I’ve been a fan of Tim Sanders for quite some time now, thanks to Injoy’s Newsletter – Catalyst Monthly. Tim serves as a Leadership Coach for Internet giant Yahoo! and has written numerous books including the Likeability Factor and Love is The Killer App. What attracted me to this guy is that he is an advocate for good values in the business world. I was listening to an podcast interview of Tim Sanders where he highlights the importance of being real and authentic to be successful in today’s business. I was readng one of his blog entry from www.sandersays.com which talks slightly about this. What the world needs today is genuineness, realness and authenticity. He talks about these factors as it affects leadership. In reality, we like people who satisfy our psychological need and if those needs are met, we reward them with our affection. Leaders in today’s business world or in just about anything need to be authentic and real in order to succeed. What I have learned from Tim Sanders for the past days I’ve taken into action. I had a presentation yesterday for the joint Singapore SQL Server and .NET User Groups on SQL Server 2008. In a typical technical presentation, people would expect anything about the product to be highlighted. I want to break out of that expectation and be genuine. I have already thought about getting the audience engaged and giving away something which is out of the ordinary (Microsoft usually give away stuff like USB thumb drives and books). In my case, I plan to give away a pass to see the Bee Movie. Why not? People do deserve a break every now and then. I planned to have it a bit scripted. I asked a friend of mine to volunteer so I can give him the prize but that didn’t work out too well as it wasn’t “real” enough. This time, within the crowd, I ask for a “real” volunteer who would be up to the challenge I posed. After the task, I handed out the movie pass. Everyone was like astounded. We had a few laughs about whether it was a Blue movie or Bee Movie. But the important thing is, the crowd loved it, knowing that what they have just experienced is reality in action. This reminds me to always customize my presentation experience and always be real. In order to get the crowd’s attention, be authentic. You’ll be glad you did (they will be, too). After my session, the crowd went out for a brief coffee break and while I was packing my things up, I was playing around with the microphone with some gag-up voice-over sound mimicking a DJ introducing his guest. There were a few people inside the auditorium looking silly at me as if they were saying, “We can trust this guy because he’s not fake.” I’ll take that as a compliment and will keep this experience in mind, knowing that being real can, indeed, make a difference in today’s fast-paced business world – even in the technology sector