One of the most sought-after skills of any leader is the ability to influence an audience. Think for a moment about some of the most successful people you know … I bet they’re all good at selling themselves, their ideas and influencing others. Yet very few of them will be natural persuaders. It’s a skill they’ve had to learn and practice.
From a very young age, I always wanted to avoid being a ‘salesperson’. I didn’t want to be that relentless, commission-grabbing professional that sold anything to anyone (regardless of whether they needed it or not). Yet despite that belief, sales has been a natural part of my career for the past 20 years. I’ve learnt what it’s like to be successful by using persuasion and being authentic.
We all know that mastering the skills of persuasion is essential to leadership success, so I’m going to share some top tips on how to create an unforgettable persuasive presentation that will influence any audience.
Be a natural storyteller
Everything that’s happening in your life is a story. And a true one too. Everyone is a character (whether boring or exciting). You just have to develop your awareness for stories and logging them in your head and drawing upon them when you want to influence people. Developing your awareness for stories is about noticing the little things that happen to you and creating a narrative around them.
Head over to my FREE guide: ‘The 6C’s of Strategic Storytelling™’ to help you become a natural storyteller and how to use those stories to create a persuasive presentation.
Confine your ONE BIG MESSAGE® to a single sentence
Think about the ONE (and only one) single message that you want your audience to take away with them and make it into a punchy statement which is either a fact or a strong opinion.
Combine logic and emotion
Appeal to your audience’s emotions as well as their sense of logic in order to persuade. Both should be balanced equally to achieve the most persuasive delivery.
Make the ending as memorable as the beginning
Keep your end and beginning powerful. Open with an attention-grabber, something that your audience is going to resonate with, and end with something unforgettable, reinforcing your one message and the benefits it will bring them.
Anyone can deliver a presentation, but you want yours to stand out and deliver.
My online course “The Art of Persuasive Speaking in Global Business” is the culmination of what I have learned both as a leader and keynote speaker. It’s the playbook that I developed for leaders just like you who want to level-up their persuasive powers to get their audience to take action.
ENROL TODAY on ‘THE ART OF PERSUASIVE SPEAKING IN GLOBAL BUSINESS’ >>
