Three things no one tells you about presenting well in everyday meetings

Most of us present ideas or progress in meetings almost every day at work. Here are three things I've learnt make this go better

 

And let's face it, there is a LOT of room for improvement. 

There is so little consideration given to how we speak and present in meetings.

Tech is not always our friend here. 

"I'll just quickly talk you through these 28 slides."

"Let me pull up the spreadsheet. Ok, so..."

Here are three things I draw down on quite a lot. I don't hear other people talking about these so I hope they add something to the many pieces of advice on presenting more generally!

 

1. I find a mini-story to tell

Two reasons for this. 

The reality is, most people are semi-glazed, going from one meeting to the next. Taking on more information is exhausting. If I can't provide a way for them to access and hook into what I'm talking about, I'm just another person with a whole lot of words everyone else has to put effort in to listen to.

The second reason? Maybe it's just me, but without a storyline as a route in, I find I can end up rushing through or apologising for what I'm sharing. It's like I know how boring it is and I don't want to subject people to it.

Much worse, sometimes the absence of a story means a really strange one comes out of my mouth that I hadn't planned. Oh my.... 

Here are some of the ways I might find a mini-story to help people grab onto what I'm talking about:

• What's the drama? Is there a gap or need or problem or some pain or a puzzle?
• How did we get here? What led to this situation? 
• What's the journey been? Was it difficult or surprising or puzzling or frustrating?
• Can I build a bit of suspense? Did we try things that didn't work? 
• What was the pay off or resolution? Was there an a-ha moment? What did we do that was surprising?
• If it's an update and the story arc isn't yet complete, I might try and hold the suspense a bit. Finish with a cliff hanger.

You don't need to write a TED talk. But just finding the interesting angle turns any "Let me just talk you through these slides" into something people can find a place for in their busy brain.

Thinking in stories takes a bit of practice but it's a work / life skill that pays dividends. Without a storyline, it's a lot of effort for people to take on board your update or idea.

 

2. I do a bit of social contracting at the start

Part of the problem with "Let me just talk you through these slides" is everyone thinks they are in a different conversation.

If you plough in, and people have a different idea of what this slot is about, chances are there will be

- confusion

- frustration

- switch off

BUT ... as the presenter, you won't see any of this. You'll just see polite nodding.

The easy way to avoid confusion>frustration>switch off is with some brief social contracting.

You can either tell or consult.

If you've got an 8 minute slot at a board meeting, you're gonna tell. No time/appetite to ask people what they'd like to explore. And the format is probably pretty well preset for you.

If you're in a more collaborative meeting, you might consult instead (or you might have done this beforehand).

 

Tell looks like this

- This is a.... (i.e. what type of presentation/update this is AKA we even in the same meeting?! :-)) ... is that what you're expecting?

- Specifically here's what I'm going to do... (how I'll meet your needs)

- By the end you should have / be able to... (why this is worth your attention)

 

Consult looks like this:

- What are you expecting to hear about in this update?

- What's my job today?

- Can I just check - what's your expectation about what why we're meeting today?

- What's the best use of our time today?

 

In this contracting bit I might also do some of the following:

Acknowledge assumptions e.g. “Let’s assume that ….”

If you I’m expecting resistance, I might ask permission. “Would it help if I.…” “Do I have your permission to…?”

I might also clarify what’s on the table and what’s off the table for today’s conversation. 

Once we’re in a well contracted conversation, then I would make sure that the way I share the idea or update or information is drawing people alongside me - not inviting opposition. Like this...

 

 

3. I draw people to the same side of the table as me

 

The more we try and present something as:

- correct

- complete

- done

 

The more we invite people to:

- criticise

- resist

We are setting ourselves up on opposing sides of the table when we want to sit on the same side. 

The way I do this is NOT to sell, persuade, spin or filter.

Instead, I want to draw us all to netrual facts and keep people out of opinion ("here's why you should think it's great!" "well, here's why I don't like it!").

 

So I take the time to:

• Share the elephant in the room (“it’s worth saying out loud that…”)
• Acknowledge grey areas (“there isn’t a single answer to this question / just one way to do this”)
• Clarify what we do know vs what we are still figuring out
• Share neutral facts (literally put the figures in front of people without trying to direct their attention to the best bits)
• Acknowledge and validate emotions (“This part is inevitably going to trigger some frustration!”)

 

So that's the three. There are lots of things we can do to present ideas and updates well in meetings but those are my three go to

- find the story to share

- make a quick social contract

- get into the grey and draw people to my side of the table

 

I’d love to hear whether any of these have given you any ideas for things you know you’re presenting soon. 

What do you use as your signature style for getting ideas and updates across in meetings? Message me on LinkedIn and tell me...