Want To Give A Dynamite Presentation Take A Lesson From Tina Turner

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Want to Give a Dynamite Presentation: Take a Lesson From Tina Turner I was sitting in the barber chair and looked over and Tina Turner was on the cover of People Magazine. In the magazine was an excerpt from her autobiography that was recently published. Being a huge fan, I had to read the excerpt which was a bit challenging while my hair was being cut. Reading reminded me of how Tina Turner influenced my presentations when I practiced law. After I made a presentation at an ABA YLD meeting a young lawyer came up to me and asked how I learned to make presentations? I responded that Tina Turner had taught me all I needed to learn. It was 1971, I was in my last year in law school when Nancy and I and two other couples sat in the second row to watch The Ike and Tina Turner Revue. First, Ike and the band came out, then the Ikettes came out and sang. Then the announcer, in a very deep voice said: “Let’s welcome the star of the show, the hardest working girl in show biz…Ladies and Gentlemen: Tina Turner.” Tina was unbelievable. She had the entire audience clapping and singing along to “I Want to Take You Higher.” I don’t remember many of the songs in the middle of the concert, but as it was reaching the end, she sang: “Proud Mary.” When she finished the crowd was standing and asking to hear more from Tina. Here is a video clip from the 1971 concert tour with Tina Singing “Proud Mary.” Fast forward to 2000. Tina Turner is live at Wembley Stadium in London. Her opening song: “I Want to Take You Higher.” Like the concert in 1971, Tina came to the end of the Wembley Stadium concert and sang “Proud Mary.” Once again the audience clamored for more. Other than my enjoyment of Tina Turner in concert, what is the point for you? I suggest you take a lesson from Tina Turner when you are giving a presentation. Start strong and end strong. You have about 90 seconds for the audience to answer the question: “What’s in this for me?” Do not end your presentation with: “Are there any questions?” Instead, as you are approaching the end, say: “Before I conclude are there any questions?” Then, conclude powerfully with a call to action. In an interview author and expert, Nick Morgan said: “The last thing you do with an audience is the most important and what they will remember the best. Q&A is open-ended and not in your control. A great speech can be undermined by a hostile or stupid question at the end. So save the last three minutes for a knock-them-dead wrap up that sends the audience on its way with jaws agape.” Clearly when Tina Turner ends a concert with “Proud Mary” she knocks-them-dead and has the audience wanting to hear more. If you open strong and close strong your audience will want to hear more, and maybe they will even want to hire you. Big wheel keeps on turning… I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.