Panel discussions are the perfect way to bring people of different backgrounds together to share their influence with an audience. Instead of having each person present individually, seating all of them together for a moderated talk can be an attention-grabber for your next conference or big team event. A great moderator is key (see our post on moderator skills to get the idea). On top of that, it’s important to select panelists wisely. Do you have a good mix of expertise at the table? Are they good presenters? Seek diversity and balance of opinions.

Let’s say you’ve been chosen to sit on a panel. How will you come across? From sitting on many a great (and some unfortunately disastrous) panels, here are best practices I’ve cultivated over the years, and am happy to share.

Dos and Don’ts for Panelists

Do

Show energy! Our energy levels tend to dip when seated, so pay attention to your smile, projecting your voice, and using gestures to let your energy shine through. Audience members are more apt to pay attention when we look like we care about what we’re saying, obviously!

Listen carefully to your fellow panelists. By listening to others’ answers, you’ll be able to play off their remarks and add value of your own. If you’re solely thinking of what you’re going to say next, you may miss an opportunity.

Keep it simple. Yes, you have a lot of knowledge to share. Yes, you want to prove you know what you’re talking about. But, no data dumping! Your audience won’t absorb all of it. It’s your responsibility to prioritize the most important and relevant information.

Use SHARPs throughout. Stories, humor, analogies, references/quotes lend themselves best to panelists. Instead of just giving a flat answer, do you have an example or story that could explain it better? Have some stories in your back pocket ready to go. Not only might you be more clear, but your audience will likely remember your point long after the panel is over.

Provide a final close. If moderator asks for closing thoughts, provide it. Bring the audience back with a one or two sentence summary of your Point of View, the action that needs to be taken, and the benefit for taking that action.

Don’t

Don’t ignore the audience. Make eye communication not only with the moderator and other panelists, but with the audience, too! The moderator may be the one asking the question, but he or she is a proxy for the audience. Involve and connect with those sitting out in the room.

Don’t monopolize the conversation. Even if you have a lot to say, being on a panel means you’re part of a group. Be brief and to the point so you function as a member of the team, instead of a spotlight hog.

Don’t get too serious. It’s amazing how quickly our faces can become furrowed and serious when we’re talking about our expertise. Again, audiences are drawn to those who have passion. So smile! Let your natural self out.

Don’t look bored. Nonverbal behaviors speak volumes. You aren’t always speaking on a panel. Be aware of your behavioral habits when you are listening. Do you pick at your fingers or tend to frown? Do you lose your ready position and posture? Remember that you are still part of the communications experience and know how you’re coming across.

Don’t let your intro go too long. In most cases, the moderator doesn’t know you and is relying on some long professional biography she found online. Next thing you know, you’re sitting for five minutes, a little embarrassed, listening to a bunch of outdated information about yourself. Instead, give the moderator a printed 2-3 sentence introduction of yourself right before the panel starts.

Best of luck in your panel endeavors. Please ask any questions in the comments, and I’ll be happy to answer and elaborate.

On April 19^th at about 7pm I walked into the ballroom at the Santa Clara Marriott to a dinner honoring the California Youth of the Year, knowing very little about the organization. Three hours later, I walked out as a new supporter. It got me thinking: What did they do to create a tipping point to motivate me (and hundreds of others) to donate?

1. Make them care.

I believe that people are inherently good and do indeed care about many of the causes in their communities – youth, homelessness, education, recovery, etc. The challenge is to make them care so much that they’ll actually do something, and ideally offer up time, talent, or treasure in support of it. You have to get them to change something – to shift their priorities to your cause, charity, or project. And that means more than just sharing big general stats hoping you’ll impress them into the cause. Numbers alone don’t stick.

At the Boys and Girls Club dinner they did an incredible job striking a balance between collective stats of the organization and the powerful stories of the individuals behind them. While the fact that “nearly 4,000 Clubs serve some 4.1 million young people through membership and community outreach” is impressive, it doesn’t alone move people to act.

So they took it to the next level. And by “they,” I mean the high-school students who were recognized as Youth of the Year. For 4-5 minutes, they each took the stage and told their story. The most moving stories were those that left such concrete images in the audience’s mind that made it impossible for them not to do something.  These 17- and 18-year-olds gave detailed accounts of gang violence, watching friends die right in front of them, enduring physical abuse by their own family members, and even being locked in a trailer for 48-hours with a mother on a meth binge.

Here’s the best part: not one of these speeches was one of despair. Only messages of hope; how the human spirit – even one so young – can rise above anything. Anything…with some help. Their assistance came from The Boys and Girls Clubs throughout California that provided a safe haven, a mentor, a friend.

Make your numbers count. Tell the story behind them.

