A lesson on a Friday evening..words and presentations..

It’s friday, and as is the norm, a good portion of employees in our company are working at home. But then there are folks like me drag our way to office. The clock itself can’t wait for the day to end, and runs fast into the 3 PM zone, I walk into the cafe to grab my well deserved (?) coffee break. I stumble into an employee in our company. We do the usual small talk, as she walks away, she says, “Hey, your speech from January still rings in my ears…that was some great stuff”….I stood there for a minute thinking, “Woah ! It’s been 9 months from January, and I spoke on that ocassion, sans any preparation, for maybe 3-4 mins on success and hardwork”. It wasn’t such a great speech, or so I thought. (Iam not eating any humble pie here, really).

I kept walking back with my coffee and kept thinking what was that I said that was so profound…and then it dawned on me ! It wasn’t the actual words that were said, or how they were decorated… it was the sincerity and passion in my tone that stuck such a chord and made a mark forever on some of the audience, like the gal I just met.

What I learnt and want to share :

When you make a presentation, dig this….content sure is key, but it isn’t everything. Make sure it is delivered with sincerity, conviction, passion and a very energetic tone… and yes, read a lot. Your presentation skills are directly proportional to the amount of reading you do.

…and I cannot tell you how satisfying an experience it is, when someone walks into you several months after your presentation to tell you it is still fresh in their memory. That happiness is to be experienced, friends. It is profound.