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A passionate 10 minute presentation at BNI can really lift the energy in the room and motivate people to connect with your business. Recently Sarah Bloxham, a Mortgage Broker in Auckland, presented her 10-minute presentation to her chapter with such passion and power that the entire room was energised to hear more about her business. It wasn’t so much that she was delivering all new information, more that she was so enthusiastic about her business that members were left wanting to know more.
So how can you bring this passion to your presentations at BNI?
Sarah felt there were 3 key points:
- If you love your business and you are passionate about what you do, this will automatically be conveyed in your presentation.
- If you know your business well and you do what you do well, this will make presenting easy.
- If you are confident in your ability to naturally discuss your business, you will be able to handle any questions members have about your business.
How do you raise the level of excitement about your business?
- Take time to think about why you are excited about your business. What about what you do makes you look forward to waking up in the morning and going to work? Your personal challenge in networking is to have an extraordinary message that not only captures, but highlights, your passion and the essence of your business. If you are excited about your business this will be infectious to other members.
- The single most important rule of a great presentation is to speak about what you love and know well. Be passionate about your message and this will come across to your audience. Be animated in your presentation and don’t forget about the value of brevity. If you can say something in half the number of words, cut your presentation in half. Be concise and keep your message simple.
- It’s important to practise your presentation but if you know your business well, you will already have all the background detail you need. If you want some examples of great presentations, check out some TED talks online. Today TED talks are viewed more than two million times a day and they have become the gold standard in public speaking and presentation skills. Those giving TED talks are passionate about their subjects. Passion leads to mastery and mastery forms the foundation of an extraordinary presentation. You cannot inspire others unless you are inspired yourself.
- Finally, think about adding a jaw-dropping moment to your presentation. The jaw-dropping moment — scientists call it an ‘emotionally competent stimulus’ — is anything in a presentation that elicits a strong emotional response such as joy, fear, shock, or surprise. It grabs the listener’s attention and members will remember this long after the presentation is over.
