The Seven Strategies of Master Presenters - Lifecycle Performance ...

38 / THE SEVEN STRATEGIES OF MASTER PRESENTERS
presentation on numerous occasions. Brad was following the luncheon
speaker who was Sharon Woods. Sharon is the first North American
woman to have climbed Mt. Everest.
When Sharon first started her program, she didn’t appear to be
that dynamic. However, when she put the first slide on the overhead
projector, it had the name of her expedition, “Everest Light” and
Sharon became superwoman. She then played some videotape, which
so graphically illustrated her climb that the audience could feel and
hear the howling winds. It was as if Sharon took the audience on the
climb with her up to the top of the world’s highest mountain. Her
presentation was magnificent. Unfortunately, after the break, Brad
was slated to make his presentation on stress management. At this
point, no one cared about stress management. As a friend of Brad’s
said, only half jokingly, “Sharon took us up the mountain, and you
brought us back down!” Ouch.
Brad learned a lot about alignment from that disaster. If he could
have done his presentation on “Peak Performers” it would have fit
much better with the tone that Sharon had set. Since that day, he
always asks to see a copy of the conference schedule before he agrees
to present. If they don’t have a complete schedule, he asks to see what
they do have. If they don’t have a schedule at all, he asks for as much
clarification as he can get on the theme of that particular conference.
David learned a similar lesson at the end of a four-day conference.
David: I was the closing keynote speaker, set to go on at 10:30 a.m.
as the final speaker of the day. After three solid days, the
attendees were tired and ready to head home. All that stood
between them and “freedom” was me. Unfortunately, there
was a 30-minute break between the first speaker and me. If
the first speaker had been dynamic or entertaining, his
momentum could carry over through the long break. However,
the speaker was neither dynamic nor entertaining,
and in just 45 minutes, he proceeded to put the audience
into a stupor. Break time came and the audience departed
in droves. When it was my turn, less than half the audience
remained. The frustrating part of it is that I could do absolutely
nothing to prevent it. Thereafter, I always make a point
of asking, “Who and what are scheduled on either side of
my presentation?” so I can prepare accordingly.