Anne Scarlett has authored over 50 published articles. They are organized by topic in the sidebar to the right. Often, Anne expands upon these topics, presenting to audiences in intimate training sessions as well as at highly-attended conferences. In addition, her insights are frequently quoted in A/E/C industry publications. Representative articles include:

Presentation skills

CREATING AN ‘EXPERIENCE’ WITHIN FORMAL INTERVIEW PRESENTATIONS

Relationship-building is one thing; closing the deal is another

Throughout the lead development process, business development professionals work very hard. We make contacts, nurture relationships, submit RFPs, all before we finally get our chance to interview with prospects.

By the time we get to that interview, we realize that all of the firms are fully qualified—especially in terms of project portfolios and proven performance track records. So what’s in question? Quite simply: the personalities and the ‘wow’ factor. When considering how to showcase synergies and group dynamics, what’s better than giving your prospects an opportunity to truly ‘experience’ working with you and your team?

Creating an interview ‘experience’ is possible, even ...

TOUCH EM’, THEN TOUCH ‘EM AGAIN!

Get real results from your speaking engagements.

I couldn’t believe my ears when my client Patrick recently declared: “I never get leads – much less real projects - from my speaking engagements.” What?!? It seemed impossible. How could any speaker, carefully chosen from a pool of formidable competitors, not glean quality new business opportunities as a result of his/her presentation at a conference or seminar?

Now take note, Patrick offers technical content to intrigue an audience. He has an acceptable delivery style - nothing that should detract from lead generation. So where’s the problem? The answer is simple: his presentation itself was just a ...

ENGINEERS CAN—AND DO—COMMUNICATE WELL!

Presentation and selling skills for the technical professional.

For many, effective communication skills do not come naturally. It’s no wonder that abundant information has been written on the topic; in fact, it’s a multi-billion dollar industry and growing! So why write yet another communications article? Because engineers are special, and I personally believe in you…not only can these skills be learned, they can even be mastered! Some engineers just need an extra boost to illuminate the communication skills within themselves.

This article will address just two aspects of communications: presentations and selling. The intent here is not to describe how to do it, but rather, to offer ...

NAIL THE Q&A PORTION OF YOUR PROJECT INTERVIEWS

Nine tips your presentation team can use to improve its effectiveness in the project interview.

Scenario: Your firm is short-listed for the design of a high-profile private university project. You’ve sent a team of seven to make the pitch. After one hour of formal presentation, the 10-person selection committee launches 30 minutes of questions-and-answers. Is this the moment where the team will make— or break— its position relative to the competition? You bet. Fielding questions with solid, responsible answers is an essential element to win business.

In many scenarios— pitching new business, delivering a formal presentation at a conference, daily interaction with clients— we respond to questions that are sensitive or complex. Within any context, we ...

MAKING RAIN WITH WEBINARS

Get comfortable with this technology.

Webinars—prevalent communication and selling channels—are here to stay. If you have ever delivered a webinar then you may recall a lonely feeling, almost as if you are sitting in the woods with the sound of crickets chirping! As the speaker, you are typically talking for about 90 minutes. Any audience feedback is be built-in, almost contrived. Options for interactivity include: online survey questions; opening up phone lines for comments and questions; having a moderator field questions via instant messaging. But these techniques have drawbacks. For example, often there will be multiple participants at a single site, making it tough for ...

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