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WINNING PRESENTATIONS James Cooke

On June 4 1940 following the evacuation of Dunkirk with Britain still under imminent threat of German invasion and only 25 days after becoming Prime Minister Winston Churchill threw down the gauntlet to the Nazis and Adolf Hitler Even though he said large tracts of Europe have fallen to the grip of the gestapo and the odious apparatus of Nazi rule we shall not flag or fail and then before a stunned and silent House of Commons this last of the lions roared out his defiance We shall go on to the end we shall fight in France we shall fight on the seas and oceans we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air we shall defend our island whatever the cost may be we shall fight on the beaches we shall fight in the landing grounds we shall fight in the fields and in the streets we shall fight in the hills we shall never surrender John F Kennedy said Churchill marshalled the English language and sent it into battle 1

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Again and again this great man hit the mark Two months later in August the Prime Minister visited RAF Uxbridge at the height of the air Battle of Britain watched from the ground and learned that the death toll of British pilots killed in action in the skies over Kent had reached 600 later that day he told the House The gratitude of every home in our island goes out to these British airmen who undaunted unwearied and in mortal danger are turning the tide by their prowess and their devotion then added with an almost operatic turn of phrase Never in the history of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few He coined expressions that live to this day The Iron curtain the Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of Britain and so on We all know those speeches so well But perhaps you may not know that when he began he was far from a great speaker Indeed on April 22 1904 36 years earlier a young Churchill froze in the House he had forgotten his lines The most embarrassing 3 minutes of my life he later wrote distraught he sat down confidence shattered to the jeers of the members Never again would he speak impromptu always he used a prepared and calculated text He always rehearsed tested and then acted his presentations to ensure they struck home to ensure they won I am here to give you as much help as I can to ensuring your presentations hit home to ensure you win 3

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Here is how I plan to use the time we have together Three things 1 I am going to talk to you for the next few minutes probably about half an hour At the end I will e mail you a copy of the booklet that accompanies this talk 2 Most importantly please think of questions you want answered as I talk we will do a full Q A at the end 3 Finally afterwards I will be here for you one to one or in groups to further help your efforts I will happily stay with you for as long as it takes I will have nothing else in my social diary 5

TELL EM TELL EM TELL EM I Talk You Ask Questions We work Together 6

When you are thinking about Questions and how I can help you further you might run your mind down the gamut of presentations in case I have missed one especially relevant for you Here are some thoughts Public key note speeches your annual company review for example Regular formal presentations you addressing your Board or team Tendering pitching for business competing for new memberships or funding And then there are those everyday moments that are part and parcel of being a leader and manager Motivating briefing and delegating to your staff and teams Off the cuff responses to members visitors and staff And finally the Elevator Talk Inevitably in the time allotted I may in ignorance gloss over what is for you a significant challenge jot it down ask the question at the end or come and sit with me for a few minutes I will stay as long as it takes 7

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To start with a health warning All of you are already a success Otherwise you would not be here you would not be running your departments managing your teams on call as an expert so whatever I tell you STICK TO BEING YOURSELF Set aside a moment to be clear what it is that makes you special makes you the charmer I suspect you all are your smile your sense of humour your support for your team your enthusiasm whatever it is build on it make it a conscious part of how you come across Successful communication is all about impact and 80 of the impact comes from you how authentic you are the way you smile look stern are enthusiastic use your body language look real listen existentially It is worth spending a moment on this it matters so much My memory of JFK shows a man engaging your friend I worry about a leader who dos not project that Hitler was clearly projecting power he like Mussolini is trying to look ferocious frightening So make sure you project the way you want to be seen Learn what makes you special cultivate it revel in it Let your charm shine Finally in the field of looks you matter you are the presenter so always dress just slightly better than people expect 9

