A
great technique for effective communication & presentation skills is what I
call the Future Commercial™ in which you tell the story and paint the
picture of what it might look like if XYZ happened.  Fill in the blank for
XYZ…the event you’re trying to AVOID in your company or organization.

This is particularly effective when it comes to communicating dry data. What
does 1% LOOK like? What does a quota (met or unmet) MEAN to peoples LIVES? No one really
cares until the item is translated into human experience…into an image that
connects with people visually, viscerally and emotionally. This is the
foundation of all TV commercials and a key component you can tap into when it
come to your own communication skills & presentation skills.

Here are some examples:

• “If we keep cutting our
  workforce by 1% a year, that means that by XXXX year, you will walk into
  your office and of the XX people who are normally there, it will be just
  you and 2 other guys.”
• “If we don’t make our
  target quota of XYZ, then it’s gonna be the end of Q4 and on that rainy
  Friday afternoon when you get your bonus check, you’re going to be
  standing in your foyer at your house reading the mail, and you’re going
  open up that envelope and it’s going say XYZ.”  OR “You’re
  going to go to the ZZZ store to buy your ___ the ___ and when it comes to
  deciding whether to buy the __ or the __, you’re gonna have to get the
  less expensive one.  But right next to you is Dan Smith from CCC
  company, your biggest competitor, and he’s gonna be piling up the counter
  with X thousand dollar of goods and he’s gonna look over you and smirk.

Small caveat: Being one who is not a fan of our consumer
culture, this is not a motivation tactic I would encourage or
promote…however, you can translate the $ into education for your kids or
writing a big check to a non profit organization you believe in – in other
words, using the $ for something that is long lasting and meaningful. So start
by asking your team to think of something pretty big that they would dream of
doing or getting for their spouse as a gift…and then take it from there.

(c) Victoria Labalme Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.