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Internet Marketing And Public Speaking
By Larry Tracy, Sat Dec 10th
Copyright 2005 Larry Tracy Internet marketing and public speaking? Not quite ham and eggs,is it? Those two phrases are rarely found in the same sentence. Afterall, many people decide to do their marketing in cyberspace sothey’ll never be required to deliver a sales presentation or aspeech.
If you are one of these people, you are making big mistake bynot developing your speaking skills, because you are cuttingyourself off from the vast off-line market. Why should internet marketers seek to improve their publicspeaking? For the simple reason that by so doing, they and theirproducts can become known to people who are are uncomfortablebuying on-line. They prefer to know their is a human being atthe other end. In this brief article, I’ll give you a "shortcut system" thatwill enable you to package your substantive knowledge so it canbe delivered in an interesting, engaging manner. It is adistilled version of what I provide business people in myworkshops who are almost universally in the off-line world. To whom can your presentations be delivered ? How about RotaryClubs and other civic organizations who are always looking forspeakers?; What about fellow internet marketers at seminars?;And remember high schools and colleges, where your audience islikely to be more computer literate than the general population,experienced in buying on-line but eager to go eyeball-to-eyeballwith the internet marketer who has a great product. Keep in mind that an effective speaker is one who concentrateson satisfying the needs of the audience members, so that thesepeople conclude that what you are proposing (selling) is intheir best interest—for your purposes, buying your product,Ebook or service. The Ten Tips outlined below are not classroom theory, butinstead evolve from the real world lessons I have learned inalmost 3000 presentations, and in my workshops for off-linemarketers. They have worked for me, they have worked for myclients, and they’ll work for you. 1. Have a specific objective If you don't know what you wish to accomplish with yourpresentation, your audience certainly won't know either. Yourobjective may be as limited as making sure your audience willremember your URL, or a full understanding of the benefits theywill gain by buying your product. Remember that giving a great speech or presentation should neverbe your goal; it is merely a means to an end, and that end iswhat you want your audience to do with the information presented. Be specific, and in preparing your presentation, spell out yourobjective in no more than a sentence or two. Print it out andtape it to your computer monitor. This will keep yourpreparation focused and on target as you progress throughthedrafting of your presentation. 2. Know your audience's problems, needs and concerns To be a successful marketer, your presentation must beaudience-centered. You must know the problems of the people towhom you are speaking, because your objective is to offer them asolution. This requires in-depth-research about your audience. Keep in mind that the prime motivation for people to listen toyou is their perception that your presentation will benefitthem. "What's in it for me?" is the classic question of allaudiences, on-line or off-line 3. Structure backwards We have learned to write and speak in a 1-2-3 structure: (1)Introduction- (2) Body - (3) Conclusion. For oral presentations,this is highly counterproductive: In contrast to reading a memo,people do not have the luxury of going back and reading againwhat was missed the first time.You want your audience to hearand understand the bottom line message- "This product iwillsolve your problem." Initiate your draft with your conclusion, focusing on mergingyour objective with your audience's problems, interests andconcerns. Place your conclusion on a card marked (3), then develop anintroduction that signals the audience that you know itsproblems and will be offering a solution. Place this on a cardmarked (1). Finally, place your supporting arguments on a series of cardsmarked (2A), (2B), etc. This 3-1-2 System provides focus,structure, and thematic unity, and is the heart of my trainingworkshops. 4. Practice solo with tape-recorder or video-camera After completing the presentation draft, practice by yourselfwith a tape-recorder or video-camera. You will be at yourweakest in this initial practice, hence the advice to havenobody present whose comments could seriously hurt yourconfidence. Listen to your presentation, note the
rhythm and cadence, the"uh's", "y'knows", and check your mastery of the subject. If videotaping, note your mannerisms and body language, andcoordinate your gestures with your vocal inflection. 5. Practice with colleague, friend or spouse After completing the solo practice session, you are ready topractice in front of another person. Choose this personcarefully, as you do not want a hypercritic who will findexcessive faults with your presenting style. Neither, however,do you want the type of person who finds no faults whatsoever,and praises you to the skies. You need honest and constructivecriticism aimed at "tweaking" your presentation. 6. Convene a "Murder Board" practice session The "Murder Board, a term I bring to my training workshops frommy military background," is a rigorous practice session. It isthe speakers equivalent of the flight simulator used fortraining pilots how to deal with in-flight emergencies, or themoot court readying lawyers for courtroom combat. Select no morethan four people to be your simulated audience, and share withthem all the intelligence you have gained on your prospectiveaudience. These four people will then role play your audience. Their comments, questions and criticism help you correct yourstyle of delivery, find the gaps in your knowledge, andanticipate questions and objections. 7. Arrive early to meet and greet Personal contact and interpersonal skills are important for thesuccess of any presentation, but they are absolutely vital whenyou attempt to persuade people to buy the product you areselling. We tend to accept information from people we like, butreject it from people we don't like. When you arrive early, you can get to know members of theaudience and let them relate to you as a human being. If itappears appropriate, mention names during your presentation ofpeople you have had the occasion to meet prior to thepresentation. Nothing is so sweet to the human ear as the soundof one's name being mentioned positively by a speaker. 8. Use visuals to support, not to impress Visual aids, including the ubiquitous PowerPoint, can make orbreak a presentation. The advantage of using them is that mostpeople are visual and can more readily absorb information thatis graphically presented.The danger is that visuals can bore anaudience, setting them off into daydreaming, not listening. Be careful in word choice in your visuals—and, of course, inyour delivery—to avoid Geekspeak, unless you are speaking to anaudience as familiar with this unique form of jargon as you are.Bottom line ion visuals: Don’t have the wonders of PowerPointremembered, but the substance of your presentation forgotten. 9. Employ rhetorical devices Repetition of key concepts, the careful use of the strategicpause, and parallel are just a few of the devicesyou can use to add spice and cadence to your presentation. Two examples of such techniques will illustrate this importanttactic. Winston Churchill, instead of saying "We in Britain owea great debt to the pilots of the Royal Air Force," expressedthis thought with the memorable words "Never in the field ofhuman conflict have so many owed so much to so few." President John F. Kennedy used a classic device of parallelismwhen he said, "We must never negotiate out of fear, but we mustnever fear to negotiate." Use your imagination to see how you can arrange words to createsuch cadence and rhythm. 10. Conduct immediate post-presentation analysis Your instinct after completing a challenging presentation is tobreath a sigh of relief and relax. Big mistake. Within minutes, sit down with a note pad or tape recorder andrecord the questions asked, the reaction of the audience to yourpresentation, your impression of your own performance, etc. Don't wait until the next day. Short term memory is preciselythat, and you will remember only generalities. The immediateanalysis will provide specifics. Transfer this specific information to your data base, and youhave an excellent head start to use in the Murder Board leadingto your next presentation.. Use these tips, and the next time you leave your keyboard,you’ll find you are now as eloquent in front of a group ofpotential customers as you are behind your computer.
About the author:This article is excerpted from Larry Tracy’s book, The Shortcutto Persuasive Presentations. Larry, a retired Army colonel, washailed by President Ronald Reagan as “an extraordinarilyeffective speaker.” He is one of the top presentation skillstrainers in the US. His website is at the top of Google for"persuasive presentations." http://www.tracy-presentation.com
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