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Right let s get to it the 5 P s As Churchill was to learn it is all about Preparation Preselling Practice Performance and Persistence my 5 P s This is one of the critical skills for any aspiring leader so as the Duke of Wellington said of generalship Take Trouble Prepare ground up Presell by ensuring you have set up your audience as best you can never hit them cold if you can avoid it hence the importance of beginnings hence my start today with one of the greats Practice rehearse for real Perform and Persist as much as you can until like Churchill perhaps after 35 years you too will be able to silence the House of Commons and people will talk about your presentations with awe By the time you stand up you will know what you are going to say you will know what you want your audience to do and you will be ready to make it entirely clear why and by when 11

And a word about formal presentations both major ones to your Board for example or to your leadership team write it out in full set it down in a language they will understand think through the few key take aways you want them to get the next actions you want them to take the time line reporting and milestones don t hesitate to read the text and if and when you do act it up for real and use big typeface Whatever you do rehearse rehearse rehearse remember actors rehearse 80 times PREPARE PRESELL PRACTICE PERFORM 12

As for emotion stress don t panic there is no need you have your full text your detailed notes your backup but expect to feel butterflies in your stomach At the first night of My Fair Lady on Broadway in 1956 Rex Harrison was so frightened that he locked himself in his dressing room and sat there crying until Lerner Lowe and Julie Andrews eventually persuaded him to come out and start what was to become the greatest Broadway hit in history So expect a moment of nerves check your text and get your body right Stretch your arms hands mouth Stand tall and repeat several times I like myself I like myself This is horrid pop psychology I would not advocate any other time but it will help you to relax hang loose and slow down to let your real self shine through Have a final pee check your appearance and don t drink especially don t drink alcohol If you are speaking after dinner then it is teetotal for you pal At the last moment take one or two deep breaths telling your body to relax and it will cool down Stand up look at your audience count to 3 and of you go 13

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Ok now some detail 1 Preparation The fundamental trick detailed preparation Over the years I have assembled a list of 20 Questions critical for pitching for business and a vital aide memoire for presentations Here they are and think of your next presentation can you answer them all Table 1 opposite Use this as the basis of debate with yourself or your team If you do not have all the answers find them out Handled properly a call to the conference manager the client or to the Chairman asking for more information only reinforces the sense of your commitment to the cause Use this process to focus down on the Key Result Areas KRA s there should be no more than 3 presentations can only cover so much ground So pick the key themes and hang your stories around them And perhaps an original thought think through as well the Key Audience Questions KAQ s What would you ask Which are the ones you most fear How will you reply OK you think you know the KRA s and the KAQ s so check them with the client as in I am focussing on these three points have I got that right Have I missed anything out and listen carefully So that covers everything you want this by the way is your first act of preselling You are ready to write the text 15

Table 1 20 Questions The aim is to double down on knowing the audience or clients their needs fears and hopes and matching that to the preselling and then the presentation Adjust the questions to your specific application Use it at all times till it is second nature Who is the client or audience Who are the key decision makers key audience or panel members What do they each want need fear and hope for Why have they asked you what are their expectations of you What do you see as special about you your company Who else is competing How will they respond to questions 4 and 5 Precisely why should we wow the crowd win the contract or not Progress so far mistakes gaps worries marked success How clearly have we checked 1 7 What do you we fear Where we strongest weakest What are the overt criteria for choice Response Acclaim What are the covert criteria for choice If you could wave your magic wand So what would you change if you could about the setup 16

2 Content This is an entirely professionally planned exercise Whether it is a short briefing or a set speech take trouble give yourself enough time This is not a last minute cobbling together of meaningless slides or a rushed list of things you want done Be clear What precisely is the central deliverable purpose of the presentation What is the Focus Could that purpose be better achieved another way What actions do you want your audience to take I have already told you to think about questions leave me your contact details and chase me so that I can help you further What are the 5 KAQ s you most fear How fully have you presold your audience Have you checked the 20 Questions Now build your presentation around the answers to these questions You may be celebrating progress in developing the operation want to launch the next stage so show the chronology of success celebrate the achievement of your team and look for a unifying theme that can link to the next stage it could be we have built a team of teams A word more about one or two of those points 17

