The power of presentations

Scotti, founder and principal of Professionally Speaking, says the proliferation of easy-to-use technology has led many presenters to forget to do the most important thing: clarify and organize your message.

"Once you are clear about what you want to say and how you need to say it, then ask yourself, 'Is there is any type of media that would help my audience more easily understand what I am saying?' And then judiciously develop your media support," Scotti says. "All too often the first thing people do is run to an existing PowerPoint deck presentation or start building a PowerPoint deck to write their presentation. That is putting the cart before the horse."

Personal touch
Something else Hall knows is that the presentation doesn't begin with the first slide or the initial hello from the front of the room. It starts with the mailer, the newspaper ad, the e-newsletter or whatever else you use to draw attendees. Consider that part of their introduction to you and what you are offering them (which better be solutions). Hall knows people are tired of talking to computers, so his lines are always staffed; Seniors will talk to a person when they dial in to sign up for a seminar. Then, Hall personally calls all attendees the night before the seminar to remind them of the event, and he tells them if they bring a friend they can get a gift. Hall says this simple gesture increases attendance by 10 percent. Finally, when seniors show up, it's Hall who hands them their folder and pen, and it's Hall who shakes their hand and welcomes them. It's a personal touch that goes a long way.

"By the time I'm up front speaking," he says, "I've talked to them on the phone and we've shaken hands." In an industry and at a time when trust is given grudgingly and carefully, it's these small gestures that give advisors the upper hand on their competition.

And it means attendees are already somewhat comfortable with Hall as a presenter. He has a chance to be that much more impactful because his audience, or most of it, is already past its initial skepticism. He's also able to do something else Scotti highly recommends, and that is to include examples or comments from attendees who are in the room right then. Being able to say something like "I was talking to Joe Smith before I came up here, and he asked about so-and-so" shows you aren't delivering a canned sales presentation.

"Let them know you are listening and considering their needs," Scotti says.

All of this holds true whether you are in front of 100 people or a married couple. It's personal stories delivered with a nice mix of anecdote and technologycombined with all of the personal touches you can muster that add up to a powerful presentation. What's in the body of that presentation depends on you, your expertise and what you've promised your audience. Just make sure it's more information than sales pitch, more problem solving than products, more myth busting than scare tactic.

Powerful presentations weave together anecdotes, advisor expertise, industry facts and figures, explanations that counter myths, the right delivery system, personality and charisma, and solutions that make seniors' lives better. And they do that by knowing the end game, by having a clear message in mind from the start.

"You know where you're going to go," Hall says. Take your seniors there in a way that benefits all.