Creating Memorable Short-List Presentations

As I coach more presentations, I’m convinced that it takes more to win in the interview beyond the requisite experience, team members, and technical competence. Winning a presentation in this competitive environment requires that teams be memorable. In fact, in most short-list situations, all of the teams can usually be considered qualified and able to succeed on the project. As a result, being memorable in the presentation makes a real difference in close competitions. Teams can be memorable through compelling content, eye-catching visuals, and well-choreographed delivery.

Being memorable by itself isn’t the goal – particularly if the memory isn’t a good one. Pulling my skirt off in an interview was certainly memorable, but not in a good way (no, I did not do this on purpose, and no, we did not win the job). Teams want to be positively memorable for the right reasons – reasons that drive the client to select them for the work.  Fortunately, there are numerous opportunities to be memorable in the three main elements of a presentation:  content, visuals, and delivery.

Content that is focused on the client and organized into clear “packages” is more memorable. Speakers who package their content and emphasize the differentiator in each of the packages tend to be more memorable. And, if the content packages are organized into a logical structure, selectors can more easily recall both the differentiators and the sequence of arguments. There are a variety of reasons why this strategy results in more memorable content:  Organizing content into a logical sequence fits the way the human brain selects, organizes, and interprets data. When listeners can understand the logic of an argument, they listen better and may be able to better internalize key messages (like differentiators). And, using a logical structure of content “packages” lends itself to creative repetition of content throughout the presentation. Finally, if speakers “signpost” content as it flows through a logical structure as in “First, I’m going to cover X, then Y, then Z”, listeners are able to “relax” into the content and really absorb the main messages.

From a visuals standpoint, teams should move beyond PowerPoint to truly be memorable. Sometimes this means low tech solutions; sometimes it means raising the bar on presentation technology.  In the past month, I’ve seen both utilized to create very effective team presentations. One team used presentation banners and sat on stools to create a more conversational environment with their audience. Another used a writeable site plan to interact with selectors. One more team used the largest touch screen I’ve ever seen to interact with their system during the presentation. In none of these interviews did speakers rely on flashy photography with superimposed bullets on PowerPoint. In all of these interviews, speakers used visuals as “frosting” to their presentations vs. letting the visuals take over the presentation. These days, creative teams are pulling out the crayons and white board markers. They’re making models out of non-traditional materials. And, they’re using technology in innovative ways – pushing the limits of what we thought we could do within limited time and space parameters.  From my perspective, this has been fun and engaging; it seems visuals are finally working for my teams in ways I always hoped they could.

Team delivery can also be memorable in how individual speakers speak, how transitions are made between speakers, and how groups of team members move around the space. Memorable presentations are well choreographed without being overly staged. In the most recent presentations, I’ve had a large number of speakers cycle through eight chairs, individual speakers speaking from stools, and project managers acting as emcees for their teams. All of these teams understood the value of rehearsal and took the time to get each other comfortable with movement and sound before the interview. Each team was able to anticipate visuals, handle the unexpected, and assist struggling team members because they’d worked through choreography and rehearsal together. Crafting memorable delivery is actually quite simple – come up with a good idea and then rehearse it until it becomes second nature.

Finally, I think the most memorable interviews have been the most fun. Team members were so comfortable with each other that they supported one another throughout all stages of the presentation and they laughed together when things didn’t work out as expected. At the end of memorable interviews, team members come away knowing they gave their absolutely best performance, leaving nothing back.