Presentation Power

Audiences today expect more than a stand and deliver speech. In a world of information overload, presenters need to ensure they are both interesting and entertaining, that they engage their audience and empower them with relevant and meaningful content.

Steve Jobs has taken the power of presenting to a new level with his slick yet casual presentation style, incredible passion for his subject matter and highly impactful but very simple slides to support and demonstrate each point he makes. Every time Steve Jobs gets on stage, it is a production, a show, an experience people talk about the world over.

Some tools and tips for becoming an effective and engaging presenter:

1. Prepare and Plan

Do your homework

Know your audience - find out beforehand who will be attending your presentation and learn as much as you can about them. Try to understand their needs, drivers and expectations. If you know their objectives going in, you can help to achieve them or to manage their expectations early on.

Be prepared

Know your content and know it well. Know the room, arrive early and check the details (plugs, projectors, lights, seating etc…). Expect there to be a few technical hiccups and make sure you have enough time to resolve them.

Mingle

If you have set up early, you will have enough time to meet and mingle with your audience as they arrive. Ask their names, smile and shake their hands. Apart from learning more about them, you will have secured a few supportive and smiling faces in your audience.

(Try to) Relax

Remember that it’s not about you, it’s about your audience. So focus attention away from yourself and on to your message and the people around you.

Depending on the size of your audience, you could begin by asking them to introduce themselves and explain their role and expectations for the session. This will break the ice and shift attention away from you.

2. Tell a story

“Don’t make a speech, put on a show” – Paul Arden, late creative director for Saatchi & Saatchi

An online dictionary defines storytelling as “a chain of related events”; “the telling of a connected series of happenings”. In storytelling, one thing leads seamlessly to another. You must know where you are going and the path that will take you there.

Most good stories have a beginning, middle and end. In the beginning, the storyteller sets the scene, introduces the issues and draws the audience in. Tension then builds, rising and falling, through the middle of the story, holding the audiences’ attention to a climax and shortly thereafter, an end where issues are resolved, leaving the audience feeling satisfied.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” – Maya Angelou, poet

Your story must be relevant and your content valuable – don’t tell your audience what they already know or can Google for themselves, give them fresh insights that they cannot find elsewhere. Make sure that you leave your audience better off for having interacted with you.

Few good storytellers can “wing it”, so don’t even try. Have your key points written down or carefully located throughout your presentation and practice, practice, practice. Know what comes next and try not to say “um”, it tends to send a message that you are uncertain about what you are saying.

“The best way to sound like you know what you're talking about is to know what you're talking about” - Kristin Arnold, author “Boring to Bravo”

Your slides are there to help you tell your story, they are visual breadcrumbs along the path, not big screen cue cards, so keep them clear and simple. Pictures tell a thousand words and are highly memorable, so show and tell wherever possible.

Finally, have a purpose. Make sure that your story has a moral or meaning. If you do not have clearly defined objectives going in, you will have no measuring tool with which to gauge your success.

3. Engage and Connect

Your body language and tone of voice should work together to tell your story and connect you with your audience. Believe in what you are saying and your passion and energy will influence the atmosphere in the room.

Talk to your audience, not your charts. Make eye contact with people in different parts of the room, and they will feel more involved. Make sure the room is clear of clutter and that you take old meeting notes down off the walls or you risk diverting attention away from your story. Ask questions and encourage participation, your audience will feel like they have become a part of the story.

If you have practiced and know your content well, you will be more relaxed and able to tune into the energy in the room. If your audience members are nodding their heads and taking notes, these are good signs. If you feel attention is waning, stand up and move around, your increased energy will lift the level in the room. Alternatively suggest a quick break and whilst your audience is outside, pop some chewy sweets on the tables to keep muscles moving and blood flowing, the sugar boost helps too!

Critical Success Factors:

1) Know who will be in your audience

2) Understand their needs and drivers

3) Have a goal or purpose in mind

4) Believe in what you are saying

5) Create simple charts that show and tell

6) Practice, Practice, Practice

7) Arrive early

8) Take your audience on a journey that adds value to their lives

9) Engage and connect with them

10) Have fun… and enjoy the show!

