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Outline the Material

Now you can begin to structure the material you have collected. Create an outline that makes sense for you. The important thing to remember is that organization is essential. Just like a paragraph, the outline for a presentation has three essential parts:

• Beginning: Tell the audience what you are going to say.

• Middle: Explain what you are saying.

• End: Remind the audience of what you have just said.

This is a formula, but it is one that works every time. The key to the outline process is organization, but the format of the outline is up to you. Some folks like to jot notes on a page and proceed from there. Others, particularly professional writers, like to flesh out a more formal outline. Here's a typical outline format:

• Use Roman numerals (I, II, III) for your headings.

• Use capital letters (A, B, C) for subheadings.

• Use numbers (1, 2, 3) for content points.

The operative point in creating an outline is to keep your ideas in sections. This way you can rearrange the order easily. The formal outline works well here because while it contains detail, the sections of the outline are freestanding and can be moved around easily.

Structure an Argument

A leadership presentation or a well-run coaching session should be grounded in reason and logic. The organization of the facts should support the argument and flow to a logical conclusion. A good presentation will have good claims (results) and effective reasons (facts). Aristotle identified the grouping together of claims and reasons as an enthymeme, or logical proposition.^[1]

• "Our prices are too high, so we had better lower them to attract new customers."

• "Our vision is to be the leader in our industry, and our leadership will enable us to set the standards for others to follow."

• "The competition in our segment is very strong, so we will need to develop new and better products that better meet the needs of our customers."

Enthymemes are not difficult to formulate. British philosopher Stephen Toulmin took Aristotle one step further by adding a third element to claims and reasons, which he called warrants. A warrant is "the connection . . . between your claim and your supporting reasons."^[2] Think of the warrant as the product of the claim and the reason.

• Claim: We value diversity in our organization.

• Reason: Our diversity is an important strength when it comes to understanding our customers.

• Warrant: Our diversity will enable us to continue to develop products that customers want to buy.

Warrants are the "general principle that enables you to move from reason to specific claim."^[3] They are the syntheses of your arguments, the statements that will enable people to latch onto your leadership ideas.

The leader needs to imbue his or her arguments with a mixture of fact and personality. A dry recitation of arguments will not sway anyone. When the arguments are invested with the leader's character, along with well-turned phrases, analogies, and stories, the presentation will take flight.^[4] Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King were masters of the craft of augmenting their arguments with rhetorical flourishes that carried the listener on a kind of symphony of sound and reason.

The Persuasive Message

One of the chief responsibilities of a leader-communicator is to persuade followers to adopt her or his point of view. In fact, Drucker argues that persuasion lies at the core of all communications.^[5] Except in times of extreme crisis, such as a battlefield or a pilot taking command during a thunderstorm, where time is of the essence, leaders must do more than say, "Follow me." They need to give reasons why people should follow them. And, during those crisis moments when the leader does not have the luxury of time, he or she must call upon the reservoir of credibility that he or she has established through consistent and repeated leadership messages. Robert Cialdini, a noted authority on the topic of persuasion, lists six key characteristics that persuaders use. Each is rooted in fundamental human behavior.^[6]

• Reciprocation refers to the sense of obligation to "repay in kind" that we feel when we receive something that we perceive to be of value.^[7] None of us likes feeling that we owe something to someone else, so we are inclined to pay it back as a matter of course in order to free ourselves from the obligation. When the leader describes what the organization has done for the individual or the team and then asks for something in return, she or he is using a form of reciprocation. For example, if a leader talks about how the organization has given individuals opportunities for growth and success, and how those opportunities have been fulfilled, employees will typically fall in line and do whatever the leader asks them to do. We are likely to reciprocate because we feel a sense of obligation.

• Commitment and consistency involves sticking with an individual or a principle because it is in line with what we have done previously.^[8] A call to action is an example of commitment and consistency because it asks followers to do something as a consequence of the commitment they have made to the organization. We see calls to action when organizations need to transform themselves in the face of crises and when they are trying to capitalize on new opportunities. The fact that people belong to the organization will make them inclined to respond to the call to action if they deem it consistent with organizational goals and values.

• Social proof involves people's going with the flow because others are doing it. Cialdini cites the example of canned laughter as a tried-and-true method of inducing people to laugh.^[9] The leader who asks others to follow her or his example is employing the concept of social proof. The challenge for the leader is to follow through, to do what she or he promised to do. Social proof can be a validator of work/life integration; the leader who takes time off to participate in a child's school activity is leading by example if the same opportunity is afforded to others in the organization.

