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3 ways to control positivity, 🎢 Sharpiepresents56
August 8, 2019
⏰ 2 minute read
⏰ 2 minute read
Peak negativity
This week let’s keep the presentation positivity theme going; practically. That’s because this week I got hit with even more negativity about my positivity. But that’s ok, it’s my job & I don’t take it personally. I know people sometimes panic & it’s up to us presenters to keep things upbeat. & double down on the positivity. Here’s how.
The known
Normal
As a presenter, you may be representing yourself, but more likely you will be representing your industry, your company or your team. That means you won’t be in control of outcomes, but you still want to be very positive with your audience & truthful. One way to control this is to present normal things the Audience doesn’t know, or knows but didn’t think about.
Industry
Let’s say your industry is palm oil. Everyone in your industry knows about palm oil. But they don’t know everything about palm oil. You’ve done so much research that you know more than they do. Example: while today the image of palm oil is not great, 100 years ago when Palmolive soap was launched, it was a luxury & in reality it still is. Positive.
Owls
Or how about something people know but don’t think about. When I started in palm oil 10 years ago, the industry animal image was negative. But I found out Plantatiins had free ranging barn owls which were bred to help control the rats. Endangered in the U.K., they thrive in plantations & everyone who meets them loves them. Positive.
Data
More
The second way to control positivity even when many things are out of your control is with data. Once again the amount of research you do & the data volume you collect is key. Get data from all sources inside & outside & I guarantee you will find something which you can use to tell a great story. Positive plus everyone loves data.
Frequently
Another simple way to use data to create positivity is simply to be completely transparent. Share with your audience the kinds of data which your competition will not share. This will give you tremendous control & even when the direction of the numbers are not going in your favor, you can present how it will turn positive in the future. Positive.
Access
A great way to use this transparency of data to create even more positivity is to make all the data easily available for the audience to get afterwards. Then you can show them both how to look at the data & where to get it in your presentation. As we mention in ‘7 Steps’ doing your calculations with data in front of your audience is a great presentation tool.
Follow up
Collect
The third way to be able to control the positivity regardless of what’s going on around you is not the presentation itself but the service afterwards. Follow up. Try to find a way to collect contact information of as many people who attend as possible. You may already have it, but if not collect it.
Keep
If your audience is small this is easy but don’t forget. Scan their cards into some storage place, I use Evernote on my iPad & iPhone. Another way is to create a sign up form on a website. Put the (simple) link into your presentation & in your conclusion ask people to go there & sign up.
Contact
Then, after your presentation, you can contact all the people whose information you got. Contact them as soon as possible. What to say? You could say a simple thank you. You could share them a copy of your presentation. You can also share the links to where all the data you presented about is publicly available. Positive!
Positive wins
Being positive is essential. Nothing great will happen without it. You must feel positive about your situation & present it positively. The key is to be able to control that positivity so you know it’s true. You need to know a lot of information, you need to be create, but you can do it & when negativity strikes, as it will, double down on your positivity.
Be a great presenter!
Sebastian
This week let’s keep the presentation positivity theme going; practically. That’s because this week I got hit with even more negativity about my positivity. But that’s ok, it’s my job & I don’t take it personally. I know people sometimes panic & it’s up to us presenters to keep things upbeat. & double down on the positivity. Here’s how.
The known
Normal
As a presenter, you may be representing yourself, but more likely you will be representing your industry, your company or your team. That means you won’t be in control of outcomes, but you still want to be very positive with your audience & truthful. One way to control this is to present normal things the Audience doesn’t know, or knows but didn’t think about.
Industry
Let’s say your industry is palm oil. Everyone in your industry knows about palm oil. But they don’t know everything about palm oil. You’ve done so much research that you know more than they do. Example: while today the image of palm oil is not great, 100 years ago when Palmolive soap was launched, it was a luxury & in reality it still is. Positive.
Owls
Or how about something people know but don’t think about. When I started in palm oil 10 years ago, the industry animal image was negative. But I found out Plantatiins had free ranging barn owls which were bred to help control the rats. Endangered in the U.K., they thrive in plantations & everyone who meets them loves them. Positive.
Data
More
The second way to control positivity even when many things are out of your control is with data. Once again the amount of research you do & the data volume you collect is key. Get data from all sources inside & outside & I guarantee you will find something which you can use to tell a great story. Positive plus everyone loves data.
Frequently
Another simple way to use data to create positivity is simply to be completely transparent. Share with your audience the kinds of data which your competition will not share. This will give you tremendous control & even when the direction of the numbers are not going in your favor, you can present how it will turn positive in the future. Positive.
Access
A great way to use this transparency of data to create even more positivity is to make all the data easily available for the audience to get afterwards. Then you can show them both how to look at the data & where to get it in your presentation. As we mention in ‘7 Steps’ doing your calculations with data in front of your audience is a great presentation tool.
Follow up
Collect
The third way to be able to control the positivity regardless of what’s going on around you is not the presentation itself but the service afterwards. Follow up. Try to find a way to collect contact information of as many people who attend as possible. You may already have it, but if not collect it.
Keep
If your audience is small this is easy but don’t forget. Scan their cards into some storage place, I use Evernote on my iPad & iPhone. Another way is to create a sign up form on a website. Put the (simple) link into your presentation & in your conclusion ask people to go there & sign up.
Contact
Then, after your presentation, you can contact all the people whose information you got. Contact them as soon as possible. What to say? You could say a simple thank you. You could share them a copy of your presentation. You can also share the links to where all the data you presented about is publicly available. Positive!
Positive wins
Being positive is essential. Nothing great will happen without it. You must feel positive about your situation & present it positively. The key is to be able to control that positivity so you know it’s true. You need to know a lot of information, you need to be create, but you can do it & when negativity strikes, as it will, double down on your positivity.
Be a great presenter!
Sebastian
