The Illusion of the First Time

Many business presentations contain information that must be conveyed repeatedly, to multiple audiences. For example, a salesperson may have to present a new product to many different groups of customers; or, a human resources manager may have to explain the new company benefits plan to dozens of small groups of employees . In the IPO road show world, company officers must make their presentations to many, many groups of investors. Typically, they give 60 to 80 pitches over a period of two to three weeks, often six to eight presentations in any given day.

Under these circumstances, it's difficult to keep your presentation fresh and vital . In part, this is a matter of energy and focus. When you have to make the same points for the third, or tenth, or fiftieth time, it's hard to feel the same sense of enthusiasm , spontaneity, and excitement as the first time. It's all too easy to become bored with your presentation and let your attention flag. When you go into autopilot, however, your presentation comes across as "mailed in," and the result is an audience that is uninvolved, unmoved, and unconvinced.

The challenge for the presenter is to find ways to overcome this downside, to achieve "the illusion of the first time." I've borrowed this phrase from the jargon of stage actors, who often have to perform the same role in the same play hundreds of times (if they're fortunate enough to have a role in a hit production) while conveying to each new audience the sense that every speech and every action is completely spontaneous .

Contrast the theatrical approach to that of the world of journalism. In journalism, an article that can run any time in any edition of a publication is called an "evergreen." This relegates the content of the article to mere filler. Never, ever make your presentation an evergreen. As Shakespeare had Hamlet say, "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action." Create the illusion of the first time, every time.

The key to creating that illusion is to make a deliberate effort to focus your energy every time you present. If the thought of repeating the same material over and over again makes your spirit wane, remember the example of baseball immortal Joe DiMaggio. A reporter once said to the Yankee Clipper, "Joe, you always seem to play ball with the same intensity. You run out every grounder and race after every fly ball, even in the dog days of August when the Yankees have a big lead in the pennant race and there's nothing on the line. How do you do it?"

Create the illusion of the first time, every time.

DiMaggio replied, "I always remind myself that there might be someone in the stands who never saw me play before."

In the same way, treat each and every iteration of every presentation of yours as if no one in your audience has ever seen you present before. The equivalent of running out every grounder and racing after every fly ball is to generate your enthusiasm and pump up your energy every time.

However, energy alone is not enough. With all the will in the world, it's difficult to create the illusion of the first time unless you modify your presentation for each new audience. Fortunately, as a business presenter, you enjoy a freedom that stage actors don't have: You can reshape your script and give every performance a new dose of freshness and spontaneity. Does this mean that you have to change your recurring presentation each time? Not at all. You can customize the core material with the following techniques. You can use these very same techniques to customize a one-time-only presentation, as well as every presentation you ever give to every audience.