The Power Presenter by Jerry Weissman (2009)

How Much Do Your Words Matter?
When it comes to public speaking, the words you use are not as important as how you
use them (vocal delivery) and how you present yourself (body language). Indeed, words
account for only 7% of the impact of any presentation, whereas the “vocal component”
accounts for 38% and the “visual component,” a whopping 55%.



seven steps to help you plan and prepare the most effective presentation:
1. “Establish the framework” – Weigh your objective, your “call to action,” against
the makeup of your audience. Consider your audience’s stand “point A” and your
objective “point B.” Persuasive communication centers on the movement from point
A to point B.

2. “Brainstorm: Consider all the possibilities” – Write down all the information
your presentation could include. Separate the good ideas from the bad ones, and
the great ideas from the good ones. Organize the best concepts. Develop some
primary themes.

3. “Find a mnemonic device for your main themes” – Ancient Roman orators used to
deliver their lectures as they moved from one marble column to the next in the forum.
Why? The wily speakers used the individual pillars as memorization aids: They
assigned a primary point to each column. Develop your own mnemonic devices.

4. “Provide a road map” – Develop a “flow structure” (novelists and screenwriters
term this the “story arc”) for your presentation. Tie the individual points and themes
into a unified, organized whole.

5. “Use visual aids” – Make your graphics support your story arc. Unfortunately, many
of today’s speakers focus on visual aids (particularly PowerPoint slides) as if they are
the primary reason for their presentations. This is exactly backward. Use graphics
sparingly. Do not let them dominate your speech.


6. “Ownership: Don’t pass the buck” – If you are speaking from material that someone
else developed, such as a corporate speechwriter, being passionate is more difficult.
Play an active role in preparing your take on the presentation.

7. “Practice the right way” – Rehearse the words of your speech over and over to discover
how you want to emphasize and accent specific points. This will help you memorize
your presentation or, at least, become deeply familiar with its primary concepts.

The Power of You
At the same time, strive to be as “conversational” as possible. Get out of “presentation
mode” and into “conversational mode.” Focus on one person from the audience. Do not
“present” to that person, but rather “chat” with him or her. According to a Yale study,
“you” is among the 12 “most persuasive words in the English language.” Therefore, plug
the word “you” into your presentation wherever possible: “The reason this is important
to you is …” or “Let me show you.”