FOCUS BEST FORMAT ACTION PRESELLING CONTENT 18

First Action What action do you want Always end on an upbeat note if you can So here we are looking to complete the drive for members with our new PR campaign I will keep you up to pace with the results as they appear but there is one thing that each of you can uniquely do that will really help our efforts I will make a point of meeting each of you in the next few days to agree how best you can give us this help On many occasions you will of course be in managerial mode briefing or delegating to your team I have attached in Appendix 1 see pages 29 32 something that is I think unique a detailed how to delegate note Please read it carefully For our purposes here I want to stress once again communications is about effect It is not about you but about ensuring your people now understand their new challenge know how they are going to meet it are confident they have the skills and clearly know and agree how they will report when to whom and what the deliverable will be So give them a chance to put your thoughts into their language their time scales and their understanding 19

Preselling You have already used the 20 Questions to show the Client target how committed you are and to check you have thought of everything Ensure with all audiences you have presold them as much as you reasonably can and avoid cold calling at all costs Give key members a chance to understand the KRA s in advance to air their concerns and do this in such a way that you have scope to alter adapt refute or otherwise head off any hostility You want as supportive an environment as you can arrange This is about steady winning not glorious failure So you are presenting to your Board and you haven t checked in with the chairman you are kidding me You haven t set up some supportive Board Members You are going to close part of the operation for major repairs and you haven t consulted each department for any unexpected consequences 20

More on Content Keep it simple As British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan said you can only cover three things Tell them what you are going to say tell them and then tell them you have told them Remember I began by telling you the three points that would make up today s talk You give me your e mail address and I will mail you the booklet on this talk we do an extensive Q A in a moment and then I provide a clinic Stick to minimum data just the key stats relevant to the themes of the talk Any detail can be handed out later If you are dealing with your Board you do not want to be spending every one s time going through every line of the accounts that is what your Finance Committee is for Use language that brings in all the senses I have put in Appendix 2 see pages 33 35 part of the great I have a dream speech by Martin Luther King as quoted in my book Understanding Leaders read this carefully and think about your use of language To summarise so far We have done our preparation and research We have prepared the content with special attention to the starts and endings We know what action we are trying to occasion We have a full text in front of us it is by the way in large bold and easy to read print and we are raring to go But hold a while 21

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Next up is Rehearsal and Management Rehearsal and management Rehearse for real the full text with lighting visual or other aids and use a trusty as a serious critic Start with the entrances introductions and then go for it Ensure open criticism check timings polish and reform what doesn t work Keep criticising Say how you see it for real No one should be allowed to take offence at rehearsal This is the only valid time to put things right Go soft on your colleagues and you will live to regret it on the day Practice the Q A In management terms it is best to have one introducer possibly the CEO who introduces the speaker and support team members and then one speaker the best presenter and most appropriate protagonist One speaker means best focus avoids the hiatus of handovers and above all this is about winning giving everyone a chance to speak and thus creating endless chopping and changing is confusing It is unlikely everyone is a natural speaker so you are escalating the chance of disaster Use the support team to field Q A As the leader this is your presentation you decide who does what and the focus is on the audience Always agree a code for discipline If I call a colleague Mr or Mrs So and So I mean shut up and let me take over otherwise interrupting to add a point can make the presentation less formulaic more interactive and real 23

REHEARSAL MANAGEMENT 24

Power Point There is nothing wrong with Power Point just the way we use it The ideal is to use it for images colour graphics and one or two words for emphasis all of which heighten your talk Power Point should never be a litany narrative of what you are saying Lighting Insist on the best lighting for your speaker and the team members they are above all wanting to hear you to see you to warm to your charm to feel your enthusiasm If the lights are dim you might as well not be there And use the lighting to enhance your eye contact look at individuals in the audience hold the look for a second ensure they have got the point as in OK so far The tennis ball game Other Management thoughts Travel together be at least 45 minutes early to allow for set up comfort breaks Timings Know them and stick to them If you wanted more time you should have discussed that and agreed it earlier 25

