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Ellen A. Kaye as
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Presentation
Newsletter
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The Guide to Delivering Persuasive Presentations
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By
Heather
Baldwin September 27, 2004
Act Up at Your Next
Presentation
Ever wonder how actors can switch their
emotions on and off to meet the demands of different situations? They know a
lot of tricks, and salespeople can use those same tricks to make their
presentations more effective, says Ellen A. Kaye, coach, speaker and author of Maximize Your
Presentation Skills: How to Speak, Look and Act on Your Way to the Top (Prima Lifestyles, 2002). Kaye, a former actress,
recommends acting methods sales reps can use to deal with four common
presentation challenges.
Challenge #1: You are presenting to
someone you don’t like.
Acting method: Substitution.
Imagine the face of a wonderful friend and mentally transpose it over the
face of your prospect. Say you’re presenting to Tom, who is rude,
demanding and egotistical. When you look at him, visualize your good friend Mary and instead of
responding from your gut to Tom’s questions and
demands, respond as if you’re talking to Mary. You’ll find you
react more calmly and kindly, says Kaye, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly the
prospect calms down in turn.
 Challenge #2: You are feeling
depressed or in a bad mood before an important presentation when you need to
be up.
Acting method: Mood-motivating triggers.
Find a piece of music that motivates you and elevates your mood, and listen to
it one or two times before your presentation. Kaye’s favorite: Barbra Streisand singing Don’t Rain on My Parade. “Listen until
the music is resonating in your soul and keep it in your head,” says Kaye
. “When you walk into the presentation, you
are that music and that emotion.” Need some ideas for mood-altering music? Kaye’s book includes a chart listing desired mood outcomes and
music that can be used to achieve them.
Challenge #3: Your presentation is
clearly not persuading the audience.
Acting method: Sense memory stimulation.
People buy with their emotional minds, so you need to stimulate prospects’
emotional thinking. Shift from presenting facts and figures to connecting
emotionally. For example, you might ask your prospects if they have children
or are married, and then use that information to tie in a brief story that
connects to your presentation. “This moves audience members to an emotional
plane,” says Kaye. “Now they’ve got
another sense working for them.”
Challenge #4: You’re at a standstill. The prospect has too
many objections but you still think you’ve got the right product for him.
Acting method: High status, low status.
In a relationship between a sales rep and a prospect, reps usually perceive
themselves as having the lower status because they want to sell their
product. To jumpstart the relationship, Kaye recommends you
mentally shift yourself so you have the higher status. That might mean
telling the prospect something such as: Bill, if you want to go
with price and that’s your sole concern, we’re not for you. Then start
packing up your things. It’s usually so disarming that the prospect will
instantly reconsider his position, says Kaye. “It’s quite
dramatic,” she adds, “and a great technique to use when you’re being
barricaded.”
___________________________________________________
Strengthen your company’s team
building and problem solving
Retain
expert workshop facilitator, best-selling business book author Ellen A. Kaye for your next meeting.
Individually and as a team, all participants will benefit from a positive,
highly interactive, entertaining workshop with powerful, persuasive results.
Ellen A. Kaye and
Perfect Presentation®
Phone: 480-391-9888 ellen@ellenkaye.com www.ellenkaye.com
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