The Magic of 'One More Thing' in Presentations!

Imagine being a 12-year-old celebrating your birthday, and anticipating the presents that you are going to receive. As you see yourself celebrating your birthday with your family, experience the thrill of waiting to accept your presents. Your parents gift you a toy that you wanted, and you are delighted to get it. Then imagine, your Dad tells you "Just One more thing"; and brings out the most beautiful and shiny bicycle that you have ever seen.

Well, this did happen to me, and my Dad had gifted me the bicycle that was so dear to me. That day, my Dad also gifted me something else – The magic of ‘One More Thing’. He had the habit of giving that extra, even if it is something small. I remember that my sisters and I would wait in anticipation for it, and even if we knew that it was coming, it was magical every time.

A few years back, I chanced upon a video of Steve Jobs revealing an Apple product, and he said: "And one more thing". This phrase "One more thing" raised a lot of expectations among Apple fans because almost always it meant bigger and better. The power of 'One More Thing' is like a magician pulling the rabbit out of the hat.

As a Presentation Coach, I love the experience of putting out the 'One more thing' to the audience. What if you can do that without uttering the phrase but just keeping the theme of 'One more thing' alive throughout your presentation? Simply put, adding that extra element, extra zing may just be the thing that spices up your presentations. There are three ways of creating magic with ‘One more thing’ throughout your presentations:

Start by thinking about the other end of the tunnel!

How often do you start planning your presentation, thinking about how the audience is going to walk away at the end of the presentation? If your answer is 'Almost never', you are not alone. Most presenters are guilty of not thinking about how they are going to add value to their audience. Do you talk to your audience or speak with your audience? Great presenters do the following to add value to their speeches:

- Powerful openings to pique the audience interest and give them a compelling reason to stay tuned.

- Focus on the solutions to inspire and motivate

- Describe the 'How to' along with the 'What, when, where and why'?

- Inspiring questions into the mind of the audience that lingers even after the presentation is well over

- Leave your audience with a call to action or a vision. Create a mental picture of what could happen as a result of your call to action.

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Create "Wow" moments

People will not remember every word or every slide that you present. What they will remember, though, is the experience that you give them. Why TED talks are memorable is because they are emotional. Delivering jaw-dropping awe-inspiring moments can connect with the audience at a deeper level.

Neurologist John Medina explains that "the brain doesn't pay attention to boring things…" and he says that the audience will switch off in 9 minutes and 59 seconds. Excellent presenters include storytelling, facts, compelling visuals to maximize their impact. One such talk that stayed with me for a long time was a TED Talk given by a 12-year-old boy Richard Turere in 2013 on "My invention that made peace with lions."

And One last thing…

"We're not quite finished yet… we have one more thing," Tim Cook used this phrase as a tribute to Steve Jobs during the unveiling of the Apple Watch in 2014. Heavily borrowing the words from Tim Cook, I believe that one trump card that incredible speakers have up their sleeve is using humour skillfully. Getting on stage is not just about presenting; it is about connecting with the audience. Using humour in presentations does not mean starting with jokes. You can weave humour even into the most tender poignant moments of your presentations and dramatically engage your audience.

Neuroscience research reveals that humour systematically activates the brain's dopamine reward system and cognitive studies show that dopamine is essential for both goal-oriented motivation and long-term memory.

A word of caution, though – What if humour does not come naturally to you? Then, watching someone struggle to be funny is a very awkward experience and can defeat the purpose. Thankfully, that is not the only way to engage the audience. Just being yourself, bringing your uniqueness, always connecting with the audience can be powerful ways to present effectively.

I sometimes wonder if it is a smart move to leave your trump card till the last. I like to keep surprising my audience all the way. One thing that I have seen phenomenal speakers do is sprinkle the surprise elements throughout their presentations. Just when you think that you have seen it or heard it all, they create another truly magical experience. Just as Steve Jobs uttered those three magic words "One more thing", you too could create many such magical moments for your audience.

Do share your comments below. Do contact me for any guidance and support through presentation coaching or consulting.