Selling your vision in a presentation
Are you a leader, sales manager or entrepreneur? Then you’re in the business of selling a vision.
It’s not easy, is it?
Selling a vision in a presentation involves persuading people. Not only to trust and believe the viability of the idea they may never have heard of, but also to get them to personally trust you. Someone they may have barely met, if at all.
It is a challenge to do this effectively, especially in a remote environment. But there are tried and tested ways you as a leader can sell your vision in a clear and persuasive way whilst still being seen as authentic and trustworthy.
How do you become an outstanding communicator? One that can transform even the most ‘dry’ or difficult message into an exciting and meaningful vision that engenders enthusiasm and inspires others to buy-in to your message?
How you ensure the way you deliver your message is memorable and inspirational is influenced by a few core techniques.
Sell the vision first
The first few minutes of any presentation is crucial. People have short attention spans (especially online). So cut to the chase and boil down your key message and make it resonate with your audience. Paint a picture of your vision for how it helps them. Don’t be afraid to inject some personality and use ice breakers to grab people’s focus.
Lead with stories, not data
Stories make things human and keep people interested, so tell a story and bring your ideas to life. Use data to support your story and argument and add ‘meat to the bones’ of your arguments. Come to your presentation with ‘real life’ applications of your vision – proof of what could or is in it for your audience.
Keep it short and precise
Condense your key messages to keep them memorable and deliver with impact. Remember the more you tell people the less they will remember.
Use your voice, body and face for impact
Harness the power of language to make your message sound passionate and full of conviction. Use tone of voice, pauses and emotive and inspiring words and phrases to make your presentation have impact. Use your body language including facial expression to create emphasis and manage the energy of the audience.
Have a clear agenda
Planning and preparation is key. Your presentation must have a clear agenda. Try kicking off with the compelling reasons for your proposal and end with a strong call to action to get your audience to buy-in to the idea.
Make it personal
Aim to include interaction with your audience. Ask pertinent questions and encourage audience participation. Make it apply to them. This will encourage people to stay interested in what your saying, get their buy-in sooner and keep your message memorable.
Practice, practice, practice
Like with most things we get better with rehearsal and practice. And with any presentation this is the main keys to success. Record and play back your presentation, trial run it with a tame audience, gather feedback and adjust your pitch, language and tone until you’re comfortable with it. Do this also after runs of the real thing, always be learning, adjusting and improving.
In conclusion, when selling a vision in a presentation, being able to confidently, persuasively and effectively present your ideas is key to any leaders success.
The great news is, the skills and techniques to be able to do this authentically and with great results is absolutely something you can learn and improve upon.
Need more help with selling your vision?
If you or any of your team need help to sell your vision in your presentations with more impact, we’d love to help. If you have a challenge in mind please get in touch with us here.
