I recently had the privilege of sitting through four investigator meetings, two in the United States and two in Europe. 

They comprised speaker after speaker with slide after slide.  Topics included the disease, the drug, the PK, the efficacy and safety, statistical modeling, and then the process by which patients were to be enrolled and cared for throughout the study.

Occasionally, at the end of a presentation, the speaker would ask multiple choice questions about the topic just covered, and the audience could select an answer using a remote control response device.  The percentage of correct answers ranged from a high of 70% to a low of 35%.

One of the key scientific presentations was delivered by a young doctor with a foreign accent, her hair in her face, and a specialty in another disease state.  She was hesitant, focused primarily on her notes, and unsuccessful in creating any excitement or passion for the long and arduous assignment the investigators had in front of them.

Another similar problem occurred with the presentation delivered by the statistician who had devised the null hypothesis and necessary endpoints for the study.  He had a severe foreign accent, spoke extremely quickly, and although he was appealing and expressive, was for the most part unintelligible.  I surveyed about five people after his talk and they all complained that they could not understand a word he said.

Some of the other speakers were quite effective, in that they stated their objective at the start, showed an agenda slide, and then marched the audience through a slide deck with varying degrees of energy, volume, and personality. 

Each meeting lasted two days, even though the investigators themselves only needed to be there for the first day, while their assistants did in fact need to be there for both days.

The sponsor is no doubt obliged to document that a meeting was held, and that thorough and precise instruction was given.  But might the sponsor accomplish more than checking the regulatory “tick box” and actually create real learning, while at the same time creating a strong attachment to their company within a community of influential doctors?

We all know that a process such as the one described above is not optimal for teaching adults how to do something.  Adults actually need to “do” what they are being asked to learn, in addition to listening to instruction and reading slides. 

Adults need to practice active problem solving, engage in role plays and case studies, and participate in debate.  Hands-on learning gets better results and better reviews.

It’s time to get creative with investigator meetings. 

Sims Wyeth is an executive speech coach in Montclair, NJ specializing in presentation skills and public speaking training in order to give accomplished people the knowledge and skill they need to become accomplished speakers. Learn more public speaking tips at www.SimsWyeth.com.

I am excited about the re-launch of our public seminar called Presenting for Results^SM.

On Oct 19th and 20th, 2010, we kick it off at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, NJ, which is right on Rte. 3, just east of the Garden State Parkway.

I’m excited about Presenting for Results^SM because it allows me to do what I deeply want, and what I think so many of my clients need.  That is to leave behind, for a short period of time, the culture of measurement and analysis, of information and knowledge, and explore instead aspects of being. 

Big phrase there: “aspects of being.”  What I’m getting at is stuff like “being in the moment,” “being spontaneous,” “being present, “ and “being authentic,”  “being empathic,” and “being assertive.”

Do you remember the album, “Stop Making Sense.”  Something liberating about that phrase.  It urges me to trust my imagination and do or say something out of the ordinary.  It relieves me momentarily of the obligation to be predictable and safe.

I read somewhere recently that any new idea that isn’t shocking and rejected out of hand upon first hearing is probably not a very good idea.

In what state of being does one have to be in order to create a breakthrough idea?  And in what state of being does one have to be in order to be (there’s that word again) a dynamite communicator?

Knowing how to define excellence in public speaking does not confer that excellence on the knower. The excellent public speaker is in a state of being that has to be experienced, and can only be experienced through  practice and coaching.

There’s a book on improv called “Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up.”  At first glance, that doesn’t seem like a good idea.  But if you are a performer, and you’ve trained yourself for the requisite 10,000 hours, it makes a lot more sense, because preparing means you walk onto the stage (i.e., the boardroom, the meeting room, the sales meeting, the client’s office) with a fixed set of responses, whereas, if you just show up, you can respond to whatever happens in a spontaneous and authentic manner.

