THE SUPERSKILL® TIPS FOR MORE PERSUASIVE PRESENTATIONS

Many people fail to appreciate the importance of clear, persuasive communication and presentation skills as part of the innovation process. But without these skills, your ideas will remain yours alone. Here is just one useful tip that can help you become a more masterful presenter.

When you are attempting to persuade someone to support your idea, whether in a casual conversation, heated debate or formal presentation, take a moment to consider who it is you’re speaking with – and most important, remember the WIFFM concept (What’s In It For Me – “me” being the person you’re trying to convince) as opposed to the HHMBI approach (Hey, Here’s My Big Idea!).

Example:
You have a big idea for a new product or service that is radically different from that which your company currently offers. If your supervisor is conservative about risk, you’re objective should not be to tell him how radical and paradigm-shifting your idea is, but rather, how your idea will effectively differentiate your company in the marketplace, offset minimal risk with substantial ROI, and make your team (and its supervisor) look great in the eyes of management.

The first approach will significantly increase the odds of your supervisor’s resistance. The second will make him far more inclined to support your idea. Why? Because you’ve considered WIIFM.

Here are 3 simple steps you can follow to help ensure your message is meaningful and valuable to your audience…

1. Assess where the person you want to support your idea is coming from. Use your knowledge of the person and intuition to sense what their needs or goals might be.
2. Consider how your idea can meet/satisfy their needs, or help achieve their goals.
3. Present your idea simply and in a compelling manner, framing it in such a way that allows your audience understand (a common reference point)—WIIFM.

Remember, not everyone shares your agenda or your enthusiasm. They have their own goals. It is your job, as the champion of your idea, to help others see the value from their perspective.

How to Get Your Group Thinking On Its Feet

Group Graffiti is a physical, highly interactive idea generation technique that gets participants out of their seats and thinking on their feet. As its name implies, Group Graffiti is a writing and/or drawing exercise done with large sheets of paper taped to a wall. A problem statement is posted above and participants (armed with large, thick markers) are instructed to stroll back and forth along the wall spontaneously “tagging” it with ideas. Participants are also encouraged to build on the ideas of others.

Wild, audacious thinking is encouraged. The goal is to fill the wall with as many ideas and drawings as possible before the time deadline expires.

How to facilitate Group Graffiti:

1. Post 6-12 large, self-sticking sheets from a Post-it® Easel Pad (or a section of brown butcher paper) on a long, smooth, uncluttered wall surface. Also provide large markers to all participants.
2. Post the problem statement prominently on the wall.
3. Set a timer for 15-20 minutes. Instruct your participants to go to wall with their markers, and walk around randomly writing down or sketching ideas on the wall.
4. Encourage your group to spontaneously build on and evolve each other’s ideas — or jot down new ones. Anything goes in Group Graffiti.
5. When time has expired. Lead your group through the selection process by asking them to help identify the best ideas (based on your selection criteria) from the wall and read them out loud.
6. Once the best ideas have been selected, ask your group to look for ways to improve or build on the them to make the even better.

Wisdom of the Crowd Option
Creative ideas can come from anyone at any time, even from people not directly involved in your problem/solution process. To harvest the wisdom of the crowd, try posting large sheets of paper with the problem statement written boldly at the top in a public space or hallway. Just watch as individuals walking stop and add their ideas.

Monopoly – Revolution Edition
Out-of-the-Box Thinking Comes to Boardwalk & Park Place

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of its classic board game, Hasbro has unveiled a radically new updated design it calls, “Monopoly: Revolution Edition.” This new format is an interesting example of literally thinking “outside-the-box.”

The re-conceptualized board game design is slick and round instead of traditional and square. It uses debit cards and an ATM instead of the familiar pastel colored paper money and a banker. The classic metal tokens (boot, car, dog, iron etc.) have also been replaced by clear plastic pieces. The Revolution version is also multimedia; it plays clips of popular songs (like Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” and Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”) after specific actions.
Monopoly: Revolution Edition is no doubt designed to appeal to the Gen-X and Gen-Y/Millennial tech-savvy generations. The game has also been adjusted for inflation…prizes are far more impressive. Just like the retention bonuses on Wall Street, players can collect $2 million dollars for passing “Go” instead of a mere $200.

Old-school fans can take some comfort in the fact that Monopoly: Revolution retains the classic Atlantic City-based street system. Yes, Boardwalk and Park Place still retain their status as beloved landmarks.