Lose a Little Weight, Your Results Win Big

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You don't need to be "the biggest loser," in dropping the most weight like the winner of the reality television series, to win big results in weight loss. Losing a little fat and flab from your presentation can have an extremely positive effect on your sales health--no matter how overweight your slide deck may be.

 

Impatient audiences, busy executives and harried consumers share one thing in common. They are easily bored by lengthy and weighty presentations. That means: 200 slides, tedious word-only slides, and rambling dissertations are likely to bring poor results.

 

Since you're looking for more than polite comments, nodding heads and weak applause, lose a little weight from your presentation.

 

January seems to be the most popular month for discussing weight loss. After the splurges and treats of the holidays, fitness is top of mind. But many professionals still neglect giving their slide presentations a needed overhaul.

 

Taking the First Steps

 

If you have renewed motivation to lighten up your presentations, here is a bit of practical advice to get you started.

 

1. Set Realistic Goals

Don't attempt to overhaul a corporate-sanctioned presentation as your first goal. Pick a smaller, lower profile presentation to get started on. Then, work your way to higher profile presentations and higher stakes meetings.

 

2. Reduce The Number of Slides

If you have 100 slides, shave off 20. Repeat as needed. Reduce by 20% each time you give a presentation. In a short time you'll be closer to a more manageable amount such as 10-20 slides maximum.

 

3. Slowly Start To Add Whiteboard Sketches

While this method of lightening your slides works on it's own, it pays to add other media. Increase interaction with hand-drawn sketches and conversations at a whiteboard. If your writing is illegible and drawing with a marker is scary, get help. Join a whiteboard bootcamp, and boost your skills. Once you know your way around a whiteboard, you'll see a lot more opportunities to strengthen your presentation impact.

 

4. Refine Your Goals

Balance mental and physical goals. Mental goals may include a lighter state of mind, sense of calm and less stress regarding giving presentations. This is an essential component for lightening the weight of presenting. Additional physical approaches include using your personal strengths, finding your comfort zone and adapting presentation delivery to match your core abilities.

 

Combine these together and you'll find a natural balance for less weighty presentations.

 

5. Become a Conscious Presenter

Reduce pre-presentation jitters, nerves and worries. Become aware of situations that cause you to get fixed on the problems, threats and negative potentiality of presenting. These habits can make situations appear more weighty than they really are.

 

If working on your own is too daunting, consider working with a professional presentation coach. An objective expert can help you lose stress and lose tension to help you achieve the benefits of confident presenting.

 

With this 5-point plan, you are likely to experience a new found sense of lightness regarding presenting. This can mean a year free of stress and tension. Welcome to 2011.