As salespeople, presentations are our heavy artillery. When its “show time” and we stand in front of a group of decision makers we take our best shot to move the audience of people who are indifferent, non-believing or skeptical and turn them into buyers.

That is why the book, Presentations that Change Minds (McGraw-Hill) by Josh Gordon that focuses exclusively on just persuasive presentations is so important.  

The book starts with Gordon’s five rules of persuasive presentations that make the case for just how different they are from presentations that just inform, entertain, or educate. 

Gordon’s five rules

1. A persuasive presentation always advocates a competitive option
2. A persuasive presentation strengthens and deepens dialogue, not control
3. A persuasive presentation is a persuasive event not a slide show
4. A persuasive preservation targets an audiences decision-making process
5. A persuasive presentation asks for an order

From here the book moves to the specifics of how to craft a persuasive presentation. When your goal is to move an audience from point “A to point B” a generic “one size fits all” presentation will never do.

Just as every customer needs a unique approach so it goes for persuasive presentations.  Some audiences will be moved if your presentation creates excitement, while others are best persuaded with facts. Some audiences buy only from those they trust, others buy only from the presenter who makes the best financial case or offers a solution tailored to their needs. Each of these approaches, and nine more, are covered in specific terms.

The book does not pass judgment on which kind of persuasive approach is best, but rather lays out the specifics on how to research, create, and present each one advising to pick the best approach for your unique audience.

In addition  to the above mentioned, the book covers the presentation that…inspires, persuades with a story, creates deep involvement, sells a new idea, creates an emotional appeal, persuades with humor, changes a perception, gets them to choose you over competition, and wins over a hostile audience.

In real life we combine several approaches in every presentation we make. We may try to build trust, lay out the facts, and sell a new idea all in one presentation. But by breaking out each of these approaches in their pure form, in its own chapter, the reader comes to a better understanding each of these powerful persuasive strategies works. It’s a primmer of persuasion for sales presentations!

Read it before your next presentation! Learn More.