NIA

Have you perfected the art of persuading an audience? Do your presentations result in a deluge of new business? In other words, are you a rainmaker?

If not, it may be time to take a few lessons — and what teacher could be better than Joseph Sommerville, Ph.D.? As president of Peak Communication Performance, Sommerville instructs professionals on how to increase business with communication. In his book “Rainmaking Presentations: How to Grow Your Business by Leveraging Your Expertise” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), Sommerville shows how you can use persuasive presentation skills to get new business.

“You have somewhere between 15 minutes and an hour to deliver your message to an audience,” Sommerville writes. “If you’re not currently taking advantage of this marketing tool, you’re missing out on one of the most effective ways for service firms to market themselves.”

Watch out for funny business
Many salespeople believe that humor is the best way to win over clients. But Sommerville says this is a common mistake.

“Humor has many uses in a presentation; it can relieve tension, illustrate a point and involve the audience,” he writes. “But unless your goal is to become an entertainer, recognize that humor is a tactic, not a key to a great presentation.”

Sommerville notes you should only use humor when you are sure it will work.

Steady your nerves
Studies have shown that the majority of people rank public speaking as their biggest fear. Luckily, Sommerville offers a few techniques for calming your nerves before a speaking engagement.

“To conquer your fear, you have to focus on what caused it,” he writes.

One of the most common causes for presentation anxiety is being unprepared. If you walk into a presentation feeling organized and ready, you are much less likely to feel nervous.

“When you bring the requisite knowledge to your presentation, you have eliminated one of the major causes of apprehension,” Sommerville ex-plains. “Keep in mind the fact that you’re the expert.”

Get the audience involved
When you’re giving a presentation, don’t talk at your audience — talk with them.

“Periodically involving the audience keeps them mentally engaged,” Sommerville writes. “Asking the audience to help generate content gives them greater ownership of the ideas.”

Sommerville suggests a few different ways to get your audience involved, including:

• Ask them to write down questions for a Q&A at the end of the presentation.
• Reward those who participate or correctly answer questions with prizes.
• Ask audience members to tell their own stories that may illustrate your points.

“You’ll find which techniques work best for you partly by research and partly by trial and error,” Sommerville writes.

Steer clear of clichés and obscure words
Far too many presenters make the mistake of using clichés to make their point.

“Resist the urge to put your fresh ideas into worn out phrases,” Sommerville advises. “Unless you are blind as a bat, you’ll see that clichés will leave you linguistically as poor as a church mouse. All it does is open up a can of worms that could end up being your swan song. See my point?”

By the same token, some presenters try to impress their audience by using the biggest words they can.

“Audiences can immediately see through presenters who try to wow them with a large vocabulary,” Sommerville writes. When you use overly complex language in a presentation, you’ll not only confuse your audience, you’ll also make them feel like you’re talking down to them.

In “Rainmaking Presentations,” Sommerville reveals a seven-step presentation system designed to create a torrent of new business.

“The Rainmaking Presentations System was developed from the analysis of over 8,000 presentations,” he explains. “I know the system works because I used it successfully to grow my own business.”

Amy Bell is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to the Agent’s Sales Journal. She can be reached through her Web site, www.writepunch.com. “Rainmaking Presentations” is available for purchase at www.amazon.com.