Chapter 4 of Dr. John Maxwell’s new book, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect is now available on his blog. Catch it before it’s too late. After reading thru the chapter, I’ve posted this comment on the blog.

They Get Out Of It What You Put In

It was my very first time to do a presentation for a group of IT professionals in Ottawa, Canada and I have decided to apply what I have learned from the previous presentations I did – PowerPoint slides were well thought out taking me at least 3 weeks to complete, writing a thorough story line as part of the delivery, and incorporating all of that to drive home the message. Add to that the methodology and delivery – burning with passion and excitement that the audience was always anticipating what I’m about to say. After the presentation, one person approached me and said, “I think you have raised the bar for delivering technical presentations.” Not only did they learn so much from the presentation but they have appreciated the effort that went into it. One presenter even attempted to imitate what I have done and commented that he now understands the amount of work needed to come up with a great presentation. From preparation to delivery to evaluation – it takes a tremendous amount of energy.

Connecting Requires Selflessness . . . Give

A common pitfall for every speaker and presenter is the “know it all” attitude who feels that what he has to say is of utmost importance and that everybody should listen. I also fall prey into that – I guess we all do. What’s worse is that I see a lot of presenters simply do it to get recognized, be admired and feed off the ego that he knows a lot better than anybody else.

I was reminded of having the attitude of giving and humility whenever doing presentations or conducting a speech. The audience will really feel the sincerity and will shift into “receiving mode,” willing to accept whatever the speaker has to give. The goal is always to “put the audience first.” That in itself is a sign of humility.