“If you cannot ….. In the long run…. tell everyone what you have been doing, your doing has been worthless.”
Erwin Schrodinger
The above adage signifies the importance of oral communication in personal as well as professional life. Considering the importance of oral communication in our lives this article presents some important aspects for enhancing oral communication skills while giving sales presentations.
Oral Communication: Defined
The spoken interaction taking place between two or more people is defined as oral communication. All of us are blessed with the unique feature of interaction called speech which is being used more extensively as compared to the written form. So in case of giving presentations during sales pitch oral communication can act as vital tool for bringing the people together as well as building relationship with the listeners. Therefore to be a successful salesperson, your business interactions should be perfect and for that you need to master the art of effective oral communication skills. A badly conducted sales presentation affects lot of people. An effective communicator is always in a position to conduct him/ her with full confidence in varied kinds of both professional as well as personal environments.
Let us check out some of the most effective strategies along with the steps that can be taken for aiming impressive oral communications during sales presentations. One very important tip to keep in mind is that, practice is very vital rather imperative in order to acquire these skills.
Currently if you want to be successful in a formal work environment, then you need to an effective communicator or speaker. It has already been proved through many research that the employees in any organization spend more time in speaking rather than writing, whether it is in the form of conversing with their colleagues or conducting a meeting or talking over the phone or preparing sales presentations. Research also indicates that the higher level any employee reaches in any company, the more vital these oral communication skills turn out to be. This clearly shows the importance of effective oral communication in all the facets of one’s career.
Preparing for Sales Presentation
Getting prepared with the formal presentation is equally important, like the delivery of that presentation. In case of sales presentation it is very crucial to analyze both the audience as well as the selling situation, followed by clarification of the goals as well as the objectives of the presentation, then choosing the perfect content and then shaping it through the right communication style and organizing the entire sales presentation. Following steps are important for making effective oral communication during the presentation.
Step 1 # Analyze the Selling Setting
First analyze the selling state of affairs and determine why this sales presentation is so important. By evaluating the selling situation you can easily find out how to shape the entire content as well as choose the appropriate communication style. Following questions need to be asked while analyzing the situation:
What is the main requirement of this presentation?
How is this presentation fitting into the setting of the organization?
How is this presentation connected with the actions of the audience?
How is this presentation going to be of assistance to the organization?
What impact will this presentation have on the organizational results?
Step 2 # Analysis of the Audience
It is pretty much tough to analyze the audience. But audience are very imperative in finding the success of the presentation, because your sales presentation would be considered as successful if the audience respond in the manner you intended. Effective oral communication or speaking always relies on the audience. By knowing more about the profile of the audience, you can determine what to say and what to avoid, along with the “tone” that one should use.
Step 3# Finding the Goal
Finding the objective or the final aim of your presentation is very essential for designing the presentation in right manner. Through the presentation it is very important that you make the purpose evident, while connecting with the perspective of the audience. Make sure to state your objective of presentation in single and short sentence.
Step 4# Picking Up the Right Content
Sometime picking up the right content and shaping it in right form turns out to be very tough. It is seen that the way you present and speak during the sales presentation helps in either making or breaking the presentation.
The most effective style of communication that has been found during sales presentations is conversational style, as it portrays that you are really and effectively communicating with the audience. This style of communication indulges in short and simple sentences, a friendly as well as warm tone along with concrete language. Do not make the mistake of just reading out the presentation to the audience. It will sound like reading out from the handouts and very impersonal. Rather it is better to rehearse before the presentation to make it a sure success.
Step 5# Organizing the Presentation
Organize the presentation very well, just like the way you would like to present your ideas. Make a mental not of the way you would like to speak your presentation. In order to cater to the needs of the audience it is very important to organize the entire presentation. Mostly an effective presentation starts with an “Introduction”, which is a brief embodiment of the main content of the presentation along with a preview of what audience should expect ahead. Introduction is followed by the main body which consists of relevant information supporting the main points mentioned in introduction. Finally the presentation should end with a conclusion that should reinforce as well as recap the main points of the presentation.
During the introduction try to seize the attention of the audience and through effective conclusion leave the audience with a positive thought about the presentation.
Just Make An Impact! Both at entry and exit.
Do’s and Don’ts during Oral Presentation
Delivery of good sales presentation is equally important so below is the list of primary do’s and don’ts which are very crucial to follow:
Do make it a point to speak clearly.
