Presentations Matter
All good presenters, public speakers, presentation designers and so on should share at least one common belief: that presentations really do matter. In the past, that might have been a belief that could only be accepted on the basis of a strong faith, or because a mountain of anecdotal evidence (e.g. thousands of presentation makeovers) suggests it.
Sure, we know that good storytelling can increase audience retention by up to 26%. We also know that emotions drive most consumer decisions, so the logical, statistic-laden presentations many of us are inclined to give are not hitting the mark like they should be. Furthermore, we know that every aspect of design affects a presentation’s impact, even down to the colors and fonts used.
These facts are intuitive and, given visual examples, obvious and uncontroversial. But what’s been missing for the most part is a line connecting them to something more tangible: what does a “good” presentation mean for our bottom line? What does an amateurish or poorly designed presentation really cost us, in dollars and cents?
Dollars and Sense
At last, we finally have some answers. According to a paper appearing in the Stanford Graduate School of Business Research Paper Series as first reported by the Wall Street Journal, results from scientifically controlled studies indicate that “basic impressions of management have a significant impact on investors’ assessments of firm quality.”
According to the Washington Post,
“What [the study’s authors] found, after controlling for a number of factors, was that higher overall perception of CEOs—particularly on the traits of competence and attractiveness—was associated with a higher market value for the public offering. The study also found a link between those higher perceptions and better quality underwriters, a higher proposed share price, and a greater change from that proposed price to the closing price on the firm’s first day of trading.”
In other words, a CEO who looks professional and prepared earns his company a higher valuation (and more money) just by being on time and not messing up. That speaks volumes about what a properly trained, well-dressed, and audibly confident public speaker can accomplish.
What’s more, the researchers behind the study controlled for the variability in the quality of the pitch and presentation content, meaning the results were not affected by the words the presenters used, but rather how they said them. According to Forbes,
“Each participant viewed a 30-second clip of the presentations that obscured what the person was saying (to be sure the participants weren’t swayed by the pitch itself) and were asked to rate the CEOs solely on the criteria of attractiveness, competence and trustworthiness.
What they discovered: A 5% higher rating on these perceptions correlated to an increase of 11% in IPO price beyond the price that would have been predicted on fundamentals alone.”
If you’re a presenter, this is incredible news. The factors audiences valued in this study, as opposed to things like your company’s product or the material you are required to present, are completely within your control — so if you don’t succeed, then you probably weren’t trying.
No, you can’t will yourself into looking like a supermodel, but as Forbes points out, people are likely to react to the way you dress and groom rather than the perfection of your cheekbones or hairline. And anyone can put on a tie or dress.
Competency and trustworthiness are similarly self-directed traits in the sense that preparation is key. Audiences won’t be giving you a test at the end of your talk, so the way they judge competency is as superficial as their opinions of your appearance. Scientific literature in this area suggests that perceived trustworthiness is highly correlative with perceived competency, which is rather sensible.
In this context, it seems clear that an adequate understanding of the topic and a maximized presentation skill set should perform better with audiences than a genius-level speaker with mediocre ability. Therefore, given adequate time and resources, there’s simply no reason every presenter can’t give a winning presentation and, in turn, make their company some serious money.
Investing in yourself
These findings are great, and to say the research in this area is of interest to presentation professionals is certainly an understatement. But how practical is this study? How actionable are its results? We need to find ways to turn this new information into practical advice. As it turns out, we’ve been doing this for years.
The SnappConner PR blog puts it this way:
“…too many executives neglect the development of their skills of presence and presentation, especially in the face of evidence that shows how dramatically they can affect an organization’s bottom line[…]
These new findings confirm what we know about image in business, and they should be incentive for everyone to put increased emphasis on verbal and nonverbal presentation skills.”
Because of the fact that the words from the speeches in this study were obscured to the point of unintelligibility, the proportion of information being communicated nonverbally is even higher than normal. And as we know, nonverbal communication already receives far too little credit for the impact it has on presentations that do have clearly understandable content.
The keys to communicating effectively without using words are, as always, very simple.
Be emotive — Although the CEOs shown to the research participants did not know at the time that their speech would be altered to the point that only their tone and expression would translate, you will have the benefit of hindsight. With that in mind, try talking like you’re speaking a foreign language — if your speech patterns and activity express enough emotion that people who don’t understand English could make it out, your audience will respond.
Dress professionally — Wearing clean, appropriate attire is easy and does not require much advice. But your apparel is also a prop, which means interacting with it can mean something to your audience. Fidgeting with your collar, wiping your hands on your slacks – these are bad signs. Rolling your sleeves up, pulling off your coat for dramatic flair – that’s putting your outfit to work for you.
Move — Getting active on stage, especially for nervous speakers, can be extremely difficult. Unfortunately, it’s a requirement for a good presentation. Just like students who perk up when their teacher walks near their desk, your audience will pay more attention when you move around. Unobscured by a podium, unencumbered by the poor viewing angles of a suboptimal venue, and free to emote is the only way to give a presentation.
Conclusion
Presentations matter. In the past, we might have said that they matter “a lot” or “a whole bunch”, but now we can point to research that indicates, for a certain segment of presenters and audiences, exactly what that adds up to. The numbers are, unsurprisingly, pretty significant. And as our technological world becomes more perceptive, there may be even more to be said for good presenting.