Mind Over Marketing

“We help you to help yourself” – the mantra of the psychologist. A means through which human beings are able to solve their own problems and manage the challenges they face. To come out the other side better off for having interacted with them.

"In my early professional years I was asking the question: How can I treat, or cure, or change this person? Now I would phrase the question in this way: How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth?”
- Carl Rogers (A founder of Humanistic Psychology).

Relationships as platforms that benefit people

If marketing is about building meaningful relationships between brands and people and if meaningful relationships are those through which human beings are able to grow and benefit, then the underlying foundation of all good marketing is genuine care for humans and a desire to understand them better so that we can build strong relationships that benefit them.

To do so, every single marketer needs to start by understanding human behaviour better. How can we help human beings, if we don’t spend time getting to know them? As marketers we are real people with real fears, needs, desires and aspirations. How much time do you spend analysing your own behaviour? Next time you are at a store shelf, consider where your eye travels. Why did you pick the red tissue box over the blue? Why did you start shopping up the left side of the store and not the right? Why did you choose a basket and not a trolley? Why did you pick that store? Remember, however, that your own perspective is not the only one and it is for this reason that we must seek out the views of others, either formally through established researched methods or informally through less structured means.

Winston Churchill once said, "Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must first believe.” Become more self aware, it’s the start of understanding human behaviour.

To begin understanding how humans are motivated, we can borrow a few of Sigmund Freud’s learning’s and his psychoanalytic approach. Beneath every need or behavior, are motivators that are seated in our subconscious minds. To begin to understand what these motivators are, we need to ask the question “Why?”.

Why do people buy stain remover and is it as simple as their need to remove stains? Or could it be that they are motivated by the need to feel confident, wearing clothes that look good so they can feel good? Or possibly they are motivated by time and the need to spend less of it cleaning and more of it living?

As marketers, if we look at human behaviour with a “Why?” lens we begin to understand the underlying motives for behaviour, enabling us to connect with human beings on a much deeper, more unconscious level. It is because of a real understanding of what motivates their customers, that many small companies have become successful inspite of having no marketing experience or formal marketing efforts. There is very often a passionate founder who understands and believes in an inherent human truth and has been marketing to this subconscious need all along, albeit with less sophisticated tools. It is by asking “Why” that we gain the insights with which to build a sound strategy for our brand.

If we scratch a little at the surface of human motivators, we discover a set of even deeper forces at play – the values and beliefs that exist in every human being. It is these values and beliefs that influence how we think and are expressed through our everyday behaviour. It is on this premise that the model of Spiral Dynamics was built as it examines how human beliefs and values act as filters through which people think and are indirectly expressed in the way they behave (and consume). As marketers we need to understand and identify these thinking filters in order to know why people behave the way they do.

An individual’s ethical standpoint and belief in their own personal ability to make a difference will likely influence their adoption of “Green” practices and whether they lead the trend or follow it.

Marketing to the mind – the early days:

In the days of Edward Bernays (Sigmund Freud’s American nephew), the discovery of the workings of the subconscious mind was put to somewhat exploitative use to manipulate consumers into thinking they needed something they didn’t so that big American corporates could sell more products and services. Bernays did this very successfully in the early 1900’s and many have described him as the “godfather” of advertising and public relations. One better known example was his ability to significantly increase the number of American female smokers by positioning cigarettes as “torches of freedom”, cigarettes began to represent female empowerment and every woman wanted one! Trouble is, he thought that marketers could control consumers by tapping into their subconscious desires and manipulating these to the benefit of the big business. He has been quoted as saying: “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”

Fortunately things have changed in the past 100 years and the pace of this change rapidly increasing as consumers take control and start to co-create brands through more reciprocal and interactive relationships – we are seeing the next phase in the evolution of marketing emerge:

Informing -> Controlling -> persuading
-> supporting (platforms that benefit)

Good marketing today is not about manipulating. Good marketing will leave consumers and brands better off for having connected with one another. Brands that support consumers by enabling them to improve themselves and their lives because of their interaction with the brand are those that will build long term, meaningful relationships with their consumers. These brands become active platforms, because it is through the brand that people benefit.

