Life After PowerPoint!

In case I haven’t mentioned it often enough I’ve written a book, Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint. It’s published in the U.S. by Crown Business. And it’s been brought out in Brazil, the Netherlands, China, Australia, and the U.K.

It is being published this week in India by Piatkus. (You can buy it online through IndiaPlaza here.)

Here’s an excerpt from the chapter titled “Content Is King.”

It’s true that some perfectly good ideas have been ignored or discounted because they were poorly delivered. And, conversely, some bogus ideas have made more of an impact that they deserve because they were so well delivered. So I’m not saying that delivery is unimportant. Far from it. A masterful delivery is one of the cornerstones of a great speech.

But clearly the words you use and what they mean are more important than how you say them. Content is king. Delivery is merely its helpful, or unhelpful, servant.

When my clients need to spruce up their appearance, I refer them to an image consultant I know. She’s accustomed to working with business professionals, so she doesn’t go for glamour or glitz. “I don’t want people to look at someone I’ve dressed and say, ‘That’s a great tie’ or ‘I love that blouse,’” she explains. “I want them to say, ‘You look sharp.’”

Similarly, you don’t want people to go away from your speech saying, “You used great vocal variety” or “Your gestures were truly outstanding.” Instead, you want them to get the big picture. You want them to see things the way you see things, to feel about them the way you feel about them, to want to act the way you want them to act. You want people to pay attention to your message, to remember it, and to be changed by it.

I visited India for two months some time ago (as in 20 years ago) and had a great time. I hope to return in order to see more. To my readers in India, namaste.

Tags: content is king, speech's content

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