You are the most unique individual in the world. There is no other person like you. But, and this is important, you have to work at being that unique individual.

Did this get your attention? It should because I did not start out this article in a conventional way. I wanted to get your attention or else you would have glanced at the beginning and said to yourself "HO HUM, another boring article."

WHY BRING THAT UP?
I brought it up because although you might not believe, you are indeed capable of doing many things in this world, even more than that you dreamed were possible.

You might wonder, "How can I be unique?"
You can be so FOR INSTANCE, by learning how to communicate more effectively. While we make a presentation, we present ourselves to the world;
FOR INSTANCE every time we talk to another person face to face or on the telephone;
FOR INSTANCE every e-mail and letter that we write.

SO WHAT?
So you can be a unique person.

Did you notice the words in capital letters? They were designed to get your attention because these four phrases, HO HUM, WHY BRING THAT UP, FOR INSTANCE and SO WHAT are a very powerful formula in presenting ideas.

If this article is about selling why did I not just say: "I am writing about how to sell a service." That would not have grabbed your attention. I used you, the reader. Why? If I can convince you that you are a unique person and can show you how to sell yourself, then selling a service would naturally follow. You have to convince yourself before you use this formula to sell a service.

The company I worked for, one of the largest in the world, trained over 100,000 employees using this four-part formula. Originally conceived as a marketing course, it was later found to be useful for many other functional areas in the company.

In 1935 Richard C. Borden wrote a book entitled 'Public Speaking-As Listeners Like It.' In it he introduced the four-part formula described above. Mr. Borden, together with Alvin C. Busse a professor at New York University later produced two films which described how to use the four-part formula in a sales presentation. Even today this prescription can be found in an article entitled 'No More Ho Hum Presentations' on Presenter's University web site.

I made an experiment several years ago to determine just how powerful this formula is. When I was instructing the course, at the end of 13 weeks, students would be handed a piece of paper with a general non-controversial subject. They would be given five minutes to prepare a 3-minute talk on the subject. In almost every case, the students gave very adequate presentations. Recently I gave a twenty minute Power Point presentation to a professional society and asked for volunteers. One of the three volunteers gave an excellent talk, the other two were good. I tried the same experiment at a leading university where I had been an adjunct professor. When I asked for volunteers, most of the class responded and gave good lectures.

What makes a sales talk effective? Let’s walk through a typical presentation. A large company requires services to market a product from home and you want to sell your services to them. I will use some of the ideas which Borden and Busse promoted in the two films they produced.

In the beginning Mr. Borden emphasizes the need to be prepared. He asks Mr. Busse what he is going to say and he replies: "I will think of something." Mr. Borden insists that in his selling situation he must know exactly what his opening sentence is going to be.
HO HUM for your company called Wide Awake, Inc: "Wide Awake is able to provide 24/7 telemarketing capability anywhere in the world."

Now we cannot leave the Ho Hum alone because it is like an island. It must be connected to the main part of the presentation. Build a bridge.
WHY BRING THAT UP "Because our staff is on duty 24/7, we will expand the contact hours of your company."

FOR INSTANCE "We have direct phone service anywhere in the world,"
FOR INSTANCE "We have FAX capability and DSL e-mail capability anywhere in the world,"
FOR INSTANCE "Our staff is fluent in six languages English, Chinese, German, French, Japanese and Arabic."
Note that we have listed ‘For Instances’, and they could be ‘Example 1, Example 2’ or ‘Point 1, Point 2’ etc. in order. We did not go back to an earlier ‘For Instance’. When we discussed it at length, we left it alone. Can you imagine if you had a four-course meal and you mixed it all together how unpalatable it would be? Keep each item in your presentation separate.

Many people do not know how to wrap-up a talk. One of the best ways is to repeat the Ho Hum.
SO WHAT "When you want to expand your telemarketing, think of the 24/7 Wide Awake, Inc."

There is no cookie cutter presentation for every kind of communication, although we will expand on the visual/oral presentation.
- Rule 1. Whether speaking or writing, know exactly what the first sentence is going to be. DO NOT IMPROVIZE.
- Rule 2. Open the conversation or e-mail or letter or report with a catchy illustration. Do not burst-in on your client with the comment: "We have solved your problem!" He may have forgotten what the problem was, so state it briefly and then give the answer.
- Rule 3. Keep it brief and wrap it up with a good summary or ‘call to action’.

In addition to the four-part formula it is important to know how to use Visual Aids, Voice, Time Interest Curve, Beware of Negative Mannerisms and, Use of Hand Outs.

Rules for Presentations

- Rule 1. Keep It Simple. In this day and age, Power Point is a powerful tool in conjunction with a video projector. The problem is Power Point allows you many type faces, backgrounds and means of adding each point you are making. Personally I prefer a blue background and yellow letters and no fancy background artwork. Keep to one style of font.
- Rule 2. Use visual aids ONLY IF YOU NEED THEM. Do not use them as a crutch. They have to add to the presentation. Use only key points. As an example one employee was giving a talk to his manager and there was a lot of information written on his flip chart. The manager said to the employee: "Just leave the chart with me. I can read it as well as you. You are excused!"
- Rule 3. Do not pick up something e.g. a pencil, piece of chalk or a book to use it in your presentation. It becomes a distraction since your audience will be watching what you are going to do with it.
- Rule 4. Keep eye contact with your audience. Do not look sideways at an imaginary window or watch imaginary ants walking across the floor.
- Rule 5. Use the voice you have but use it effectively. For example when you say ‘good’ raise your voice, and when you say ‘bad’ lower it. Or ‘sweet’-up and ‘sour’-down. This will emphasize what you are saying.
- Rule 6. Make sure your Time vs. Interest curve rises. Keep the most interesting part of your talk at the end.
- Rule 7. If you have handouts, save them at the end or they will distract. If they are to be used during the talk, pass them out at the appropriate time.

Above all practice, practice, practice!

This four-part formula must be used everywhere you can:
- Use it in Conversation
- Use it in Letters and Reports
- Use it in E-mail
- Use it in Formal Presentations
- Use it over the Telephone

USE IT EVERYWHERE - IT WORKS !