4 Must-Know Tips for Powerful Presentations for Parenting Coaches
As a parent coach, offering a presentation, giving a talk, or running a workshop is a great way to connect with potential clients. But only if you know how to do it in a way that allows you to connect with your audience, build trust, and give them enough to get a clear sense of the power of this work. If that sounds like an extremely tall order, keep reading. I promise it’s not as hard as you might think!
Before your inner perfectionist throws in the towel, let me start by emphasizing that presenting is a learned skill, not an innate talent. You will get better every time you do it. Most people start off nervous, unsure, and a little rusty. With the tips below, I promise you’ll already be ahead of where many coaches start out.
Most people know what a great presentation looks like. But few people stop to find out exactly what secrets are behind the curtain in those presentations. Start with these simple tips so you have a few aces up your sleeve, then fine-tune your craft over time. Your second presentation will be better than your first, and so on, until you’re hitting them out of the park consistently. You just have to get started exactly where you are.
#1 Be prepared (but not over-prepared!)
Hard truth: Most people don’t prepare enough before getting up in front of a group.
It’s important to run through your presentation a few times (even if it’s only in front of a face you draw in lipstick on your bathroom mirror). While the feedback from your audience might be limited, you’ll at least get to hear yourself say it all out loud in a couple of different ways.
When I say run through it, I do not mean memorize.
Why not? Because memorization only engages one part of your brain. According to neuroscience, your hippocampus is the part of your brain that kicks in for the rinse and repeat or memorization function. The problem is that the part of your brain you use for being engaged and responsive to your audience, is the cerebrum.
Get comfortable with what you're presenting, in a way that allows you to remain present, connected, and ready to comfortably respond to whatever comes up. Use your slides as a guide but be flexible in your presentation style. Remember, connection with your audience always outshines being overly polished.
#2 To be persuasive, avoid monotony
Hard truth: Being accidentally boring is easier than it looks.
Unless your presentation involves literally hypnotizing people, make sure to vary your tone, volume, and speed at which you speak. It will take some practice to do this in a way that feels natural (but since I know you read tip number one, I know you’re planning on doing this anyway).
A study by Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger found that presenters who modulate their voices are more effective because they appear more confident.
So, increase your volume when making important points and pause noticeably after a particularly insightful or impactful statement to let it linger in the air and really drive your point home.
#3 Employ the villain, the victim, and the hero
Hard truth: People like stories that are mostly about them, not so much about you.
Instead of focusing on your own opinion of the topic, try creating a three-part relationship in your presentation between the villain of your story, the victim, and the hero.
For example, instead of saying, “I’m excited to be sharing with you the incredible opportunity to change your life through parent coaching,” you might say, “Parents are finally getting to experience what it’s like to truly enjoy their relationships with their children and their role as parents, instead of feeling a constant sense of frustration and overwhelm.” It puts the parents at the forefront as opposed to centering you as the parent coach. Can you feel the difference?
For parent coaches, the villain, victim, and hero equation might look like placing antiquated norms of parenting, like power-over models, as the villain. Another villain could be the way in which, as a society, we don’t give parents support or skills to parent. Instead we expect everyone to just ‘know’ what to do, leaving us all at the mercy of our own generational patterns, moments of dysregulation and overwhelm.
The victim role could be assigned to both our children and us as parents. We both feel the deep consequences and wish for things to be different. As parents, we understandably lack the skills and support to know how to truly make that happen.
And unsurprisingly the role of the hero goes to… empowered parenting and the incredible transformations available to families through the parent coaching process! When parents get a chance to participate in the creation of a new world for their families through parent coaching, their whole lives change.
#4 Create connection (for now and in the future)
The more you are able to connect with your audience, the more likely they are to feel engaged with you and your message and the more likely they are to become clients!
Consider the environment you present in. Try to make it as warm and inviting as possible. Lighting, seating, and a few thoughtful beverages all help to create a good foundation for your presentation. And because you can’t always be dragging a lamp, an area rug, and some throw pillows with you, you can always create a good feeling in the room through your warmth and presence, no matter the environment.
While some people will be ready to schedule a call with you right away, others may be interested but need more time. That’s where collecting people’s contact information is a golden opportunity. Make a point of getting people’s email addresses and any other contact information you would like to have, and they would be willing to share. Not doing this is an incredible missed opportunity! Be clear on how you will use their contact information as well in order to set clear expectations and create trust.
If you have a conversation with someone but they say no to getting on a call, ask them if it would be alright to check in with them again in a month (or whatever time frame seems appropriate) to see how things are going. Having someone’s email or mailing address allows you to stay in touch, provide value, and give them future opportunities to work with you. It is a golden marketing opportunity.
Remember, connecting with prospective clients is like planting seeds, some flowers bloom in May, some flowers bloom in late August and some need to be planted in the fall and enjoyed the following spring. Just keep watering them!
When it comes to giving presentations and getting your work out into the world, you have everything you need to get started now.
You can do this.
The best learning comes from doing.
Give yourself lots of grace.
And remember, perfectionism isn’t really about being perfect—it’s about being afraid to make a mistake. In presentations and in life, we all know it’s not IF you make a mistake; it’s WHEN. There are no mistakes that a little self-compassion and humor won’t soften or solve. The only real mistake would be not getting your work out into the world because of fear.
Now, go out there and schedule a talk! Your clients are waiting for you.
Meet Your Author, Katie Owen
Jai Business Coach & Marketing Mentor
As a former practicing therapist turned copywriter and marketing strategist, Katie is passionate about the intersection of marketing and mindset. Katie embodies the practices of taking the simple actions, consistently over time, that create epic results.
A master storyteller, Katie works with our coaches to refine their message, increase their visibility and get clients!
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