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With most gatherings and meetings back to in-person, it’s a good time to tune up your presentation skills. Here are my five important questions and answers when preparing to present:
What is the purpose? While this seems like a pretty obvious question, it’s one that many presenters forget to ask. Are you simply imparting important information? Generally this is not the case. You may be presenting information about your organization’s insurance open enrollment period, but you likely want your audience to review the options, understand the deadline, and take action if needed. Do you have a clear call to action? Most presentations are made to both inform and persuade. Be clear and direct about what you want your audience to do. Who is my audience? Take the time to learn about your audience. Even if it’s an internal audience of employees, it is important to get a sense of how much they know about the subject and how receptive they are likely to be. If it’s bad news, it’s a good idea to test your message in advance and get input on potential concerns and questions. Often you can address those questions within your presentation. If it’s an external audience, you will also want to research how familiar they are with your topic and anticipate questions and concerns. What else should you know about your audience? Why did they invite you, what are their demographics, and what does this group have in common? It’s important to connect with your audience and taking the time to learn about them will help you prepare and deliver a successful presentation. Do I need a PowerPoint? Maybe yes. Maybe no. The purpose of a PowerPoint is to help guide the presentation, reinforce your key messages, and help the audience stay focused. It’s a powerful and important tool if you have a lot of information to present. If you have a shorter presentation or are presenting where a/v could be a challenge (such as a large auditorium) skip the PowerPoint. If you do use PowerPoint, here a few rules:
How can I project energy and authority? Even the most experienced presenters can get a case of nerves. My best antidote is to rehearse. Being familiar with the material will allow you to be more comfortable and confident. It’s best to rehearse with a colleague, friend or family member. If you aren’t able to do that, remember that you still need to rehearse out loud. That will help you identify words or phrases that might trip you up and to accurately time the presentation. The more familiar you are with the information, the more comfortable and confident you will be in your delivery. The best presenters not only project authority on the subject, they also energize the room. Having good energy does not come from shouting, but rather from knowing your material, believing in your message, and connecting with your audience. If you feel good about what you are presenting and have rehearsed, it’s easier to take your energy level up a notch and to connect with your audience through good eye contact. How do I Handle Questions? If you invite questions at the end of your presentation and there are none, do you say a quick thank you and scurry to your seat? That may be tempting, but if there is time allotted for Q and A, you may need to help get it started. Be prepared to ask yourself the first question. “A question I often get is…. ” That can break the ice. If you’re presenting a difficult topic or to a large group, you may want to consider allowing the audience to submit questions in writing or by using an electronic method, such as Slido. And what about the dreaded question that you aren’t sure of the answer? Be humble! Ask for help from your colleagues, “phone” a friend in audience, or simply say “That’s a great question, but I don’t have enough information to answer it. Let’s connect before we leave to exchange information and I’ll be certain to get the answer to you.” Taking the time to determine your purpose, learn about your audience, rehearse your material, and anticipate questions can help you be a more confident presenter. LeadSpark consulting offers group and individual presentation training and coaching. Contact Paula Otto at potto@leadsparkconsulting.com. Paula Otto As a journalist, PR professional, college professor and CEO, Paula Otto has held senior leadership roles for more than 30 years. Paula was part of the leadership team that created the Virginia Lottery and served as its executive director from 2008-2018. During her tenure, the Lottery had record growth and was recognized as a “Best Places to Work” by the Richmond Times- Dispatch. As a consultant, Otto’s work encompasses leadership coaching, business ethics, issues management, media relations, and public speaking.
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I had just transferred from the audit practice to the consulting practice of an international accounting firm. Already a partner in the firm, this was a total change of career for me. The first week of my new assignment I accompanied John, my new supervisor, to visit the CEO of a major academic medical center. We were implementing a new strategy for their business, and the CEO had questions – “How much market share are we going to gain if this is implemented? Will the market share gains pay for your fees?” Logical questions we should be prepared to answer. The problem for me was that I had no experience in answering this type of question, and it was one that we could not “know” the answer to – I was dealing with two unknowns:
I was terrified. Here I was – a “consulting partner”. I was supposed to have answers. I had not answered a question on market share since my economics class in college. How could I think about this and answer the question so that I would not look like an idiot? I began to think. I knew that gaining market share is hard. There were several competitors in the market and that it would be a battle to get patients from them, so the number really could not be that big. I took a deep breath, wrote an answer, and put it on the table. Interestingly, all our answers were within a very small range of market share gains! That experience was years ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. Why? What really happened that day?
