Why Not Put the Passion of Politics into Your Presentations?
In the past few weeks, political fervor has grown to new heights. Emails hit my in-box with links to YouTube videos of candidates’ surrogates putting dumbfounded reporters in their place when asking loaded questions. Posts pop up hourly from my RSS feeds from bloggers commenting on the latest blunder by one of the candidates on the campaign trail.
TV talk-show guests blast the airwaves about the misleading ads put out by their candidate’s opponent. TV anchors bombard and bully their guests rather than interview them. Colleagues gather around the conference room table to complain or commiserate about the innuendos of those reporting and interpreting polling data.
In short, people feel passionate about politics. And they should. People benefit from passionate discussions around them: They listen. They join the conversation. They learn things. At the least, energy goes up in the room.
But put those same passionate people in the front of a boardroom with a business presentation to deliver, and something sucks the life out of them. Their energy drops 70 percent. Once excited as they elaborated on why Candidate X has the best economic recovery plan, they let their voice fall into a monotone. Gestures, once specific and engaging to draw friends into the story about why Candidate Y’s health care plan would be so horrible, wither into small circular motions close to the body—if they exist at all. The facial expressions of dismay, surprise, disbelief, or excitement give way to a stoic, blank look of detachment.
After all, they’re delivering a business presentation, and they shouldn’t feel or sound too engaged. Or should they?
Never confuse passion with flamboyance. Flamboyance involves the showy, the styled, the fake. Passion involves a powerful, compelling enthusiasm for an idea—your recommendation, cause, plan, approach, or service.
If you don’t believe your idea will work, your audience won’t. If you don’t believe your product will solve the problem, your customer won’t. If you can’t sound confident in your recommendation, your CEO certainly can’t be.
Passion produces results—in the election booth or on the platform.
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