As modern day marketers, we do not exist to convince consumers they need stuff they don’t. Today we need to connect by understanding people better, to really care about them and to add true value to their lives.

As marketers, we are serving people. Ask yourself - what is your personal marketing mantra and are you adding true value to peoples’ lives?

Waves to Watch in 2011

Do you have your eyes on the horizon?

Trends are a lot like ocean waves. A force of energy moving across the water, building in momentum and size until breaking, becoming one with the ocean and accepted as the norm. Like the ocean, consumer values and attitudes and the behaviors they drive, are in constant motion. As marketers we need to understand and predict these waves in order to respond and adjust so as to ride them and not be crushed because we didn’t see them coming.

“They (surfers) keep their eyes on the horizon” - Shaun Tomson (Surfers Code)

Waves to watch in 2011:

Changing Status

As experiences become increasingly more valuable, consumers are opting to spend their money on acquiring skills, building their knowledge and self discovery rather than on traditional consumption with its visible status symbols. Consumers are sharing their experiences and earning status through the stories they tell.

Think about who you would want to sit next to at a dinner party: the banker who pulled up in a Porsche, or the guest who has just backpacked through Nepal? Who do you think has the higher social status at that dinner party?

What is your brand doing to support and enable self development of your consumers? And are you enabling them to share their stories?

Great Expectations

Driven largely by increasing access to information through the online world, consumers are more informed and empowered than ever before. They are demanding more, more of the time, as they take control, seek interaction and meaningful relationships with brands.

Does your brand listen, engage and encourage participation from consumers? Have you allowed and enabled co-ownership of your brand with your consumers? Think of the Apple App creators who certainly must feel a part of the brand as they have participated in it’s creation. They are not just loyal consumers, they are Apple evangelists.

Choice Curators

Consumers are time poor, overloaded with information and seeking trusted guides to help them navigate through the choice overload. Decisions are influenced by peer reviews on line and referrals from people and brands they trust. According to the 2011 Trend Report (Trendwatching.com) “roughly 25% of Tweets contain links” - consumers are increasingly taking on the role of curators as they comment on, share and recommend to one another. Word of mouth is becoming even more important as decisions are based on trust.

To build trust and earn curator status, brands need to be committed to honesty and transparency. Is your brand honest, honestly? Does your brand support and enable consumers to make the right choice for their needs?

Green, Greener, Greenest

Beyond green as we know it and towards sustainable solutions for people and planet. Sustainability is no longer fringe as consumers take ownership of the problem and demand that brands do so to. The status associated with green credentials is fuelling demand for eco-easy and affordable products. To earn credible eco-creds, brands must educate and enable consumers to make a positive change and to feel and see the difference they make to the planet and for it’s people. Carbon credits cannot be felt but watching a plant grow and develop over time or a child acquiring a new skill (see wonderful initiative in UK travel tourism www.footballs4fun.co.uk) can be deeply fulfilling and rewarding.

Is your brand providing consumers with a platform to make a difference to planet and people? If so, can they feel and see the difference they make?

By keeping our eyes on the horizon, we can watch how changing consumer values and attitudes begin to influence behaviour. As you see a trend slowing building, wait until it gets just big enough then capture this energy to move your brand and business forward. Trend watching… it becomes a way of life!

References: 2011 Trend Report (Trendwatching.com)

Find Your TWEET FEET

What is Twitter and why is it important for brands?

Twitter is not Facebook, it is not Linked in, nor is it SMSing, but real time thought streaming and sharing with followers with shared interests and passions. Twitter is not just another communication channel to reach the market, but rather a microblogging platform through which to start a conversation, listen and contribute (consistently) in order to create a connected community.

According to Wikipedia, between 5 and 10k people join Twitter every day and the number of daily tweets in excess of 65 million. Whilst the platform is only 4 years old in human years, it is currently experiencing a massive growth spurt as more and more people around the globe find value in joining the conversation.

