Hi Friend-
When we know we’ve got to give a presentation, developing the content can sometimes feel like a guessing game— We wonder what the audience really needs from us. We drive ourselves crazy trying to come up with the right sequence of thoughts, ideas, and stories to engage them.
Secretly, we’re wringing our hands and wondering, Am I on the right track here?
The good news is that for most of us, it’s fairly easy to gather that kind of intel.
But it begins by acknowledging that you don’t have ESP. You can’t read minds.
Asking for information prior to the presentation is allowed in most cases.
But here’s the key to gathering good intel … it’s only as good as the questions you ask. Here are some of my favorites:
- What would make this session a home run for your team?
- I can help you solve X problem, but tell me some stories/examples that show how the problem manifests for you?
- Is there anything that would be helpful for me to know about the dynamics in the room?
Your thought experiment this week is this:
Make yourself an “intel gathering” checklist.
What are your “must ask” questions for building a presentation?
You just might find that the quality of the output gets a major boost thanks to a higher quality of input.
Shine on, my friend.
