1.7 Focus on your delivery more than the details
Back in 1967, psychologist Dr. Albert Mehrabian published two research papers assessing what elements of a presenter’s communication had which impact. His conclusion was that the impression consisted of;
• 7% verbal (the words the audience hear and read)
• 38% tone of voice (how the presenter speaks)
• 55% body language (what the presenter does)
Mehrabian’s research has been criticised and questioned over the years. For sure, anyone who loves to load their slides with details and explanations will contest this data furiously. How am I supposed to get my message across without explaining it in words on my slides?
Yet Mehrabian’s theory is a very strong guide regarding quantity of content. Yes, the words do matter, but what the audience will go away with primarily is an image of you as the presenter. How you said it will be more memorable than what you said – absolutely guaranteed.
In reality, you can rarely get a complete story over in a 15–20 minute presentation. What you can deliver is the headlines, and an incentive to find out more if they need to. A concise, well-delivered and confident presentation will always be more memorable than a complicated story of endless content and duration.
There are numerous resources enabling you to share detailed follow up information: intranet, email, company server, etc. Colleagues can pick up the slides and additional documentation any time they like.
What colleagues can’t do later is hear it from you, which gives them so much more. What’s the attitude behind this project? Who is the person leading that team? What kind of entrepreneur am I being asked to invest in?
So before starting that first PowerPoint slide, bear in mind that the timeless ‘Less is More’ approach is hugely relevant for most presentations.
Ultimately, the slide content should provide cues for you, to know what you’re going to say next; and cues for your audience, supporting your words and actions, and helping them follow the story.