Why is it important?

In today’s day and age where two way dialogue between consumer and brand owner is fast replacing the one way monologues of traditional communications, Twitter provides brands with a means with which to engage and enable consumers to become active contributors in the brand conversation;

As life happens “faster, faster, faster”, consumers are demanding instant response and gratification which a live stream is able to provide;

More and more consumers are demanding transparency and honesty from brands and seeking out brands they can trust. Twitter gives your critics a forum and allows you to hear and respond to them;

Twitter is a traffic generation tool as the placement of links within profiles and conversations direct visitors to specific sites and helps with search engine optimization.

Twitter is a participative marketing tool that makes your brand a doing word. According to P&G CEO, A.G.Lafley (2006) “Consumers are beginning to own our brands and participate in their creation”. Today’s brands are co-created by consumers and to build long-term sustainable bonds with consumers we, as brand owners, need to entice participation in and with our brands. We only have to look at the impact that the Apple “evangelists” have had on the Apple brand to understand the power of creating real connections with consumers.

How can Twitter help my brand?

By Monitoring and Engaging:

Monitor (Listen and learn) – track conversations around your brand, competitors and category in real time. Twitter provides daily opportunities to learn and understand what it is you need to do differently and/or better to succeed.

Ask yourself: what are consumers saying? What do they want/need? How are your competitors responding? Who are the industry experts/influencers and what are they saying? What industries are related to/impact on your own and who are the key influencers in this space? What are they saying? Ensure that you find and follow them, listen and learn from them.

Engage – Through response, interaction and participation, Twitter reduces the emotional distance between your brand and your consumer. To earn influencer status, brands need to start leading conversations by introducing opinions, links and other commentary. In doing so your brand shows passion, expertise and leadership in your space.

MONITOR + ENGAGE = CONNECTED COMMUNITY

A constant state of monitoring, engaging and connecting that creates conversations around your brand and a space where your brand has influence.

It is wise at the outset to monitor until you feel comfortable engaging and to begin by responding to what you “hear”. Once your confidence in using the platform grows, you can start leading conversations, shifting you toward influencer status. It is not the quantity of followers on Twitter that counts, but the quality of those followers as followers who are “influencers” will spread your message wider and with more credibility.

“The big advantages of Twitter are: I get great insight when I ask questions; I get great traffic; and people on Twitter spread my thoughts to new places” – John Jantsh, founder of Duct Tape Marketing

What’s the strategy?

Before using this social media platform as a tool to build your brand, make sure you are clear about:

Who your target market is? Psychographics and demographics.

What does your brand promise? What is the most compelling reason for your target market to choose your brand? Give them a reason to follow you. Is it relevant? Is it differentiated? Is it credible?

What are your brand passions? What are the values that drive your brand, the code by which every one involved with your brand lives?

What is your brand personality? How does it feel to interact with your brand? If your brand were a person, what personality attributes would you ascribe it?

Spend some time considering the above as your response to these questions will inform the rules of engagement and determine:

WHAT your brand will say – subject matter, views and opinions;

To WHOM – which communities you will join and/or create;

HOW your brand will say it – tone of voice and manner;

WHEN your brand say it – frequency.

Getting Started:

Creating connections with consumers takes time, as trust is earnt and bonds are strengthened. Do not expect overnight success – Twitter is about long term sustainable influence.

Sign in and register with your (real) name (or brand name)

Personalise your page as much as possible, giving a human face to your brand. Add your web/blog address, a picture (preferable to a logo) and a short bio. Twitter is first about people, then about brands and businesses.

Twitter search to listen for your competitors and names that relate to your space. Identify the key influencers and follow them. Find out who they are following and follow a selection.

Build up a history or timeline so that visitors to your page will have something to read. It will also give you a chance to practice and gain confidence before you have built up a following.

Some tips on what to tweet about:

Point out things in your space. Share interesting links, be helpful. Be more interested in helping others than yourself;

Reward your followers with inside info, tips and hints, they will reward you by spreading your message further;

Always ask the question “So What?”. Don’t simply tweet information, turn that information into something useful and add real value.

