Speaking with passion is a great thing – whether talking with a prospective client, or giving a presentation. Letting your passion shine through to people is important, for sure. Maybe even critical.
Enthusiasm ignites from that passion, and makes you sparkle. People love that! Enthusiasm is contagious, so they get to fire up some good feelings of their own. Now you’ve got some ideal basic ingredients for a productive business communication.
Here’s The Tricky Part
You need to let the enthusiasm flow, but restrain your information. What does that mean? It means pull the reins in on how much you have to say. If you don’t, you risk losing the attention of your audience.
You’ve been on the receiving end of TMI, haven’t you? You’re interested in the line of products and the guy tries to quickly tell you about all 15 items they carry. By the time he’s done, YOU’RE out of breath just trying to keep up with the information!
As for workshops, I attended one where the presenter obviously really knew her stuff. But in her gusto to fully educate us, she tried to jam about 8 hours of education into 2 hours. I came away confused and disappointed because I couldn’t take notes fast enough to keep up. And I didn’t fully understand any of it.
What’s Going On Here
When you deliver too much information, the results are that:
- There’s not enough time for each piece of knowledge to settle in.
- The listener has no time to close one topic file in his brain before you open another one.
- There’s no time for questions to formulate.
- Your listener feels overwhelmed and confused.
- You don’t accomplish your mission – either to educate or to sell.
Better Alternatives
Here are some things you try instead to get the results you want.
- Slow down.
- Before you start, make it clear there’s more to share. Schedule a second conversation or a multi-part workshop right from the beginning.
- Only cover the main points and eliminate all the detail…. OR
- Pick 2-3 main points and go deep with them, filling in the details.
You’ll feel more relaxed without feeling driven to cover everything in a limited time. Your audience will relax as well, more receptive to hear what you have to say.
