169: More Presenting Pizazz Please

<p>Pizazz is one of those unusual words, that sounds kind of cool, but is a bit vague.  In presenting terms, we are really looking at being more interesting and engaging and doing that in a sparky, non-anticipatory way.  Droning on when presenting is a pretty strong norm for many people.  They talk at us, not with us.  They are lifeless and low energy.  This may be fine for having a cup of tea with your friends, but if you want to present, then you have to switch it up.</p> <p> </p> <p>A workman like, by the numbers, presentation is fundamentally boring.  A recent presenter did a painting by numbers job with his effort.  The talk had completed the exercise in the allotted time and he had spoken about a number of key points.  The delivery was wooden though, the voice tone was flat, the whole thing was a lifeless shambles really.  The snapper though is that the speaker represents his organization to the world at large and he did a poor job when up on the podium. </p> <p> </p> <p>When you are in a high profile role, like being the CEO, then you simply have to perform.  Never forget we judge your whole organisation on you.  If you are mediocre, we assume everyone is the same.  We don’t say, well that guy or gal was the exception.   The rest of the crew are all dynamite.  Nope, we say they are all duds down there.</p> <p> </p> <p>So engaging your audience is a requirement.  This is easy to say, but not so easy to do.  Energy is a key component of this process.  Somehow, we all know that enthusiasm is contagious, but miraculously manage to forget this, when we start speaking in front of groups.  The “low energy” insult became a trademark of President Trump when disparaging his political opponents, like Jeb Bush. </p> <p> </p> <p>It is cutting, because it implies you don’t have what it takes to be a leader.  Whether you agree with Trump or not, the point is valid.  If the leader is low energy, we somehow doubt they can do the job properly.  We don’t get to meet that many CEOs or politicians in person, so we draw our con