Presentation Lessons from the movie”Lionheart”

This past holiday I decided to let my hair down and watch a couple of movies – From King of Boys to Chief Daddy, I enjoyed it all, but I hardly had any lesson to share with anyone, but I enjoyed the movies.
On Instagram last week I saw a post on a lady that shared business lessons from “Lionheart,” and it piqued my interest, and I decided to watch it. It was a good movie and not your regular Nollywood movie where the uncles are wicked, and some characters are expected to be ritualists *lol*

Lionheart tells the story of Adaeze who to save her father’s ailing bus company must work together with her uncle to discover a way out of a 950million naira debt or risk losing the company.

Here’s My Presentation Lesson:
In the scenes leading to the end of the movie, Adaeze and her Uncle, fly to Kano to give a business presentation to the CEO of Maikano on why there should be a merger between Lionheart and Maikano Transport.

Lesson 1: It OK to be nervous before a big presentation.
Lesson 2: Presentations are based on WIIFMA (What’s in it for my audience). When Adaeze started the discussion her major points were on how Lionheart was an established and trusted brand and how they had been in existence for 30 years. You see, your audience is more focused on what they stand to benefit, so when you come from the wrong angle which is selling your brand instead of the benefit of your brand to your audience, they quickly disconnect from your presentation.

But

Adaeze quickly switched strategy, and let me highlight some of the things she did:

1. She used a personal story
2. She built an emotional connection with the topic and in this instance Family values – For her, the merger was more on maintaining family values, business succession, and longevity. She was able to connect the audience pain point to her presentation.
3. She researched and was well rehearsed and prepared. This her audience confirmed. Never be complacent, no two presentations are ever the same. You audience notice and know the difference.

Finally, Presentations should not only be based on facts and figures; Having an emotional connection is key. As you plan and prepare for your next presentation take a step back from the facts and figures and find one thing you can use to connect with your audience emotionally.