I was fortunate enough to start acting at a fairly early age by participating in school plays. As a senior in high school, I was presented with the “Best Actor” award at a state drama contest. I went on to begin college as a theater minor, and have since appeared in many theatrical productions.

Now, I’m no Anthony Hopkins, but training in acting and theater has definitely enhanced my sales career. With one foot in the world of theater and the other in the realm of business, I offer a dozen suggestions to help you perform effective sales presentations.

1. Speak deliberately.

When an experienced actor first begins to stage rehearsals, they are repeatedly reminded by the director to slow down their pace of speech. Speech carries differently on stage in a theater than it does in normal every day conversation, so it requires a different pace that is suited to the environment.

Although a great sales presentation can be very conversational in style, an effective sales presentation often requires more deliberate speech than does a regular chit-chat around your family’s dinner table or with coworkers at the water cooler. Speak deliberately.

2. Know your script.

Maybe your “script” hasn’t been created word-for-word (although in some cases it probably should be!), but you still have to know your backwards and forwards the essence of what you are going to say. Actors, above and beyond all else, are a purposeful lot. Whereas many salespeople fly by the seats of their pants, actors prepare, prepare, and prepare some more to create the desired performance. Know what you are going to say and how you’re going to say it.

3. Edit when necessary.

Playwrights are likely frustrated by this, but directors may edit scripts to meet needs of a particular time, place, audience, or actor, or may unilaterally and subjectively attempt to improve a script. Salespeople need to do that editing work, too. Just because words automatically come out of your mouth doesn’t mean they’re the best words for that particular situation. Select the words that will create the results you want.

And if your words don’t have a clear purpose in your sales presentation, leave them out. Wasted words create distraction.

4. Know your character.

Is it important to be yourself during a sales presentation?

Yes (see #12). But it is also important to become the character that can achieve the desired sales result. The “self” has so many facets in everyday life that we all play many different roles anyway. Depending upon many factors, we choose roles to play throughout our lives. Don’t be a one character salesperson. Be the right character at the right time.

Understand the role you’re playing in each and every sales presentation. At times, this role will change slightly or greatly depending upon who you’re presenting to, or depending upon what product you’re presenting, or even depending upon external factors (a sales presentation in much of the world the day after 9/11 would probably be much different than one the day after New Year’s Day).

5. Make eye contact work for you.

Draw prospects into your presentation with your eyes. Look at all participants, and time your direct eye contact appropriately to achieve the desired effect. One difference between movie acting and theatrical acting is that on-stage performers can more easily utilize effective eye contact. Even with hundreds or thousands of people in an audience, a skilled stage actor can use eye contact to create a memorable performance.

6. Position your body where it will have the most impact.

Stage actors spend hours working with directors to determine appropriate placement on stage for any given scene or portion of a scene. Salespeople should also create proper placement during a sales presentation.

You’re at the kitchen table with your husband and wife prospects? Sit or stand where it will have the most impact. You’re in a retail store at your widget display? Do the same thing. Meeting someone for a consultation in their office? The same applies.

7. Use appropriate body movements

Body movement can capture the attention of your prospects. Just as a struggling actor might work with a movement coach to refine on-stage motions, salespeople should create motions that are effective and seamless. Our body is really the only thing we have control over, so take control and create movements that will enhance your presentation.

8. Don’t just speak. Tell a story.

Don’t just present information, facts, figures, details, terms, product information, technical specifications and the like, but morph this information into a story-like journey. Create a theatrical presentation that leaves them wanting more. A closed deal is the salesperson’s standing ovation.

9. Create some drama.

What creates drama in a sales presentation? Pauses. Unexpected verbiage. Contrast. Twists and turns. Gestures. Stories. Anticipation. Tension. Intrigue. Humor. Suspense.

10. Know when to give the spotlight to someone else.

Most often, this would be to your prospect, but it could be a team seller, the prospect’s infant crying in the stroller, or the soup boiling over on the stove. Rarely do actors get to have the spotlight throughout an entire performance. Although the presentation phase of the selling process is the seller’s time to be “on stage,” sellers must understand that they sometimes have to share the stage with others.

11. Engineer an emotional response

Theatrical presentations can be merely entertaining, and that’s not a bad thing, but the best productions I’ve seen have touched my emotions in some way. The range of emotions residing in human beings is endless, and we can tap into those emotions to help our sales presentations have tremendous impact.

It’s not that we want our prospects to break down in tears in mid-presentation (or maybe we do!), but subtle presentation nuances can spark emotions which serve to engage prospects in our presentation, and therefore help us to more effectively position our product to meet stated and unstated customer needs.

12. Let the uniqueness of you show through.

Different actors play different roles differently. It’s fascinating to see two different actors play the same character in different productions. Each actor brings to their stage a distinct blend of personal traits and a unique point-of-view which shapes their performance. When presenting, don’t forget to let you show through.

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Actors act and we buy their act. Some salespeople may feel that acting is artificial, or perhaps manipulative. I disagree. As consumers, we gladly pay money to watch actors act on stage and screen, and we don’t care that they might be different than the character they’re playing. In fact, we embrace it. I think salespeople should embrace the premise that presenting is partially acting, and utilizing some of the principles of acting can help create convincing and compelling experiences for their prospects, and in doing so, create improved sales performance.