External Linkages in Action

Customizing your presentation is an art and, as with any art, it takes practice to perfect. Try your hand at Customization the next time you present, and practice it every time you make a presentation in the future. The time you invest in making each presentation unique will pay handsome dividends in the form of greater audience involvement, and many more priceless Aha! s.

The same techniques that make your presentation more timely , relevant, and compelling to your audience can also make preparing and delivering it more creative, spontaneous , and stimulating for you. The entire process serves as a feedback loop to invigorate you with the same kind of hustle Joe DiMaggio exhibited.

I practice what I preach. I've been delivering the same core material to my clients for 15 years . If I were to deliver it the same way every time, I'd be on full autopilot by now. Instead, I simply open the air vents of my mind, take in data about my audience, and then circulate it back out to them. It makes them feel involved, and it makes me feel energized.

While many of the External Linkages require considerable but worthwhile prior effort, the most effective Customization requires no preparation of all. It all takes place "live and in person," and is the ultimate form of Audience Advocacy: Concentrate on your audience during the presentation. This means weaving in many Direct References to members of your audience and making many Contemporizing references to moments that occurred since your presentation began . All it takes is concentration: Be in the moment.

Be in the moment.

Of all the many presentation methods I've given my clients over the past 15 years, the Customization techniques are implemented the least. Yet they provide potentially the biggest bang for the buck. They provide the most powerful ways to differentiate your presentations from the routine, impersonal, one-size-fits-all, plug-and-play presentations we see all too often. Learn these techniques and implement them the most.

Professor Drake's lesson inspired me and has stayed with me all this time. Let it become the big bang for your buck.