I recognize it takes knowledge of your subject to be a good speaker, and training to be a good improvisor.   But the knowledge of how to be on the stage is just as important as your knowledge of finance, or law, investing or drug development.

Being needs to be taught and learned, and can  be taught and learned, and that’s what Presenting for Results^SM is about—not all about—but  largely.

To register, or to download the brochure, go to http://www.simswyeth.com/services/pfr/  And if you know people who could benefit from an invigorating educational experience, would you please forward them this post?

Sims Wyeth is an executive speech coach in Montclair, NJ specializing in presentation skills and public speaking training in order to give accomplished people the knowledge and skill they need to become accomplished speakers. Learn more public speaking tips at www.SimsWyeth.com.

My friend Wick Smith told me about this approach to messaging. Wick has been in advertising for many years, primarily in Asia. He speaks Japanese and is an incredibly resourceful and creative person.

The Wick Smith Approach is based on the four elements in an ad:

The Headline, The Image, The Body Copy, The Logo

Each one has a role to play, and each viewer will have his or her own preference as to which is most important.

The Headline is the big idea or the claim being made by the ad. People who like the big picture and avoid the details prefer to read the headline.  Since people make decisions out of fear or desire, a headline should target one of those emotions.

The Image appeals to the visual thinker. The Image could evoke a problem that needs to be solved, or an aspiration that the viewer has. Either one stimulates the emotions and moves the viewer to action.

The Body Copy is meant to give the reader reasons to buy—some would even say “permission” to buy. For instance, expensive chocolate companies often compose body copy trying to convince prospects that they are “worth it,” and deserve a little luxury in their lives.

Finally, the Logo is meant to build the relationship. It is the identity of the company, and therefore the sign of trust and reliability, or perhaps of excitement (Ferrari) or innovation (Apple), or perhaps luxury (Tiffany).

Speeches and presentations need all four of these elements.

First, the Headline. The speaker should be able to articulate the Headline, or premise of the talk, in one simple sentence. For instance, “Everyone can become a better speaker,” is the premise of this blog (and this article.)

PowerPoint should be used to supply visuals to support the spoken word, or if the speaker chooses to NOT USE POWERPOINT, he can tell stories or use metaphors and analogies to paint pictures in the mind of the listeners.

In a presentation, Body Copy is the proof you marshall under your claims. Each slide should have a Headline that makes a claim, and the imagery or data on the slide should supply the evidence that the headline is a valid conclusion.

It is ill-advised to put body copy on a slide because it is hard for the audience to read slides and listen at the same time.

Much better to put dramatic imagery on your slides and put the detailed narrative in the notes section of the PowerPoint page.

Finally,  in a presentation, the Logo is YOU. You are not a corporation. You are a person, and your behaviors and look should be consistent with the message you strive to impart.

Furthermore, the presentation should be all about the audience, not all about how cool you, your company, product, or ideas are. So, in a sales presentation, I suggest that you remove your company Logo from all your slides except the title slide.  Instead, put your prospect’s Logo on the slides.

Conclusion: Good ads persuade us to buy through four channels of communication:

1.  The claim,  generalization, or summary headline

2.  The details and evidence to prove that the headline is true and valid

3.  An image that enables us to feel the benefit of the offering

4.  A logo, or a branded source of information, that strives to earn our trust in the argument being made.

Speeches and presentations have similar elements: Key take-aways! Data, facts and other forms of proof (such as stories) that justify the key-takeaways! And Imagery on the slides or created in the mind of the audience by the speaker telling vivid stories!

And then there is you, the speaker, the source of the information. Your comfort, confidence and ease on stage help you generate the willing suspension of disbelief amongst your listeners, which allows them to take a chance on you and your idea.

Sims Wyeth is a speech coach in Montclair, NJ specializing in presentation skills andpublic speaking training in order to give accomplished people the knowledge and skill they need to become accomplished speakers. Learn more public speaking tips at www.SimsWyeth.com.