Presentation & Communication Skills - The Future Commercial(TM)

A great technique for effective communication & presentation skills is what I call the Future Commercial™ in which you tell the story and paint the picture of what it might look like if XYZ happened.  Fill in the blank for XYZ...the event you're trying to AVOID in your company or organization.

This is particularly effective when it comes to communicating dry data. What does 1% LOOK like? What does a quota (met or unmet) MEAN to peoples LIVES? No one really cares until the item is translated into human experience...into an image that connects with people visually, viscerally and emotionally. This is the foundation of all TV commercials and a key component you can tap into when it come to your own communication skills & presentation skills.

Here are some examples:

• "If we keep cutting our workforce by 1% a year, that means that by XXXX year, you will walk into your office and of the XX people who are normally there, it will be just you and 2 other guys."
• "If we don't make our target quota of XYZ, then it's gonna be the end of Q4 and on that rainy Friday afternoon when you get your bonus check, you're going to be standing in your foyer at your house reading the mail, and you're going open up that envelope and it's going say XYZ."  OR "You're going to go to the ZZZ store to buy your ___ the ___ and when it comes to deciding whether to buy the __ or the __, you're gonna have to get the less expensive one.  But right next to you is Dan Smith from CCC company, your biggest competitor, and he's gonna be piling up the counter with X thousand dollar of goods and he's gonna look over you and smirk.

Small caveat: Being one who is not a fan of our consumer culture, this is not a motivation tactic I would encourage or promote...however, you can translate the $ into education for your kids or writing a big check to a non profit organization you believe in - in other words, using the $ for something that is long lasting and meaningful. So start by asking your team to think of something pretty big that they would dream of doing or getting for their spouse as a gift...and then take it from there.

(c) Victoria Labalme Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.