by Gilda Bonanno www.gildabonanno.com
A client shared with me the story of a woman at her company who was smart, talented and ambitious, but had poor presentation skills. She was fine speaking to people one on one, but in the conference room in front of a group of executives from a client or a potential client, she would “choke.”
She would get anxious and forget her point,
then get lost in her notes trying to find what she wanted to say and not make
eye contact with the audience. Someone
else on her team would have to jump in to rescue her and save the situation and
the business.
Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com
A client shared with me the story of a woman at her company who was smart, talented and ambitious, but had poor presentation skills. She was fine speaking to people one on one, but in the conference room in front of a group of executives from a client or a potential client, she would “choke.”
She would get anxious and forget her point,
then get lost in her notes trying to find what she wanted to say and not make
eye contact with the audience. Someone
else on her team would have to jump in to rescue her and save the situation and
the business.
There was an opening for a senior executive position at the company and
because of her technical expertise, she was a candidate for it, but management
had witnessed her repeated poor presentation skills and she was denied the
promotion. Her career stalled.
Unfortunately, this is a common problem and demonstrates
what I call the Success Formula:™
In order to be successful in your career, you must have knowledge
AND the ability to communicate that knowledge effectively. As she found out, knowledge and expertise are
not enough; not having that communication ability can block your
career.
The good news is that presentation skills are skills, which means that
they can be learned, practiced and improved.
With coaching and some effort on her part, this smart woman can become a
competent and engaging presenter – and snag the corner office after all!
Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com