Interview to Fernando Herández

Here we are one more time with an interview, this time, I´m going to make some questions to Fernando Hernández, the sales director of Abbot Laboratories here in Spain, he does a lot of presentations, so I think he is the appropriate person to teach us some more things about the art of presenting.

Question: When you started working for this company, did you have any previous experience on speeches to big audiences?
Fernando: Not much, before here, I was working in a office with some workers at my expense, but as I´m a seller, I had to present our product great in order to make money for the company, but this was intended to a few audience. When I left that job, I did some courses to make greater presentations, since my new job here demanded so.

Question: How was your first presentation?
Fernando: I remember that my first speech was in Helsinki, I had to present myself at the time I had to present a new products line and it was a huge auditorium, with hundreds of people. I was extremely nervous just before starting so I ask a friend to sit in the first row, to give me some confidence. I started with a strong voice, but I went so quickly that I even say my name correctly (many people asked me for it later), but after that, the showing was so good, and I just loved the experience.

Question: Do you have any routine to follow before presenting?
Fernando: Not much, I usually arrive at the auditorium a couple of hours before, to see the room empty, that helps me to imagine that I´m alone when I´m talking.Then, I test that all the electronic devices I´m going to use are full of battery, I check the slides also, and only if I can, I make the presentation alone there.

Question: How important is for you to make a good presentation?
Fernando: I always try to connect with the audience, I make them to see that I´m full of energy, so that they get infected of it. In my job, a bad presentation could mean millions of losses, and my bosses wouldn´t be very happpy. We have to show that our product is the best of the market, any mistake mean a lot here, so we have to improve our skills as much as we can.