Manage your style Be conscious of tempo go slower than you usually do pause on words to make them have impact talk low and slow that is all I ever did said John Wayne Orchestrate your voice volume and pace and practice your body movement If in any doubt stand still It is disconcerting seeing speakers walk in front of the screen knocking backwards into the staging or just repeatedly using the same hand motions All this can be corrected with just a little rehearsal Never talk to the slides unless you are going through the detail on purpose to make an exceptional point They want to hear and see you not look at the back of your neck 26

Jokes Don t go there They are here for an important reason you are unlikely to be a comedian but don t hesitate to let your own sense of humour come through as justified by the moment Dealing with Questions I so often hear presenters saying how stupid the questions were Look at it entirely differently Questions are an opportunity for you to clarify add detail explain and praise the audience So look for ways to build on the questions look for misunderstandings or indeed for a flash of advanced understanding that may lie behind the question Build on questions One word answers are just rude When answering stop listen make sure you understand if necessary ask for further clarification think breathe then answer The pause will make you sound considered and wise If you don t know the answer probe reframe acknowledge your ignorance Don t feel threatened at least they are listening Finally many presentations are indeed off the cuff regular day to day events but they matter Have in mind a simple three part structure for your answer Part 1 Looking back Part 2 Where we are now Part 3 Looking ahead where we will be 27

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Ladies and gentlemen thank you for listening to me I hope you have enjoyed what I have had to say It really is all summarised in my booklet so let me have your card contact details and I will get you a copy in the next few days As a final aide memoire we have covered a deal of ground from Churchill the great who froze to telling you to develop your own winning personality and avoid looking like a Hitler or Mussolini the 5 P s Prepare Presell Practice Perform Persist to how to use Power Point to dealing with snap presentations by looking back at today and then into the future But now as I promised at the start let s turn from my general comments to your specific needs and let s spend a few minutes dealing with you 29

Formerly Managing Consultant at Europe s leading firm of consultants PA International Mr Cooke served 4 appointments for the British government and the European Union His clients have included public and private organizations of all shapes and sizes He created the Belfry Hotel as the European Headquarters of the PGA and the home of the Ryder Cup He was a Senior Member of the Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall London and of Brooks s St James s Street London Today he lives in Florida with his beautiful life plays off a handicap of 10 and gives talks workshops and consultancy world wide For more details background information and access to his book Understanding Leaders see his website jamescookeenterprises com 30

Appendix 1 How to Delegate Dear Sydney I think micromanagement rarely works Especially as it always leads to mutual recriminations Those being managed complain about everlasting list of little points feel frustrated and long to have the satisfaction of doing it their way of being given a chance to fly and to learn for themselves Those doing the management moan about lack of initiative and imagination of losing confidence in their staff Both sides waste hours in fruitless and uninspiring meetings So why do they do it I think part of the answer at least is that we do not know how to delegate We are aware of this if only subconsciously and so knowing we may not have set things up right we are afraid the workers won t know what is needed be as committed as we are or care as much about success I have heard employees called shiftless uncaring not interested in the company overpaid useless Well I ve got news for you very very few people set out to work each day to fail They want to succeed they t want too climb their own mountains and they too want to fly It is our job to be their wind beneath their wings Understanding delegation is vital to world class management There are six steps to it Defining and communicating success A detailed and shared plan Appropriate reporting timely and relevant feedback Constructive Interventions Celebrating the results Before I go on let me make two comments and a quotation None of these six steps are quite as obvious as they sound and secondly I have never known anyone who has followed them who has not been an outstanding success You can delegate authority but you can never delegate responsibility for delegating at task to someone else If you picked the right man fine but if you picked the wrong man the responsibility is yours not his Richard E Drafve President Raytheon Company 1 Defining and Communicating Success Start by working out why the project is worth doing What will success mean in tangible graphic and technicolor terms I m not just talking about profit I m thinking about delighting the client improving the workplace having a trouble free database and so on I m thinking about timescales breaking performance records setting new standards I m also thinking in terms of providing tangible added value for all concerned in a language that they can understand and in a way that empathetically involves them Then think in terms of your project worker what does success mean for them What feathers are you putting in their caps How can this project match their own ambitions Think through the language they want to hear think how it may fit their own development ideas If there are going to be personal issues time away from home for example consider them carefully Have you chosen the right person How can you help with the lengthy time away from home All too frequently I see managers taken by surprise frustrated and then dismayed as the chosen project team raise their own private issues as they rightly see them The trouble is the manager has not stopped to put himself in their shoes He has not thought how they might react when confronted with what is for them a sudden change in priorities an extra burden possibly at a difficult perhaps unexpected moment Their initial reaction may well stem more from this sudden reassessment they have been asked to make than any profound disapproval of the project itself They may simply be feeling threatened and so be defending their position Furthermore if their extra efforts in the past have gone unacknowledged why should they automatically share your own unalloyed excitement at this next call to arms 31

