Even CEOs can have the jitters when faced with making a presentation or moderating a panel.
Although some folks make it look easy, others clearly don’t realize their leg-shaking is distracting to their audience and turning off the investment bankers.
“The swivel chair is one of the biggest enemies,” says Steve Felix of the Felix/Weiner Consulting Group. “[Speakers] swivel, they lean back, and don’t even know they are doing it.”
Filler words such as “uh,” “um” and “like,” as well as “Valley Girl” intonations, can all distract an audience or make them dismissive of what the speaker is trying to say.
Felix and business partner Liz Weiner have a tagline they emphasize: “It’s not just what you say . . . but how you say it.”
The duo provides presentation coaching and leadership skills training around the world to clients that include private equity groups, developers, and other real estate and finance companies that want to boost their teams to become effective both internally and with client interactions.
“Just the word ‘presentation’ brings fear,” explains Felix. “We encourage people to think of it as a conversation, whether to one person or to 200.”
The two formed their company in 2012 after years of independently helping others with their careers.
A New Yorker, Weiner spent two decades in human resources. She has coached and counseled at all levels in financial services, real estate and other industries.
For his part, Felix has been active in the commercial real industry for more than 30 years. He was involved in real estate development and workouts, and later both institutional real estate and pension fund endowments. A natural networker, he’s also been a consultant and trusted advisor of senior executives, aiding in their interviewing, presentation and leadership skills.
Among their many clients are Hines, TH Real Estate, Clarion Partners, Harrison Street, Real Capital Analytics and USAA.
As Felix and Weiner believe most people can only remember three things from any conversation, they help clients hone their speeches, perfect “dog-and-pony shows” and, most of all, stay on message.
While the content is very important, Weiner explains that even if people have their speeches down pat, the way they deliver their messages could make or break their presentations — potentially costing their companies millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Felix/Weiner workshops are therefore designed to use behavior modification and deliver feedback to create measurable improvement. Their interactive exercises also focus on role-playing to hone presentation skills. “If we see someone who gets nervous, we have an exercise to help them get over the nervousness and give them tools to practice at home,” Felix explains.
Though it depends on the company and client, most workshops include a private before-and-after video session so executives can see what they are doing wrong and how it looks when they’ve improved.
The workshops are typically several hours over two days so participants can incorporate their new skills into the second day’s activities. “Their awareness is raised overnight,” says Weiner.
Some people have a hard time listening to their colleagues, particularly when they are waiting for their turn to talk. Instead, Felix and Weiner advise paying attention to both their colleagues who are making presentations as well as to the people sitting across the table.
They also help their workshop participants pick up on the cues that indicate the clients don’t understand the presentation, and coach as to how they can jump in to help their colleagues at the podium.
“As we raise their awareness, it’s something they can practice, as different people have more instinctive awareness,” says Felix.
Felix says they are also big on the “power of the debrief.” “After this call,” he says of this interview with The Post, “we will discuss what went well, what didn’t go well and what might we do differently for these kinds of things.”
Weiner adds, “The ‘debrief’ becomes powerful if notes are written down and you go back later and see what you told yourself to try differently. So you are always coaching yourself to be better.”
Felix and Weiner also have professional development curricula designed for women in traditionally male-led fields. The duo focuses on moderating, panelist, career and interview skills, and holds special women’s leadership skills sessions.
“We men were born talking about our accomplishments,” says Felix. “But it’s very difficult for women to talk about their own accomplishments, even though they do have an easier time sharing what someone else has done.”
The women’s workshops are designed to develop and enhance their professional presence. “We refer to the sessions as a ‘laboratory’ so they can try out different approaches,” Weiner says. “They are working in a male-dominated industry, and we want them to stand out for the right reasons.”
