1. Inspire
to
convince
We all want to have even more
impact in our communication
generally and in our presentations
in particular…
Why?
Because if we convey to other
people our expert messages as
clearly and convincingly as
possible, if we get through to our
audience just when we really need
to, then we shall help our
organisation to take the best
possible decisions.
In order to enable
you to advance
further down this
often rocky road,
here are 10
triggers which will
help you to inspire
your audience.
The 10 triggers to success:
by Jeremy Stubbs & Gilles Durouchoux
If you share this document, please give credit to the agency, Prez (www.prez.fr),
and the open talent community, la voix des Hommes (www.lvdh.fr).

2. “Start
why”
trigger n° 1
The most basic question that
we must always ask and
answer before launching into a
project or begininng an
important task is: why ?
Why am I communicating?
What will happen if I succeed?
Asking why frees us from the
obsession with what (= our
expertise) so as to focus our
attention on the how:
in order to achieve our goal,
how should we prepare and
deliver this presentation, what
means should we bring to
bear?
People don’t buy what we do
(the what) so much as what we
can motivate them to do (the
why)
with

3. The
powerquestions
trigger n° 2
If the question “why?” is
essential for us in preparing our
presentation, questions in
general are an essential weapon
in the presenter’s armoury.
Questions focus the
audience’s attention on an
important subject much more
forcefully than a simple
statement.
A good question awakens the
listeners’ interest - and
sometimes simply awakens
them!
Your presentation will inevitably
aim to answer some basic
question. It would be a good
idea to ask that question at the
start of your talk - and as clearly,
concisely and vividly as
possible. Don’t forget to answer
it by the end of the presentation.of

4. “Less
more” trigger n° 3
“Less is more”…
Too much information kills
information. If you try to get your
audience to digest too many
facts and figures, they will only
remember a part of it all. And
they will be unable to sort out
what is essential from what is
secondary or anecdotal. Do the
sorting for them in advance by
only keeping in your
presentation that information
which is vital to the decision to
be taken.
You can always keep some data
in reserve in case the
participants ask you for further
information.
is

5. A picture
words
paints
Very often an image, a
diagram, a chart or a
graph can say much
more to your audience
than a lengthy verbal
explanation.
Providing you choose
the right visual
representation and
make the context
clear.
And the simpler the
image, the more
impact it will have.
trigger n° 4
1000a

6. Speak
too
emotions
In order to convince your audience, to
get them to change their minds about
something, you cannot always rely on
logical argumentation. This is especially
true when people cling on to some
received idea - an idea you know to be
false. To shake their erroneous
conviction, you need to speak to their
emotions.
The human mind is rather like a rider on
top of an elephant.
The rider (reason) considers the future,
plans ahead, weighs the pros and cons;
but the rider’s power over our will is
limited.
The elephant (emotions) acts
spontaneously, rashly and shortsightedly,
but it is powerful. You have to convince
the rider and engage the elephant…
In order to prepare your audience for the
need to change their opinions, make
them feel joy, pity, fear, enthusiasm…
carefully choosing the emotion that is
best suited to the situation.
trigger n° 5
to the

7. Know
your
empathiseand
Never forget that you are not giving your
presentation for yourself, but for your
audience. Speak to your listeners about
what matters to them, instead of speaking
to yourself about what interests you.
When preparing your presentation, once
you have asked and answered the why
question about its aims, the next question
is:
“To whom am I talking?”
What are these people like?
What interests them?
A CEO on a Monday morning does not
have the same concerns as sales people
do on a Friday afternoon.
Ask yourself how you can best get through
to these people.
How are they likely to respond to you and
your message?
And don’t fail to listen to your audience. If
they ask you questions, for what reason?
What motivates them to do so? In the
course of your presentation, take note of
their reactions, their facial expressions
and body language.
audience
trigger n° 6

8. The
story-telling
art
People readily pay attention to
presentations which adopt a narrative
form. People like stories. And they
are more easily influenced by stories.
The human brain tends to understand
the world through the logic of
narrative.
Let your presentation - entirely or in
part - adopt the structure of a story.
In this way you will more easily
captivate your audience.
Start off in a fairly dramatic way - with
a dilemma, for example. Then exploit
the tension between two opposing
ways of solving the problem or
between the present state of things
and possible, better state of affairs.
Towards the end, suggest a
resolution and end your speech with
a call to action.
trigger n° 7
of

9. A presentation has a physical, boldily
aspect which should never be overlooked.
Adopt a dynamic stance in front of your
audience. Establish direct eye contact with
its members. Smile when appropriate. Let
your gestures and expressions
accompany and reinforce the emotions
that you want to stimulate. If you feel stage
fright, channel your nervous energy into
suitable gesticulation, movement and
demeanour. Avoid parasitical words (well,
you know, um, let’s see now…). Speak
loud enough and modulate the tone of
your voice.
But be careful not to over do it: avoid
exaggeration and overacting. Remember -
less is more !
Make sure your body language is aligned
with the content of what you are saying.
Inject it with sincerity and empathy
trigger n° 8
physicality

10. As far as possible, use short
sentences: subject-verb-object.
Three short sentences are
usually worth more than one
long, convoluted, soporific one.
Keep to a minimum any
technical jargon that your
audience does not know or
know well. At the crucial
moments of your presentation -
and the conclusion is always
one of these - use memorable,
striking phrases and
expressions (think of Kennedy :
“Ask not what your country can
do for you; ask what you can do
for your country”).
Exploit the power - all too often
underestimated or ignored - of
a well calculated, strategic
pause before saying something
important or before responding
to a question. Sometimes
silence is golden…
language
trigger n° 9

11. trigger n° 10
Never forget that you
continue to communicate
even after the end of your
presentation, even after you
have left the room… Because
your words and ideas
continue to resonate in the
minds of your listeners - for
better or for worse.
One of your basic goals must
always be to create a lasting
positive impression. Make
people remember you and
want to listen to you again!
People are not really
interested in your
expertise; but they are very
interested in what your
expertise can do for them.
Maintain your status and your
prestige as an expert, while
appearing approachable. In
short, without ever being
vulgar, be a vulgariser in the
noble sense of the term!
Be the
expert
people
love
not the expert
people hate

12. 12
If you share this document,
please give credit to the agency Prez
www.prez.fr
and the open talent community
la voix des Hommes
www.lvdh.fr
Gilles Durouchoux 06 85 80 06 05
and Jeremy Stubbs 06 88 81 70 94