5 Responses

1. Swap shop
   Hi Buffy,
   Why not try a presentation swap? Each participant brings a presentation, delivers the opening 5-10 minutes, then the presentation is handed to someone else to deliver. It works particularly well with people who have seen each other’s presentations or have a working appreciation of the subject matter.
   Nigel

2. Get Real
   One way we’ve found has been both very successful and enjoyable for sales teams is to work on real, customer ready, presentations. Sales people enjoy the goal focus of preparing something that will be used ‘in anger’.

   Your approach will depend on what type of presentations are needed, eg Credentials, Beauty Parades, and whether they will be delivered by one sales person, two, or a team, each presenting around their sweet spot (in which case Nigel’s suggestion is excellent).

   Plan in a de brief session after participants have given a real presentation, particularly if you can schedule one after a group presentation has been given. This gives the team the opportunity to talk about how things went not only in practice sessions, but what changed when with clients. This approach provides for a more honest and developmental learning process than a straightforward “presentation skills” input session.

   Claudine
   http://www.structured-training.com/asp/course_details.asp?id=14

3. How to get fresh ideas
   Get each participant to complete a DAVAR grid it will help them to re-think what they need, and how to improve.

   See an example of the DAVAR grid at…

   http://www.uk-idea.co.uk/html/get_fresh.html

   Good luck,

   UK IDEA

4. Thank you
   Many thanks to all who have emailed me with fantastic ideas and suggestions to my question REF: Presentation Skills, thank you.

5. Spicing up presentation skills training
   Hi Buffy,

   Here’s another way you can spice up your presentation skills course.

   Get hold of some famous speeches (eg Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Churchill’s Battle of Britain speech, Elizabeth I’s Heart of a King speech)and get trainees to re-deliver them using different kinds of presentation skills techniques such as visual aids, humour, cue cards, team delivery, persuasive words etc.

   Works for me.

   Good luck!