Leadership is communication. Sometimes that communication is one-to-one, and sometimes it's one-to-many. Depending how many, "communication" can begin to feel a lot like "public speaking."
Wait a minute... Is leadership synonymous with public speaking?
"We're on the same page."
"Are you riding this wavelength?"
"Now you're speaking my language."
"I'm smellin' what you're steppin' in."
Sarah Kimes is Senior Associate Vice President and Brand Strategist at CallisonRTKL, a global architecture, planning and design practice. She leads the brand services team at the Dallas, TX office, and her goal is to connect the built environment to people in a way that's meaningful. How does Sarah create these meaningful connections? She uses powerful presentations to communicate her ideas and build, change and reinforce beliefs in her audience.
What makes Sarah such a powerful presenter? Her strengths are threefold: She relies on a dependable process, she has extensive experience in branding, and she's incredibly self aware.
It's not an impossible dream. In fact, it's quite simple to write a great presentation outline.
Research conducted by Stanford University has proven that audiences are 40% more likely to retain information accurately when it's presented with structure, as opposed to free-form.
While there are many ways to create structure, our clients find asking these 3 questions can take presentations from random and scattered to resonant and incredibly sticky.
The presentation is tomorrow. You know your story, and you've rehearsed your delivery according to your strengths. You have a sharp understanding of your audience and are prepared to deliver a powerful talk along the lines of empathy. You are unstoppable. Your idea will change the world.
Hang on there, cowboy. Where will this meeting take place? Around what table will your audience convene? If you answered "The Board Room," we have bad news... That's where ideas go to die.
Dramatic? Maybe. True? Absolutely.