THIS IS SUCH AN EASY “WIN”, but tons of people miss it. Even a fair number of presentation gurus don’t give it the attention it deserves.
I’m referring to objections, questions, and concerns. It’s one thing to handle these when they come up (the typical advice). But if you really want to add power to your presentation (or any other persuasive communications), address these before your audience asks about them.
Bringing up sensitive topics before you’re asked about them not only helps your credibility, it adds to your sense of Authority — one of Cialdini’s Six Principles of Persuasion. You’ll be reducing the chance they’ll say “NO” later, by dealing with any potential “No?”s now.
So here’s your task for this, the 4th in the series of 10 exercises on how to be more compelling in your presentations.
[1] FSOs (Frequently Stated Objections)?
What are the questions you hear — or fear? What would you expect someone to ask about? Being preemptive is HUGE. It heads off problems and lets you maintain control of the discussion. It also allows you to frame any competitors (or the status quo) in the way you’d like.[2] What don’t they know that they should?
Is there something you know that can help your audience make a more informed decision — something that could later turn up as a concern? If so, giving them your insights without being prompted will do wonders for your credibility.
Once you have worked through these questions, add them to your presentation just after you make the case for your answer or solution. You don’t necessarily even need a specific slide labeled “Objections” — just talk about what could be important issues for them. You’ll reap big dividends if you do.
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To see the other parts of this series, find the heading EXERCISES in right column of The YouBlog. It’s between “Recent Posts” and “Categories”. You can do them in any order you like.
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