Ask questions. Twitter can even help when hiring, send out a message asking for recommendations and referrals;

Twitter can also be used as a company intranet connecting employees to one another on projects or within divisions – you will need to use the locked tweets functionality to ensure the community remains an internal one.

Some watch outs:

Don’t over promote or hard sell. People may be interested in what you do but don’t want to hear about it every day;

Don’t follow your friends and family (unless it supports your strategy);

Don’t over follow or you will become overwhelmed;

Don’t over react – “what goes online, stays online”.

You will feel vulnerable at first… welcome to the world of co-created content and brands!

World Cup Winners

Who scored more brand buzz this Soccer World Cup?

On one team we have the official FIFA World Cup sponsors who spent an inordinate amount of money to carry the World Cup logo and benefit from exposure in and around the games – on the other side we have some very smart local South African brands that tapped into the feel good factor and leveraged the event to build not only their brands but their country and it’s people. They did not ambush at all, but helped to build a more unified nation. A far more cost effective and sustainable approach to brand building in my view.

Once such example is SAB’s "Wecome to our home bru" Castle Lager commercial which has been flighting since the build up to the World Cup. It brought back the warm, fuzzy feeling of RWC 1995, and makes me feel proud to be a South African every time I watch it. Looking back, it was probably the first brand in the weeks leading up to the games that got the fires of patriotism burning without venturing anywhere near the prohibited territory occupied only by FIFA and it’s sponsors.

Mini Cooper created the mirror sock as part of their “6 colours to stand by” campaign and didn’t expect the concept to spread the way it did creating a new category of product for street side vendors. In true Ubuntu fashion, Mini Cooper didn’t scramble to claim ownership but let it roll and ran a print advert on the day of the final thanking South Africa for banding together and supporting the country and wearing the flag.

Nandos scored too, in their typically cheeky way they made us laugh at ourselves, encouraged us to be good hosts and rallied us all together behind our boys and our country with their "Only the best for ama visitor" and "Free Coke for the South Americans”, "Free meal for the Mexicans" if they won campaign. And of course who could forget their bold message to the French... I wonder what they would have had to say had we met Argentina and Maradonna. Humour as a means by which to connect people to one another and to brands is not new to South Africans, Vodacom has led by example in this arena, but still it would have been fun to watch Nandos for a few weeks longer – they could have certainly had some fun with that hand ball!

Pick n Pay, a brand inspired by South Africa and it’s people, congratulated us all for inspiring the world. Even Bokomo found a way onto the playing field by celebrating the “Goodness of Home” and airing their “Growing the Nation” corporate responsibility commercial drawing attention to the difference the brand is making in our communities, creating a brighter future for our nations children and reminding us of the potential that lies within all of us, within our nation.

The Apartheid Museum, situated near Soccer City drew thousands of visitors (over 6,000 on Youth Day) including many African visitors. They brought in extra exhibits for the World Cup period, including a history of football in South Africa and the challenges brought by segregation. The Apartheid Museum experience creates an understanding of what happened and through a shared museum experience, a common hope and positivity for the future.

Branded pride and super glue for a nation. These brands became platforms for experiencing national pride during WC2010. They did not simply use the event to market themselves, they used it to market their country first, it's people and lastly, themselves as it is through the people that our brands are built.

These are the brands that won gold, that built bonds with human beings based on authentic experiences that will be remembered forever. These are the brands that through the spirit of Ubuntu, gave to the people because whether through intention or instinct, they took the lead in building national pride and binding a nation. They are what they are because of us and to a large extent we are who we are because of what they helped us become.

It’s not over, building brand South Africa is a permanent job and finding the hooks on which to hang our Makarapas, the new mirrors on which to fly our flags, is all of our responsibility and one which smart brands will embrace and continue to make us proud South Africans. How can your brand become a platform to connect with and strengthen a nation? Think not what your country can do for your brand but what your brand can do for your country. It will return the favour, believe it, it just has.