2 The Detailed and Shared Plan The second step is the core to delegation Write down every step to be taken in carrying out the project Cover the programme day by day miss out no details Then highlight critical milestone along the way If you cannot complete the detail then you have no right to be leading in the first place Get hold of the necessary knowledge use whatever outside experts you need and then set out the detail It will provide you with a range of critical pieces of information realistic timescales any specialist resources needed the relevant moments for detailed feedback the team skills critical to success Setting out your planner is however only the initial part of this second step Use it to check your selected team individuals and then use it as the basis of your outline to them of how you see the project going But they are going to do the job they are the hand an experts now you want them to put it all into their language to add their input and to own this program for themselves So ask them to summarise what you are saying ask them to go away and prepare their detailed planner milestones and key needs and so on It is only then that together you can agree on a reliable and shared programme a series of agreed detailed steps key reporting moments resource needs and start to build mutual trust 3 Appropriate Reporting The essence of this is to ensure your needs are met to ensure their and the project s needs are met to build learning mutual trust and fulfilment Your needs are wholly valid You are the leader I am not suggesting for one moment that you abrogate your responsibilities just manage them in a way that ensures success and helps your people fly You may have to have feedback every month perhaps two days before a relevant board meeting of yours So organise their diaries to suit You should be very clear how you want their report to look so set that out in advance You will not want any surprises so make sure they have all your contact numbers You will want the written report a few days before the milestone meetings so ask for that Set out your needs write them down and then carry them out with zero tolerance The project team and the project itself will have their own valid rhythm recognise this and honour it Your shared planner will have indicated and justified milestone meetings set aside enough time to prepare yourself listen to the full report debate and decide on any key issues give them support praise and help write your own meeting notes Trust the whole point of the agreed steps the understanding reporting dates and needs and allowing full time for reporting is to build a steadily growing mutual trust to reinforce each other and to celebrate hard won gains 32

4 Feedback Sydney unfortunately the world is a ragged place Things do not always go well sometimes things go really wrong Confront the need for feedback at once make it timely constructive and relevant A simple handwritten note of thanks the moment a particular battle has been won is worth gold dust If someone is not performing as agreed confront the issue at once This is vital a triple whammy You avoid the creeping unease and mistrust that can so undermine confidence You head off any real failing and have the maximum time to deal with it You underline the robust foundations of your trust because everyone knows you generally speak your mind when you need to 5 Constructive Intervention Keep away from interfering leave the team to their own space let them create their own world But to be inspirational anticipate those moments when an intervention by you can really catch the wind People are working late or weekends so you walk in and buy them dinner A member of the team is unwell you drop them a personal note Get your team leader to nudge you when you can help just by being there And if you are remember that is what you are there for to help to be positive to say thank you you are not there to nay say micro manage or take over the meeting 6 Celebrate the Result Believe it or not this is so rarely done I suspect it is because you the CEO have so many other massive calls on your time so many other high and low points One particular project may be of relatively minor significance compared to all the other things on your plate Not so your project team and you ignore their success at our peril For them this is their major challenge and they have won So hold a celebration complete a note for their personal records and write them all a thank you note send flowers to their wives It is so easy to do and it cements their spirit and morale the team learning the overall report between you and them And perhaps not least importantly it reinforces your image in the company as being worth working for 33

