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You’ve prepared your presentation, you know your subject, and you know your audience. You have the presentation internalized. As you progress through it, you have this bad feeling that starts to grow. You’re halfway through, and you hear a little voice in your head that says, “This is not working!”

What do you do?

That was the exact question I got this week from one of my corporate coaching clients. His presentation is a “pitch” for a $150,000 per month contract. It’s extremely important to him and his company.

I took a minute to really think about it… and I remembered an amazing transformation that I experienced long ago during a comedy show.

Three of the best headliners were working a show together in Worcester, Massachusetts. There happened to be a function in the main room, so they had to move the comedy show. If you would’ve been there, you would have seen a room full of 115 people in a hotel basement. It was definitely not the best situation — low ceilings, a warm room, a pillar in the middle of the floor that obstructed the view for many of the audience members.

The first comedian was experienced and very talented. He took the stage and only received mild laughs. He continued to follow his routine and didn’t waver. The second comedian took the stage, and had almost exactly the same results. He, too, didn’t waiver from his original “planned” routine. The last comedian, Vinnie Favorito, took the stage, and started with his planned routine. He was about three minutes into it… and he stopped. He put the microphone down, pulled up a stool and said, “Guys, what’s the matter? What’s going on?” Vinnie changed gears, and abandoned the original plan that he always used – the plan that almost always worked for him.

He realized one crucial thing. The original plan will only work when you’re “connected” with the crowd. Sometimes a connection is easy to make. On occasions, like this, it’s not.

I was just amazed at how Vinnie stopped his flow and confidently changed directions. If he had kept going, he would have suffered the same mediocre laughs that the other comedians received.

If you find yourself in the middle of a presentation and it’s not working. Stop. Talk to them. Check-in. It’s perfectly legal to ask the audience where they are, and what’s wrong. It takes a true professional to do that.

By “checking in” I mean – literally – black the projector screen, step forward, and separate yourself emotionally and physically from what you were doing. It gets the audience’s attention and helps engage them right away. They feel the change, and they know it was not planned. You might instantly gain a connection. If you don’t gain that connection right away… I promise, “checking in” is taking a huge step forward to creating one!

How did it turn out? Amazing! He took a tough audience and completely turned them around. Will it work every time? It depends on many factors. However, if it is not working the way it is going, please change something!

We learn the most from the toughest presentations. Witnessing a master like Vinnie perform under difficult circumstances has taught me a great deal. What will you do the next time you notice it ain’t working?

Video marketing is where it’s at. With its preferred search engine ranking and ability to share a message and hold a prospects attention in today’s world of click and send communication, video marketing has become very popular. To capture a viewer’s attention today your message must entice with Voice, Visual, and Audio. This is the way to grab and hold their attention long enough to share your message. Video presentation mlm is the answer.

Making a video is not that much different than a presentation you create in an email, article or even present in front of a group. So when you are drafting your video scripts remember to use the same tools that you would for any great presentation.

Structure your video script like any presentation you would make – but now add the power of sound, text and imagery.

I read an interesting piece in a book by John David Mann, The Zen of MLM. The piece, “Secrets of a Great Presentation“, originally appeared in June 2001 as an epilogue to The Master Presentation Guild, by Jan Ruhe. In it Jan explains that in order to make a great presentation, you need to make sure it will sing and dance, laugh and cry, and tell a truth in a powerful way. These are all key elements in video presentation mlm training.

MAKE IT SING

Avoid being dull by using variation in pitch and volume from high to low and loud to soft. The ebb and flow of your story and message needs to pattern itself after a good movie; where the music intensifies just before the scene climaxes. Remember, too, “white space” in an article is powerful – so is a magnificent pause just before a punch line. The greatest storytellers make more impressions with what they don’t say – by using silence in their speech.

MAKE IT DANCE

Here I’m referring to images the audience makes in their minds, not the rhythm of your words. Images are best created when the audience is given contrary examples: I was once lost, now I am found; I was blinded by fear, but now I can see. The classic salesman’s tool of feel-felt-found approach is another way of speaking with rhythm. (I know how you feel Carol, I used to feel the same way until I discovered different, and here is what I found…) That approach always makes your presentation dance.

MAKE IT LAUGH AND CRY

Most presentations I hear today include this part — a good before and after experience. The beginning is where you hear how they were broke or even homeless; and now they are financially abundant and secure. Before and after stories are great, but try to pull more details in so that the audience can imagine more vividly. This is the way to draw the pain and joy that are the two most distinct emotions you share with the audience. They too desire to enjoy pleasure and avoid pain.

Back to the before and after story; if the before includes an explanation of how you felt not being able to send your son on a weekend camping trip that was attended by all his school mates – to then, years later, your son wins a prestigious award as the top pupil in a private school you are now able to afford. That would make your presentation “laugh and cry.”

MAKE IT TRUTH “FULL”

Be in the present. Don’t repeat a “canned presentation” that you have done a hundred times. To be in the present is when you share a topic that can be something you know inside and out or something you are just learning, but what’s key is to share what it means to you TODAY. Your only goal here is to convey the most valuable single point that would benefit the audience now. By being current, you can draw on recent experiences as well as long acquired knowledge all with an open mind. This is being truth “full” and makes a good presentation — great!