The ultimate door opener. The opening and closing of your presentation are your greatest opportunities to create impact with your audience. You must grab them right away and leave them changed in some way. These first and last minutes of your presentation can make or break your outcome. Why not invite them (or entice them) in…

It’s critical that you spend time scripting, practicing, and rehearsing these sections of your presentation. Never wing it. Plan it. Commit to memory. Time it.  Walk it through.  Practice it until you have it near perfect. Execute it brilliantly.

Here are five strategies for creating a more powerful opening and closing to your presentations:

1. Take them to the promised land;
2. Avoid palaver or idle chatter;
3. Put the good stuff upfront in the presentation;
4. Avoid the weak wind down;
5. Your energy will make all the difference.

Here’s more insight into each of these five strategies: Read the rest of this entry »

Every public speaker has highs and lows. Great presentations you’ll remember for years to come and bad ones that you’ll never forget. Moments of brilliance and success, and times when you want to crawl under a rock. Yet, they are all valuable experiences. Each and every one of them.

I had one such “learning experience” this week. I was given the opportunity to share networking tips and facilitate a group exercise with 800 women during the afternoon  networking reception at the BWF – the Business Women’s Forum in Hartford, CT on September 29, 2009. I had given a workshop called “Motivated Networking Follow-Up” to a group of 100+ professional and business women in the morning. It was an absolute home run by all measures. I was feeling pretty good. (read more about the highlights from this event)

Then it happened. Read the rest of this entry »

Presentation coaching investment pays off for this subject matter expert

Insurance and financial services professional, Scott Kallenbach is a graduate of the LIMRA executive development 2-day workshop Powerful, Persuasive Presentations taught by me, Kathy McAfee, executive presentation coach.

Scott also enlisted me for private session of presentation delivery coaching to give him the extra edge.

After a 4-hour focused coaching session, Scott perfected his presentation opening and closing, developed effective use of compelling props, theme, and techniques to maximize his audience engagement. Scott even used a red ladies handbag to visually drive home the message about the “power of the purse” and female spending power.

Scott called me from the airport on his way home to report the great news. Here’s what he said:

“Kathy, I just wanted to let you know that, pardon my French, but I kicked absolute [butt] today.  It was awesome.  Not only was the audience looking forward to what I had to say, they paid attention. In fact,  I used one of your suggestions to emphasize a point and told the audience to, “write this down, this is important,” and the next thing I knew, people were grabbing their pens and anxiously awaiting to hear what I was about to say.  Midway through my performance I was thinking about how much I was enjoying the experience.

When I was done, I was mobbed like a Rock Star.  Not only were people telling me what a great job I had done, but they wanted me to continue to share my thoughts. It was beyond my expectations. Thank you so much.  This was the most powerful presentation I have yet to deliver, and it strengthened the relationship with the client that extended the invitation.”

- Scott Kallenbach, Associate Director, Strategic Research, LIMRA International

The Value of 1:1 Executive Presentation Coaching & Training

When I asked Scott what he thought about the private 1:1 presentation coaching session with me, this is what he told me:

“Although you were pricey, I must admit that it was money well spent - I truly could not have done as great a job as I did without you.  Your creativity and inspiration were critical to my success.”

Scott’s comments reminded me of the old L’Oreal commercials “It’s expensive and I’m worth it!” This may be one of the best compliments that I received all year! Thanks Scott!

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