Azeema Mohaideen is the Business Development Manager for McDermott Will & Emery’s Employee Benefits and Private Client practice groups. She is what some of us like to call a “recovering” lawyer. After her AmLaw 200 firm dissolved, Azeema combined both her legal know-how and communications background to land her first business development job. Now, with seven years in legal marketing, two of those at McDermott, her future in legal marketing is solidified. I sat down with her to talk about what it takes to give a memorable presentation.
“It’s very obvious when someone is authentic,” Azeema says. “I think that someone who is authentic, engaging, and truly interested in the topic and can convey that enthusiasm about the topic they are presenting on are always memorable and always effective.” Far too often it is the little things that people forget to do. “There are some simple things that people know are best practices that they don’t always do. For instance, make eye contact with people in the audience. Don’t read off of your slides or your notes.”
“You want to be engaging, you want to be memorable in a way that is conveying your enthusiasm for the topic.” When presenting on topics that are seemly uninteresting, but important, Azeema’s tip for livening it is to, “Insert a little bit of levity. You’ve got to have some humor in there.” For Azeema, some of the best presentations that she sees really play to their audience. “People sometimes want to have a one size fits all presentation. It’s easier on the presenter, but going the extra mile and finding a way to connect with your audience is really key.”
“You can say the same thing about our lawyers and when they’re pitching. No client wants to see a pitch that was clearly created for someone else,” she says. “You want to find some way to customize it and tailor it by doing your research on the client or on what that particular topic is, making it seem obvious that you’ve put some thought into this.” It is a lesson that translates well for legal marketers when we are preparing pitches and RFPs, which are akin to presentations on paper. “Taking a look at the client’s website, googling the client to see what news came out about them or doing something more in-depth like getting a Capital IQ report are all useful. Getting some type of information to know what’s important to this client and conveying that we understand what’s important to them is vital.”
If you are called on to present at your firm, “Do your homework, be prepared.” For those of us who don’t present that often, Azeema says, “sometimes every interaction can be a presentation.” This is especially valuable to those of us in legal marketing who get lots of face time with attorneys. “I try to treat every interaction with the partners like a mini-presentation. You’ve got to be prepared. You’ve got to be on your toes.”
If you are new to planning events and presentations, Azeema’s tip is to “get organized.” It is vital to come up with a project plan and “utilize all of your resources.” Another tip she got from her time as a TA for a public speaking course: videotape yourself or the presenter prior to the presentation. Utilizing video is a valuable tip that can be used for coaching attorneys and making them better presenters.
By Kamaria Salau, Marketing Manager for Jackson & Campbell, P.C., for the July/August 2015 issue of the Capital Ideas Newsletter.