• Liking simply reflects the fact that people will associate with those whom "they know and like."^[10] The leader who is often seen and heard, and who is perceived as someone that people want to be around, is an example of liking. However, while it is true that the leader whom everyone likes will have a better chance of getting others to follow, likability is not a leadership prerequisite. It may even be a detriment to leadership, because the desire to be liked may cause a leader to put off the tough decisions. When it comes to leadership, it is more helpful to think of liking as a form of respect. Respect can emerge from knowing the leader and liking what he or she stands for.

• Authority refers to an individual or a group's willingness to obey those who they assume are in positions of control over them.^[11] Cialdini describes the Milgram experiment, in which "students were willing to deliver dangerous and severe levels of pain to another person because they were directed to do so by an authority figure." People will defer to power and will do what they are told. It is up to the leader, however, to use this power judiciously. The recent corporate finance scandals are examples of situations in which underlings went along with their bosses because they were told to do so. To speak up or point out the errors would have been to risk career suicide. Authority in the wrong hands can be a tool of the devil. Authority in the right hands is an instrument of judicious leadership.

  While authority and leadership are intertwined, position and leadership are not. People can be appointed to positions of authority, but they must earn their right to lead. People will defer to those in authority, but if that authority is abused, people will either tune out or comply out of fear. In both cases, the leader has failed to win their respect. And when people have no respect for their leader, this often compromises their performance, i.e., they may not do as well as they would if they were more motivated.

• Scarcity is defined as "opportunities [that] seem more valuable to us when they are less available."^{[12 ]}Leaders who talk about the "select few" who will have the opportunity to achieve if they are willing to put in the time, effort, and personal discipline are employing scarcity. Leadership development programs, both in the military and in the private sector, employ variations on the scarcity principle when either nominating or recruiting people for leadership positions.

In and of themselves, these methods of persuasion are amoral; they are characteristics of human behavior. They can be used for good or evil purposes. For example, marketers use these methods singly or in combination to provoke a desired response to a product or service they want us to buy. Someone with an evil intent, such as a Charles Manson or a Saddam Hussein, uses these methods to gain influence over others for some twisted purpose that is rooted in denigration and subjugation. When these methods are used correctly and with the right motives in mind, such as by someone like Mother Teresa who is acting for the good of the organization and the benefit of others, they can be valuable enhancers of the leadership message. The use of one or more of these methods will make for a more compelling, and ultimately more persuasive, leadership message.

Develop the First Draft

Okay, cue the lights. Spotlight on the writer. Bring up the music. Now comes the hard part: getting it down on paper. If you have followed the guidelines given earlier, your task will be easier. Your challenge is to put thoughts and words to your outline points. As you craft your words, you will have to keep some key points in mind.

• What is your message?

  Remember your message. It will serve as your compass. If what you are adding does not complement the message, it is better left unsaid.

• What is your thesis statement?

  The thesis and the message may be one and the same, but sometimes the wording of the two is slightly different. Regard the thesis as the reason why you are speaking and what you will say—e.g., "Tonight I will tell you why we need to cut costs and provide ways we can do it."

• What are you using to amplify your message?

  Amplification comes from the content that you add. You shape your message using your own knowledge and the information you have gained from the research materials and anecdotes.

• What visuals do you have to illustrate your message?

  Visuals can be anything from flipcharts and posters to electronic graphics. The rule of thumb is to use the graphics to support the message, not to present the message. You can, of course, use a photograph or a chart to tell part of the story, but you should not rely solely on graphics to tell the story.

When crafting your presentation, you have the option of writing it out word for word or preparing notes from which you will speak. Some people feel that word-for-word scripting enables them to think through precisely what they want to say. This approach is the soundest one, and it allows for the greatest amount of advance creativity. The downside is that it is time-consuming.

Other presenters prefer to work from notes. Not only is creating a presentation using this approach less time-consuming, but the approach also allows the presenter to be more flexible and responsive to audience needs. The presenter who is stuck to a speech may overlook the audience, while the presenter who is standing and delivering from notes can shift gears more readily according to audience needs.

Some speakers script everything in advance, then cull the words to note cards. By doing this, they determine their flow, precision, and word choice in advance, then deliver the presentation in a manner that appears to be spontaneous.

Revise Your Draft

No one said that this would be fun. Authors have their own adage: "Writing is rewriting."

Once you have crafted the presentation in a format that is comfortable for you, put it aside for a day or so. Then reread it and see how it sounds. Practice reading it out loud. When you do, you will find words and phrases that look good on paper but ring hollow when spoken. Adjust the phrasing. Remember, you are crafting a presentation that will be seen and heard, not read. Sound and images come first.