2. Get specific.

In 2011, my husband and I attended our first elementary school auction. About halfway through the live auction, the auctioneer announced the special project for the year that needed funding. He described the need for $30,000 to purchase new iPads and laptops for the new computer lab. He went on to describe the lessons that would be conducted and how every grade level would use them. Every single parent in the room could see how their own child would benefit from this project. It wasn’t just a pool of money going to pay for a bunch of random stuff. My kid would use an iPad to learn!

It takes two things: 1. A specific amount of money needed, and 2. A concrete image of what it will pay for. In about four minutes (which equaled the quick trip my husband took to the restroom), they raised it all. Not bad.

Interestingly, this past year was not as successful. There was no specific project, just dollars needed for programs. I would guess about 2/3 of the amount was raised. Coincidence?

3. Invest in a great MC/Auctioneer/Announcer.

Or, better yet, use your skills from #1 to make that person care so much that they’ll do it for free. NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott emceed the Boys and Girls Club event, and this guy was good. His skills for closing a deal could rival his career sacks and interceptions. If the kids executed the setup, he spiked it. Here’s how it went down…

The ask at a fundraiser always begins with, “There’s an envelope in the middle of your table.” And this time was no exception. But then, Ronnie continued,

“There’s also a pen.

Pick them up.

Go ahead.

I’ll wait.”

Wait he did. He asked for specific donations, even called out specific individuals, and made a public commitment himself. And he did it all with humor, heart, and humility. (Also worth noting: He did all this on the same night that many of his past 49er teammates were breaking ground on the team’s new Santa Clara stadium.)

We can use these three things for any cause – in our communities, but even at work or at home. Aside from bringing Ronnie home to motivate the kids to clean their room, there’s plenty we can do to create a tipping point for action: add emotion by providing concrete/visual images and get specific.

Any other tips? Would love to hear other tipping point successes!

We talk a lot about building SHARPs into messages: Stories, Humor, Analogies, References (Quotes), and Pictures/Visuals. One of the first reactions to this is something like, “Yeah, I love when people use them, but I’m not very good at it. I’m just not creative enough.” We put far too much pressure on ourselves to come up with some brilliant story, tagline, or imagery.

Here’s the good news: You don’t have to. SHARPs are all around. All you have to do is tune in, and notice what’s there. It’s kind of like right after you buy a silver Toyota Sienna (proud minivan owner here),and though you swear that you never really noticed them before, they seem to be right next to you at every stoplight.

In the midst of my travel this month, I tuned into some airline announcements that turned out to be great analogies in recent meetings.

The Exit Row. Everyone seated in an exit row is required to review the safety card and make an audible, verbal commitment that they will assist the crew in the event of an emergency. Go ahead and ask your team for an exit row response and make the commitment to your project or initiative. It’s verbal, it’s public, and it will get them moving! And if the answer is no, well, I’m sure you’d be happy to reseat them.

The Oxygen Mask. In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop from above. Each passenger must secure their own mask first before helping others.  A client used this recently to talk about financial planning for the future: unless you address your own finances first, you can’t possibly help others.

Feel free to use these (guilt-free), and more importantly, be on the lookout for more. Whether it’s on an airplane, in a meeting, at preschool or on the baseball field, tune in to SHARPs. Write down the ones that stick with you and use them to help make your message memorable. And please share them!

Remember: even when you’re using a slide deck in a presentation, you’re not a slave to it. Believe it or not, you can still break up the talk by utilizing other visuals. You can still walk to a different part of the room, away from the screen. And, you can still switch to a black slide and draw something simple and meaningful on a whiteboard. Your Powerpoint deck is one tool of many in your presentation toolbox.

In that spirit, here’s today’s video blog, featuring a surprising visual used by Bill Gates. Now, start thinking, can you incorporate a memorable experience in your next presentation?

Please share any ideas for visual SHARPs that you’ve been using (and like Gates, hold the malaria)!

Use black slides. It’s common knowledge that we’re dealing with serious PowerPoint abuse in business these days, but what do I mean? Slide decks that are used for in-person, spoken presentations are being relied on to BE the presentation itself, and we have become narrators. We project our notes up on the screen in bullet point form. This is not what PowerPoint was intended to do. We’re presenters, we’re giving a presentation, and our PowerPoint decks are visual aids. To use a deck effectively in a spoken presentation, the first thing you need to do is use black slides to transform your presentation experience.

What are black slides and how do I use them?

A black slide is a plain, simple slide with an all black background. No company watermark or master deck background.

To use them, first create your whole PowerPoint deck, and then insert a new plain, all black slide. Duplicate it a few times (Command D/Control D). Then, drag and drop them wherever you want to facilitate conversation, explain a concept in more detail, or transition to a new idea. You do not need to put a black slide in between every single slide in your deck, but use them to break up concepts. Here’s a visual example of what I mean (my notes in italicized red):

Why are black slides important?

