You have a critical speech looming and you have been working on the message for weeks. You have reviewed with peers and colleagues, all of whom had differing ideas on content. This has to be right. What is the next step?To further complicate the situation, your visuals are mediocre at best. You have to move the presentation forward fast. This is not the time to guess at how your message with resonate with the audience. It’s time to hear from your potential listeners. Yes, gather together a small test group that represents the broader audience for a practice run.
Be honest with this group and describe where you are in the process of finalizing your presentation. Let everyone know this is a safe environment where all feedback is good feedback. But don’t tell them your assessment of the content. Let everyone form his or her own opinion.
You may want to use a formal presentation evaluation form. Below is template you can edit and customize to fit your situation. You may want feedback on content, delivery, visuals and on how you facilitate Q&A. This will give your test audience a framework for evaluating your presentation.
While this presentation is a little rough, stay in character when presenting to the test audience. Don’t stop to apologize for incomplete sections. Allow your listeners to experience the content so they can react in the same way your final audience may act.
Let everyone complete the evaluation forms and then put on your thick skin suit to receive their feedback. A few months ago, I facilitated such a session for a client who had been working on a big sales pitch for months for their biggest prospect. After this feedback, we scrapped the entire presentation and re-wrote it in the next 48 hours. They just got the news that they won this game changing piece of business!
Just this past week, I also observed this phenomenon in action when a presenter was worried about the content given to her by her boss. The boss mandated she give the presentation to a small audience when it was not yet complete. To her surprise, most of the presentation actually worked well, she only needed to tweak a few things to make it all flow. Now, she is off on a multi-city tour.
When in doubt, just ask your audience. They will tell you if it’s working or not, and often they have ideas to fix what is not working. Then next audience really appreciate you taking this step.
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After completing the Communicate to Win workshop, you will have the most compelling argument and the best ideas. With this complete package, you will gain the tools necessary to guarantee that you have the best ideas and that you can present them confidently so you will WIN. Read what participants say.
photo by Katrina Snaps. Used by permission.