced?

Beginner - whether CEOs or college freshmen, everyone is a novice at something. If the audience is new to a topic you should focus on the basics, fundamentals, and the challenges of getting started.

Intermediate - these are people with some level of experience, but wouldn't be considered experts. They are familiar with the basics and need the "next step". Help them understand their options. Show them case studies and examples of the different routes they can take.

Advanced - the "pros". They are probably certified in the topic or have other advanced education. These are the first people to tell you they have "X years in the field". Don't let that intimidate you. An easy approach is to present the new, hot trends and build discussion around them. Before you prepare any material, ask the meeting planner about the audience's comfort level with the topic. This sets your baseline.

 

What is Their Common Problem?

You may learn that your group fits a very tight profile with similar characteristics. Or you might learn that your group fits a wide range and your job is to "connect" them to the topic. In either case, you need to "speak to the center of the room".  In other words, you need to identify the one, BIG problem the majority of the room will have in common. Build your presentation around that premise.

For example: Let's say you are a personal shopping expert (image consultant) advising the audience on how to buy a high-end pair of shoes. You have all three levels of people in the audience.

• Beginners are trying to get started. They have never bought an expensive pair of shoes before. They don't know where to shop, how to much to pay, or where to begin.
• Road warriors are challenged in the journey. They have bought a high-end pair of shoes before with "hit or miss" results. They have one pair of shoes that has turned out to be a good purchase, but they have bought two others they would rather not tell anyone about...
• Experts are looking for something new. They chose between four different pairs of high-end shoes before coming to hear you speak. They like high-end shoes. They buy high-end shoes. They want to know where to get more high-end shoes.

 

What do these (seemingly disparate) groups have in common? Answer: Each needs a process for buying high-end shoes. Beginners need a process as a place to start. Intermediates need to improve the inconsistency of their current process. Advanced users want a process with better and faster results.   

 

Now you can being to structure the actual presentation.

 

 

Format Your Presentation

How DO you structure a winning presentation?

Common Mistake: Do NOT begin your presentation like most conventional consultants. The conventional consultant spends the first 2-5 minutes winging it with loosely connected tidbits about "their background". They begin with where they went to school, how long they've been in business, name-dropping clients they've worked with, etc. It's unfocused. It's boring. It's not valuable to your audience.  Prepare a little better. I'm giving you an outline now.

 

Introduction:

This is the place where you will have the most amount of attention and respect from your audience.  Don't fiddle around.  You've just been introduced and the audience is prepared to listen for about 30-60 seconds (and then decide if they want to hear any more). Hit hard with a clear, well understood promise.