Page 85 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

76 CREATING THE PERFECT PRESENTATION

son’s passion for nature. The rhetoric was eloquent, but the lecture
was thin on examples, which made it tough for us students to stay
with the professor for more than eighteen minutes. Today I can
remember very little from that course, whereas I am happy to say I
can recall much more from courses in which the instructors were
wise enough to use illustrations, either verbal or pictorial. The pro-
fessor had a silver thread, but few pearls—not a good necklace. So
he missed a chance to give us a rich learning adventure, and we
missed the opportunity to get one.

By contrast, I remember watching a film clip of an American

evangelist in the Philippines. A stadium was filled with 30,000 peo-
ple. His theme was clear—maybe the most depressing theme ever:
You are all going to Hell!
Then he whipped out his Bible and started throwing out para-

bles (pearls)—Ezekiel and the wheels of fire, Daniel in the lion’s
den, the miracle at Cana, the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the
sermon on the mount, Revelations, and so on—positioning each
pearl to support the theme. If you expect to dodge Hell, you’ll need
grace, redemption, salvation. He was so effective, 6,000 people came
forward to sign up. That’s a big number by any sales or marketing
measurement. In the right hands, the necklace can deliver the same
kind of results in business.
-

The necklace’s secret of success is that all the wood gets behind the
arrow—a relentless barrage of compelling evidence that fi nally
overwhelms the listener.
-

Say, for example, you’ve got a problem because your division is
lagging expectations, and you need to rally the troops with a call to
arms. Your theme is that recent industry-wide setbacks have posi-
tioned the division to outflank the competition when the recovery

commences. That’s your silver cord.