If only it were that easy. Of course, well intentioned business gurus will tell you that when you have to deliver a recommendation to a more resistant audience, you just have to look ‘em in the eyes, show confidence and paint a smile on your face. There is no silver bullet. If the structure of the presentation is not built on solid ground, no amount of eye contact nor smiling will get you closer to your goal. The way you deliver the message is important, however, the formulation must satisfy the following three conditions:
- 1. The audience must agree that the problem before them has been clearly identified. Some presentations are solutions looking for a problem. Audience members need to agree that the performance gap data set and its source cannot be questioned. Can you demonstrate that you are addressing the cause of the problem and not the symptoms? Is everyone on the same side as to the problem we need to address? Are we in agreement as to what caused this issue? If yes, go to condition number 2.
- 2. The audience must agree that the solutions or problem mitigation strategies you propose were successful elsewhere. Are your proposals based on industry best practices? Unless this is a totally unique problem, which is not always the case, somebody, somewhere was faced with the same issue. If an attempt at solving this problem was made somewhere else and goals were not met, it would be advisable for you to reference these results, if only to show the depth of your research. Should you choose to omit this data, this could put your professional integrity in question. If the problem is utterly unique, present test or simulation results that show promise. This data set may provide a theoretical validation to the solution set you will propose to your audience. If the audience accepts the proposed methods, go to condition number 3.
- 3. The audience must agree that the solutions you have implemented are showing desired results. If your goal was to garner support for your solution, then you may have stopped at condition number 2. If you have implemented the solutions agreed upon in the last step, report on the progress and ask your audience for support, additional resources or the extension of the program to mitigate the performance gap, solve the issue and satisfy condition number 3.
Make sure that your presentation framework is constructed using these 3 conditions in your agenda and summary to convince, sell or win your audience over to your ideas