The 10-minute presentation is your opportunity to educate your chapter in depth about your business.
As a new member your Leadership Team should give you a slot after about six weeks in the chapter or as soon as you are able to complete your Member Success Programme (MSP) training. Take this chance to present your business. The strongest 10 minute presentations are given by members who understand the structure and ensure they teach their chapter how they can refer business to them. You learn about how to do this during your MSP Training which you should undertake as soon as possible after joining BNI.
Recently one of our new members from BNI Howick gave a sensational 10 minutes soon after completing her MSP training. Amy McHarg is a chiropractor who received a huge number of new referrals after completing her 10 minute presentation – this is how she did it…
The structure of the 10 minutes
- There are several important steps involved in constructing a strong 10 minutes. Start with your opening remarks and statements. Keep these to a minimum especially in terms of talking about yourself. Some people think that the 10 minutes is all about talking about yourself and your history. This is not the case. Your Education Coordinator should introduce you providing important biographical details. You may like to elaborate on this but keep your introductory remarks short. Amy’s took only about 30 seconds
- The subject. Split your subject into 3 sections. Doing this will make your presentation far more manageable. Each section should cover a distinct topic. These were Amy’s three sections:
1. What is chiropractic? Explain your role or industry so people understand what it is that you do.
2. What is my ideal referral for my chiropractic business? This is a crucial part of your 10 minutes. You must teach people how to refer you otherwise referrals will not come.
3. What kind of problems do I see as a chiropractor and how can I help? It is important to put the issue out on the table that you deal with. Then you can explain your solution and your area of expertise becomes much clearer to the listener.
- For each section include an introduction to your mini-topic, then the body where you explain the details of what you are talking about and then a short summary at the end. This structure will ensure that even over 10 minutes, your presentation does not meander or go off-topic.
- Conclude your presentation. This is where you add your call to action that directly addresses your fellow members.
By following this structure, you will cover off all aspects of what you need to say in your 10 minutes while engaging your network. It also takes the pressure off to know that your 10 minutes is clearly planned out and touches on all the important points you need to get across to members.
Be prepared and prepare for referrals!