1. Black slides clear the screen behind you.

Once you’re done with the picture, graph, or supporting information, you need to remove distraction by moving to a black slide. The black slide creates the illusion that the projector is off, and brings all eyes back to you, so you can influence your listeners. Simply put, you can walk in front of the projector without accidentally putting on a shadow puppet show. Almost all meeting rooms are poorly designed so that they have the projector screen right in the middle of the room or stage. It should be at the right or left, so YOU can be the center of your presentation, not your slides.

Move to a black slide and use that time to explain something in more depth, tell a story, facilitate some group conversation, or transition to a new idea. Steve Jobs understood this concept and used it in most every keynote he gave. Jobs knew that to influence, he needed to bring the focus back to him and use his slides as visual aids.

2. Planning with black slides totally changes your mindset.

Black slides make you think ahead about the flow of your presentation and your use of the deck.

From my experience, the majority of business presentations are poorly conceived, in that they are actually created in PowerPoint. It may be easier to go straight to the deck and start typing away, or pull in oldie-but-goodie slides, but it’s not effective. Decide what you want to say and map out your presentation first, then go through and decide where a slide visual will help support and amplify your points. Support could come in the form of simple graphs, pictures, video clips, and other SHARPs to bring memorability.

Every time I teach this concept toward the end of a training day, I ask my participants to estimate how many slides I’ve used all day. And every single time, the highest guess is no more than half of the slides I’ve actually presented. Participants are shocked when I show them my deck. Why? Because it didn’t feel like a PowerPoint heavy day due to the use of black slides. (And I use a lot! I’m talking nearly 150 slides!) My slides are simple and used to support my presentation, not BE my presentation.

3. Black slides help you avoid the “B button.”

Sometime people ask me, “Well, can’t the B button do all that?” Hitting “B” on your keyboard while in PowerPoint presentation mode will black out the screen, but it’s a second rate alternative to actually inserting a black slide.

When you want to move forward in your deck, you have to hit the B button again, showing the previous slide in order to move on. It’s jarring, especially if you’re far beyond that point, and can distract from the momentum of your talk. But, keep the B button in your presentation emergency tool kit, in case you’re in the middle of a talk and forgot to add an actual black slide.

Warnings:

• Do not use black slides on webinars. We tried it and viewers thought their webinar programs were on the blink.
• Do not email around your deck with black slides in it. If you need to send something around, first create your deck and save that version for emailing. Then save a duplicate and add in your black slides for live presentation only. As Garr Reynolds states so well, “slideuments” are a different story. For some deck emailing tips, read here.

Have you used black slides before? Let me know how it has gone, or if you have any questions on how to use them in the moment.

(*This may not be a nationally recognized holiday.. Ok, it’s not, but it should be! We’ll be sharing PowerPoint best practices all month to strengthen your game.)

Painfully long – that’s how I’d describe my list of unseen Oscar movies. But I just celebrated a minor victory when I watched The Iron Lady, which details the life of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In addition to being a testament to Meryl Streep’s continued excellence (come on, there really is no equal), the movie also speaks to the incredible impact that behavior has on a communication experience.

In one memorable scene, members of Parliament jeer and mock Thatcher for “screeching.”

Did you catch her snappy response? “If the right honorable gentleman could perhaps attend more closely to what I am saying, rather than how I am saying it, he may receive a valuable education in spite of himself.”

Seems like a good retort, at first. Like Thatcher, we assume that if we say the right words, the audience will hear us and understand. But it isn’t that simple. The message has to come through us, and if our behavior isn’t consistent with our content, we can block our own message.

We’ve blogged before about Albert Mehrabian’s classic “Silent Messages.” From this book came the research that shows vocal and visual outweigh the verbal when you have a conflicted message. What does this mean? If what we say doesn’t match how we say it, people might not get it. It means that something as simple as Thatcher’s naturally high pitch and nasal tone could detrimentally effect how others perceived her.

This has profound implications on our daily lives! We tend to spend 99 percent of our time working on a speech, meeting agenda, or PowerPoint deck and we’re lucky if we even consider how we’re going to deliver it. But what people see and hear from us does impact the communication experience.

Bringing it back to Margaret Thatcher, she made changes in her behavior so her ideas could be heard and taken seriously. She received vocal coaching to reduce her “screeching.” She learned to project her voice at a louder volume and in a lower register to command respect and authority. The results were remarkable.

Learn from the Iron Lady.

Video yourself and watch it back. Record a voice memo of yourself on your iPhone. Then, consider how you come across both vocally and visually. Is there anything blocking your message from your listeners? What adjustments in your behavior will help the message come more clearly through you? Taking these steps will ensure that others receive a valuable education from you (spoken in my most punchy British accent).

A tool called crystallize/break from Made to Stick is one great way to build unexpectedness in your message. Watch today’s video blog for an explanation and a recent example that’ll help you start using the crystallize/break tool.

So, what’s your first step to using this tool? Figure out what is counterintuitive about your message. What’s something people don’t already know? Share some of your ideas in the comments and I’ll write back with input!