And finally Sydney in all this it can be useful to think about the key drivers that make us committed to course of action to a team and to a leader There has been a lot of recent work on this and I think it all comes down to recognising and respecting four fundamental needs that we have Need 1 We all want to feel we belong we are a respected and loved part of the team Ultimately mankind is a gregarious beast we like to bond so make sure we do Need 2 We love to learn new tricks new skills perhaps just to understand how something works how to find joined up thinking for joined up problems So encourage feedback encourage learning and give everyone space to learn for themselves Need 3 We want to improve our lot this may be in financial terms or it may be in many other ways gaining respect for example So find out what makes people tick reward them well and try to meet their needs Need 4 Finally none of us like to be threatened If we are we rarely perform better Most times we become defensive We stop being open and truthful and instead we cover up turn a blind eye or blame others Whatever you do avoid creating a climate of fear the moment your people become defensive your leadership task has become tenfold more difficult So there you have it Sydney my friend and here ends the lesson for today See you Monday Yours ever James 34

Appendix 2 Taken from Understanding Leaders by James Cooke Understanding Communicating and Listening On August 28 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC before a throng of 250 000 Martin Luther King Jr proclaimed his dream to the world It was said that day a dream deeply rooted in the American dream As he spoke and as thousands clapped and shouted a nation was moved That speech is among the most instructive of inspiring public presentation because of the speaker s skill his success in moving his listeners King s up lifting speech also illustrate how the ability to exert and enlivening influence is rooted in fundamental values cultural traditions and personal conviction For those you may not have studied King s great speech I say to you today my friends that in spite of the difficult and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed We hold these truths to be selfevident that all men are created equal I have a dream that one day the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood I have a dream that even the state of Mississippi a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character I have a dream today I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama who s governor s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification will be transformed Into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girl And walk together as sisters and brothers I have a dream today I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted every hill and mountain shall be made low the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together This is our hope This is the faith with which I return to the South With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood With this faith we will be able to work together to pray together to struggle together to go to jail together to stand up for freedom together knowing that we will be free one day This will be the day when all of God s children will be able to sing with new meaning My country tis of thee sweet Land of liberty of thee I sing Land where my fathers died land of the pilgrim s pride from every mountainside let freedom ring And if America is to be a great nation this must become true So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania Let freedom ring from the snow capped mountains of the Rockies in Colorado Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California But not only that let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia 35

What does that mean for executives Business leaders explain the researchers tend to think in terms of bottom line goals like boosting revenues or profits They are concerned at appearing to enthusiastic But they need to speak about their goals in terms that will make a positive difference in the world Few people will be inspired by a rallying cry to increase profits for instance but they will be energized by a vision of changing the way people stay in touch or the way children are taught If you can see a goal if you can touch feel and small it it seems more doable So before speaking leaders should ask themselves What difference will it make if we re successful in reaching our bottom line goal What is the difference I am trying to bring about with my speech letter email and in particular How will the audience feel this If they can communicate that difference with clear vivid images they ll be much more likely to capture the hearts and minds of their followers Here is a list of Image versus Concept words Image Based Words Concept Based Words sweat path work alternative hand clamour help request root sweet source agreeable heart tranquil commitment moderate explore dream inquire idea rock imagine dependable think Communicating excellently is about the audience achieving excellent understanding it takes care practice and above all in needs the speaker to empathise with his audience and to use their vocabulary and their beliefs Today emails have so speeded and filled up our lives that I meet CEOs frequently going into meetings having spent little or no time thinking about their audience 36

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