Most teams today deal with challenges and problems they haven’t seen before. They are called on to help businesses move forward in new business models and environments while dealing with new challenges. As you and your team face the ambiguity in these situations, remember to:
Susan Rucker Susan Rucker is a seasoned executive with over thirty years of progressively responsible positions managing high performance teams and growing businesses. Her current focus is helping businesses and people navigate the rapidly changing business environment we all face today. ![]() The time of good leaders is highly in demand. These leaders could spend 24 hours a day at work if they had the time to give, but that is bad for your health, bad for your family, and ultimately bad for the business. Good leaders need to learn how to draw boundaries and keep their time under control. One of the best ways to do this is to pay close attention to the art of time management. Most leaders know about blocking time for meetings and for working on projects, they know how to create and manage a to do list, and they know how to delegate. Why, then, do so many of them feel tired and over-extended all the time when they know time management basics? One of their biggest challenges is that even as senior leaders they don’t completely control the flow of their work. New things constantly come across their desks:
Leaders struggle to allocate time to these very important endeavors in part because they already have very full calendars. They plan their days, weeks, and months, and lay out expectations for their teams and what should be accomplished. What they have NOT done is provide for FLEXIBLE time. One technique to help do this is to create a mental construct of where you should be spending your time. This means thinking about your time from the “top down” and not the “bottom up”. A good start to being able to accomplish this is to determine what “buckets” you expect to spend your time in over the course of a year. Examples of this might be as follows: These broad categories help leaders understand where they should be allocating their time, and once established can help with prioritizing how they spend time each day and over the course of a week, month, or quarter. The problem is that one of the major categories they need to account for is missing! It would not be unusual to have a senior leader spend 25 – 50% of their time on special projects or unexpected critical needs throughout the year. This means that they need to plan their time commitments to allow for that flexibility. So, what happens to your “time buckets” when you do this? As you can see in the chart below, one of two things happens – you end up working 120% of the time, or you shrink the other areas to accommodate the need for flexible time: When this idea is first introduced to leaders, many resist it. They are used to “packing their schedules” to get every little thing done. But once you begin to think about this technique, it makes a lot of sense. It motivates you to plan carefully to delegate more, reduce the number of meetings you allow on your calendar, and hopefully be more receptive to the things YOUR supervisor needs from you! So, start thinking about this and answer the following questions:
Once you have answered these questions, figure out how much “flexible time” you need, and work on a plan to make it available. Then get it on your calendar. Figure out what you can stop doing, delegate to others, or do differently. This will allow you to “create” time that you can allocate to projects and special needs. It will allow you to accomplish more and better meet the expectations of your supervisor. This is hard work, but it is something you will be glad you did! Susan Rucker
Susan Rucker is a seasoned executive with over thirty years of progressively responsible positions managing high performance teams and growing businesses. Her current focus is helping businesses and people navigate the rapidly changing business environment we all face today. ![]() Whether with an electronic click or turning a page, I always get a burst of energy as I move the calendar to a new year. Like many of us, I always seem to make the traditional personal New Year’s resolutions – get in better shape, tackle a home project, and spend more time with family and friends. According to a Global Consumer Survey conducted by Statista popular 2022 resolutions also included “spending less time on social media” and “reducing stress at work.” January is also a good time to make New Year’s resolutions as a leader and to work with your employees to plan a productive and prosperous 2023. My top leadership New Year’s resolutions: Updating Organizational and Individual Goals, Recommitting to Employee Wellness, and Creating Personal Development Plans. Update Goals Your Organization’s 2023 Goals Whether you lead a small or large group, it’s important for everyone to know what the focus and direction of the organization are for 2023. Do the goals need to be updated? How are your employees helping shape those goals? Does everyone know and understand the goals? Are individual employee goals tied back to the organization’s goals? Individual Goals You may be mid-way through a fiscal year, or your performance plans may be aligned to the calendar year. In either case, January is a good time to check in with employees on their current goals and projects. Go beyond a quick “how is everything” and have a deeper discussion about how their time is spent, what roadblocks they may be encountering, and what resources they need to be successful. This is also a good time to make adjustments if needed. Recommit to Employee Well-Being In this time of both the employee “great resignation” and the “great reshuffle,” it’s more important than ever to focus on your retention efforts, which should include employee well-being. When was the last time you did an employee satisfaction survey? Do you have a process for regular employee feedback? If employees do leave, do you have a thorough exit interview to detect any systemic problems? Regular Check-Ins and Strong Communications The new year is a good time to take a hard look at your meeting schedule. Do you have too many? Do you have enough? Regular meetings with your direct reports (both virtual and in-person) are critical to both smooth operations and employee satisfaction. In my role as a CEO, I had brief weekly check-ins with all of my direct reports and scheduled monthly longer in-person updates. It’s also a good idea to take an inventory of your communications methods and channels. Employees who feel like they are “in the know” are more invested. Make certain you have regularly scheduled updates on big projects, new policies, and individual and organizational wins. These updates should be delivered using a variety of methods – in person, virtual, electronic, and even old-fashioned printed newsletters and notices, especially if you have employees working in the field who may not have access to a computer and email. Benefits Update If your company offers health insurance and other benefits, consider a January lunch and learn with HR to review the benefits offered, including those for dependents and mental health resources. Many deductibles reset in January, so it’s a good time for everyone to reassess their benefits. Vacation Plans Most of us take some time off during the holidays, so January feels like the wrong time to be thinking about our next vacation! But with the holiday decorations and gatherings over, January and February can be cold and dreary. Why not get folks looking ahead to vacation plans during spring break with their children, summer beach trips or fall getaways? It’s a way to get a sense of when people will be asking for time off and gives everyone something to look forward to. Create Development Goals I’m a firm believer that every employee (including the c-suite leaders) should have annual development goals. They don’t have to be elaborate; they can be as simple as a commitment to cross-training with another employee, attending a few training sessions or completing the renewal requirements for a professional credential. The pandemic expanded the way we gather and learn. Virtual meetings and training have changed the way we do business and allow us to have greater accessibility to many types of professional development. However, this past year I’ve seen a renewed enthusiasm for in-person training and conferences. Strive to find a balance that works for employee schedules and your organization’s budget. Whatever your professional and leadership New Year’s Resolutions are for 2023, be certain to write them down, share them, and hold yourself accountable with monthly check-ins. If you’d like to talk more about your 2023 goal setting, contact me at potto@leadsparkconsulting.com. Happy New Year! Paula OttoAs a journalist, Public Relations professional, college professor and CEO, Paula Otto has held senior leadership roles for 25 years. Paula was part of the leadership team that created the Virginia Lottery and served as its executive director from 2008-2018. Paula recently returned to VCU as the Senior Director of Special Projects for the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs and adjunct faculty member in the Robertson School. Paula is also a regular instructor for the Virginia Executive Institute. The team at LeadSpark is looking forward to sharing their insights on a monthly basis with you. Please subscribe to the RSS Feed so that you don't miss a post. Please let us know what topics you would be interested in learning more about.
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February 2023
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