Do maintain a professional as well as clean appearance.
Do maintain an eye contact with almost everyone in the room.
Do sound and pose enthusiastic as well as confident.
Do keep a sharp check on the body language of audience (watch the reaction of audience).
Do not either talk slow or rush the presentation.
Do not start cracking jokes between presentation.
Do not move around or walk a lot during presentation.
Do not speak in monotones (keep varying tone, pitch and speed).
Do not talk to the visual aids.
Voice during oral communications is very vital aspect because what you say is important and equally important is how you say it. Secondly you need to pay attention to your body language. Body language shows your attitude as well as reflects your thoughts. Thirdly you need to be cautious about your appearance, as first impression is last impression, so be formally dressed for sales presentation.
The success of any sales presentation depends mostly on the style of delivery adopted by you. All the preparation done for presentation will go in vain if you are not able to deliver it with full confidence, show assertiveness, enthusiasm as well as include enjoyment in it.
Techniques for an Effective Oral Presentation
Although speaking to the people we know everyday is an easy task, but delivering an effective speech definitely needs enough training as well as study. Therefore the four E’s which are necessary for an effective speech have been explained below for you:
Energy: The delivery of the presentation should be done in fully energetic manner that should reflect intensity. It helps in winning over the audience and assuring them that you really have something of grave importance to offer to them.
Eye Contact: Eye contact with the audience is very important. In case of large assembly of audience start scanning from front to back as well as side to side. Every listener should get the impression that you are interacting with them.
Enthusiasm: Your speech should reflect your passion and fervour towards the subject that you are going to present. Unless you will show zeal towards the subject, you can expect the same from the audience.
Examples: Always use examples to illustrate what you want to point out. Audience always visualize whatever you speak about, and they do not see words in the form of text. Examples are the best way to assist them to make images related to your message.
Principles of Effective Oral Communication
Since communication is a two-way process, so whether it is an informal speaking with a colleague or addressing a meeting or giving sales presentation, certain basic principles need to be followed:
Know Your Audience: What you speak must be connected not just with the topic of presentation, but with your audience also. Thus knowing the audience is very important for effective communication.
Know the Topic: Researching and knowing all the perspectives of the topic is very helpful as it helps in speaking with confidence as well as authority. This will also help in answering all the questions put up by audience with confidence.
Anticipate Queries: Keep yourself in audience’s shoes and be prepared to answer all the questions or the queries put by them. If you are well prepared it will make it easier for you to handle all the unanticipated questions.
Know the Objective: The goal and the main point behind the communication should be clear. Just ask what is the rationale of the entire communication that you are about to present to the audience.
Be an Active Listener: Being a good speaker, first you should get ready to actively listen to what your audience wants to say, whether it is in the spoken form or not. By being a speaker you send out various kinds of verbal or non-verbal signals, just like your audience. By learning how to read as well as how to interpret these signals makes you a successful communicator.
Style / Rate of Delivery: The audience’s response gets impacted by your rate of delivery and the tone used by you while talking. Do not sound arrogant or should not be seen as unsure in front of your audience. You should always sound confident while giving oral presentation, in order to gain credibility amongst the audience.
Keep an Eye Contact: While delivering the oral presentation, make an eye contact with all the audience. Eyes are considered to be our mirrors, as they display our feelings. During the entire course of oral communication, maintaining perfect eye contact is very important as it helps in establishing a positive relationship with the audience.
Body Language: Body language is very effective method of oral communication. Being a speaker, you can easily send messages through your body posture as well as gestures. It helps in creating a perception about you on the audience. Body language acts as an effective tool for establishing proper interest as well as sincerity amongst your audience.
Stay within Allocated Time: Time constraint is very important while interacting with the audience. Being an effective speaker you should take important decisions about what to include and what not while making sales presentations. Leave extra time after presentation to resolve the queries and to clarify the points that you have missed out.
Use Visual Aids: Complicated matters can be resolved and made easier with the help of visual aids. Talk with the audience with lots of information and detailed information. Visual aids help a lot in reaching out to the audience. However while designing the visual aids few guidelines should be kept in mind. For example they should be big enough so that the audience sitting in the last row can also read it and it should be very simple and clear. Moreover the visual aids need to be consistent with whatever you want to say or deliver.
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