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STRUCTURING THE STAND-UP LEADERSHIP PRESENTATION
CHAPTER 6
How Long Should It Be?
The subject of length is important. The presenter should ask in advance how
long she or he is to present. For a set speech, a rule of thumb is that 15 to 20 min-
utes is good, but that unless the speaker is really first rate, the audience will go
to sleep with anything longer. In contrast, sales or technical presentations may
run for an hour or for an afternoon. In this case, the presentation should be more
relaxed and informal. The speaker needs to engage the audience by asking ques-
tions frequently to ensure that everyone understands the material.
There is no right or wrong way to craft a presentation. What matters is
the speaker’s commitment to the material and the desired impact upon the
audience.
The Leadership Close
Every leadership presentation needs to have a strong conclusion. The pre-
senter has to give the audience both something to remember and something to
do. Effective closes have two important elements: a recapitulation of the mes-
sage and a call to action.
The recapitulation, or summary, is a simple restatement of the key points
in the presentation and the leadership message. It is always important to
remind the audience of what you have said; in so doing, you reinforce your
message and its importance. A call to action is the action step of the presenta-
tion. It is asking the audience to do something in return. By asking for some-
thing, the leader is demonstrating a need for support as well as a confidence
that that support will be received.
Be specific. Give the audience a challenge and ask it to do something:
Implement a strategy or tactic, e.g., improve quality or develop a new
product.
Perform an action, e.g., reduce absenteeism or have more fun in the
workplace.
Demonstrate leadership, e.g., ask the audience members to be per-
sonal leaders to themselves and their people.
It is also appropriate to weave a story into the call to action. Storytelling
is an ancient art, and stories are often used to develop an analogy between the
present and a recent or past event. All of the world’s major religions blend
stories with calls to action. Why? Because the story makes the message mem-
orable as well as relevant to the listener. The story itself may be personal—
something the leader experienced—or refer to something contemporary or
historical. At the conclusion of the story, be certain to include the action step;
otherwise the story will lose its impact and the presentation will lack a leader-
ship close. (For more on storytelling, see Chapter 12.]