At the risk of sounding a bit arrogant, I’m going to make the following statement: All I need to see is your slide deck, and I will learn what I need to know about your presentation and how you’ll do as a presenter.

I told you I might come off a little boastful, but once I have those collections of slides, I don’t need to see a live delivery to get a good read on your delivery.  I don’t need to see your agenda, and I don’t need to hear you tell me how creative you are.  As a matter of fact, I don’t have to meet you face-to-face, online, or on the phone.  That collection of slides teaches me all I need to know about you.  Here’s what I mean:

 

“I don’t need to see a live delivery.” 

Once I have your slide deck, I immediately press play and simply look for the spots in the presentation where you’ll be doing things other than talking.  In a way, I’m looking for what makes you, you.  Perhaps it’s your sense of humor, or your comfort in facilitation.

• I’m looking for the transitions you are using from slide to slide. A lack of transition from slide to slide tells me you either aren’t skilled in your use of PowerPoint, or you don’t have the time to perfect your presentation.  Too many different transitions can often become a distraction, and tells me you’re overcompensating.
• I’m not looking for you to show me how much you love all the bells and whistles of a PowerPoint or Keynote program; I’m looking to see if you’ve found one or two ideas that fit your presentation and are being used effectively.
• I’m looking to see if the text you are showing reveals itself line-by-line. This allows the presenter to direct the attention of the audience, and keeps the audience from jumping ahead.  When all the text on a slide comes up at once, I learn that once again, you either don’t know how to utilize this feature, or you don’t realize how important it is to use this feature.

 

“I don’t need to see your agenda.” 

Once I have your slide deck, (and know how long your presentation is,) I simply count the number of slides you are showing me.  Those slides can give me a sense of your timing and rhythm.  I’ve coached presenters who will send me 50 slides for a 60-minute presentation.  That’s an awful lot of slides, which tells me there is probably too much content.  If I listed the top 20 mistakes presenters make, 19 of them together wouldn’t equal the number one mistake; too much information.  This classic mistake:

• Limits the number of questions you can ask your audience.
• Limits the amount of time for spontaneous conversations with your audience.
• Limits the number of stories, analogies, quotes, and other techniques used to allow the information to breath.

 

“I don’t need to hear you tell me how creative you are.”

Once I have your slide deck, I simply look for how you’ve arranged your content.  Specifically:

• I’m looking at the template you’ve selected. Does it fit the environment you are speaking within, or is it a typical background?
• I’m looking for artwork you’ve added to certain slides. This shows me your attention to detail and your ability to enhance the words you’ve placed on the slide.
• I’m looking for the use of video, quotes, polls, breakouts, small group activities, and more. This shows me an enormous amount about your creativity and your ability to take risks.

For the record, I admire risktakers.  Playing it safe will mean that you will most likely miss most of what I discussed above. Taking risks will add a degree of stress, and maybe even bring out a little sweat.  The great Jerry Lewis once summed it up this way:

~ “If you’ve given a presentation, and you haven’t sweat; you’re an amateur.” ~

With more work, and the willingness to take risks in those slide decks, you will find a way to alter your performance. That additional sweat will allow you to make your presentation more than just memorable.  It has the potential to transform the way you present, and take those presentations to a whole new level!

 

 

What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content?  You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk!”  Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of BLArticles®, conversations, and interviews that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and dare I say, entertain!   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972

 

 

I Zoomed my way to India to speak with Motivational Diaries, and Ashish Janiani.  We spoke for about 30 minutes about sales processes and training for success.

Sales Process To Sales Success || Interview With Robert Jolles – YouTube

If you want to read some “Life Lessons” I was able to share in a recent interview, you’ll find them here:  https://worldclassperformer.com/short-life-lessons-from-robert-jolles/

I had the pleasure of appearing on Robert Miller’s, Follow Your Dream Podcast and thoroughly enjoyed the discussion.  We go way back in this conversation to my first memories of performance… at age four!  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!  https://follow-your-dream.simplecast.com/episodes/rob-jolles-superstar-salesman

I also mixed it up with a wonderful podcaster, Terry McDougall on her Marketing Mambo show.  As she puts it, we “Cha-cha-chatted!”  If you want to hear sales and marketing go toe-to-toe, you’ll enjoy this show. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1569061/8172686-the-art-of-influence-in-sales-and-marketing-with-rob-jolles

I recently did a podcast with a wonderful, new, and up-and-coming star named Jahmaal Marshall.  His podcast is called, “Listen Then Speak.”  I’ve done a lot of podcasts, but we got into topics I rarely talk about, and I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy the show!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/listen-then-speak/id1550684472

I’ve appeared on the “Small Business Advocate Show” with Jim Blasingame for almost 20 years now, and you’ll find dozens of our conversations on his website.  We just sat down a few weeks ago for a great conversation about selling fundamentals and the strategic use of stories.  Here’s a link to over 100 interviews done over the years, including my most recent interview that explores our many behaviors we display that are based more on a default mechanism than actual logic. https://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-experts/rob-jolles-134

We posted a video series on delivering amazing online presentations with my friend, Jeremy Webb.  We go over some great stuff including:

• How to Select the Best Equipment for Online Presentations
• Pro Tips for Sustaining Interest in Online Presentations
• How to Look Like a Pro!
• Public Speaking Anxiety Tip
• Virtual Office Setup for Online Presentations

You’ll find the whole playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRO7BsBDl6oL-6ZPW3O01x-g5PiR38ljL

I was recently interviewed on the “Salesman Podcast,” which was a lot of fun. If you’re looking to Change Minds, check out this podcast: https://www.salesman.org/the-simple-step-by-step-process-to-influence-anyone-with-rob-jolles/

I loved talking about the book, Why People Don’t Believe You on a podcast that I’m sure you’ll like called Onward Nation: https://predictiveroi.com/podcasts/rob-jolles/

After 30+ years as a professional speaker and trainer, one of the most common questions I get is this: “How do we make sure the training sticks?”  Take a moment and listen to this podcast; “SalesChats” with John Golden.  If you want to know why most training fails, listen up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR3dDOlTK7U&list=FLxBXKhqz0xBwbUPMqNthAJA&index=2&t=1293s