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Strengthen the Weak Link on Your Presentation Team  

It’s down to two. The client asks that your project team come in for an interview, which includes a 30-minute presentation. In particular, they want to hear from your lead engineer Joe Bore, who has distinct expertise with this type of project. Oh no, not Joe! He’s a great engineer, but he freezes up in front of groups. What should you do?

All of us have faced this problem to some degree. Many very capable technical professionals do not perform well in a formal presentation. Yet they are crucial to your project team. If they come across as stiff and uninteresting, it can kill your chances of winning the job. Consider the following tactics:

u Forget the monologue, dialogue instead. Ever listened to your proposed project team discuss strategy in preparing for the presentation and thought, “If only the client could be here right now. We’d win the job. Our guys are ideally qualified for this project.”? Unfortunately, their confidence and competence don’t always translate to the presentation itself. The task of making the presentation pulls some individuals out of their comfort zone, making them look weak even when discussing a subject where they are particularly strong.

One strategy to ease the discomfort is to engage the client in a dialogue as part of your presentation. Insert questions at specific points in your talk to get some conversation going. This helps create a more informal, less threatening atmosphere, which better positions your teammates to show their best stuff. This requires some careful facilitation, because you don’t want to ignore the client’s request for a presentation. But done properly, this can be a very effective approach.

u Interview your teammate. A different twist on the dialogue approach is to ask the Joe Bore on your team specific questions instead of having him give a prepared talk. The presentation leader, rather than giving the floor to Joe, simply asks him a series of questions that have been rehearsed in advance. I like this approach to involving team members even when there isn’t a problem presenter involved because multiple speakers can disrupt the cohesiveness of your presentation.

u Don’t just talk, do something. Even a polished presentation and splashy graphics don’t necessarily convey the image of a firm that can get things done. Consider adding a more “hands-on” approach, especially for the Joe on your team. For example, have him sketch a process diagram or write an equation on an easel pad as he discusses it. This is more effective than prepared slides and graphics in illustrating your expert’s ability. Plus the less formal approach will often make your teammate more comfortable.

u Practice, practice, practice. In my experience, most folks in this business practice too little for important proposal presentations. I find it interesting that firms will spend ten times as much on a proposal with long odds as they will on a presentation after the field has been narrowed to a few. Practice helps everyone, but especially the ones who are least comfortable with presentations. I recommend a minimum of three dress rehearsals (after content and slides have been developed!), or more if someone is struggling with his or her part. One of the best ways to prepare the team is to video tape the practice runs, allowing the team to see for themselves how their message is coming across.

Copyright © 1997, The Business Edge, all rights reserved (from the newsletter The Consultant Communicator)

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