An insurance salesman made a presentation to a group of us yesterday and I left confused. He used too many technical terms and insurance speak and not enough people speak.
We are tempted (I know I am) to show how expert we are whenever we get in front of an audience and to show them how much we know. So we bombard them with facts and figures. And in the process, we confuse and or lose them. Or sometimes it’s just that we forget that the people we are talking to are not hearing the same thing we are hearing.
One of the most memorable talks I remember someone giving to a Dale Carnegie Class I attended some time ago used a simple prop to make his point. He was talking about landslides and used a sweetbread to show how land can crumble. He held our interest using an everyday staple to explain a technical topic.
You don’t always have to have a prop, but you should always have a story. Use metaphors and symbols and parables and tie them back to the point you’re making. And no one in the room is likely to check their e-mail or take a washroom break.
