Having helped businesses enter and win awards for the past 10 years, sitting on the other side of the desk as a judge at the UK Customer Experience Awards was an eye-opening experience.
Knowing how much winning prestigious accolades means to my own clients, I felt a tremendous responsibility when scoring the entries, and was relieved to be one of a panel of six judges within the Hospitality, Leisure and Travel category – ensuring a truly non-biased result.
As I was carefully deliberating over my scores, the significance of the advice we give to clients looking to enter awards became all the more apparent. So here are my seven top tips to impress the judges with your presentation:
1. Set the scene
Clearly set out the rationale behind your entry and clarify your objectives at the beginning of your presentation. This will make it easy for the judges to see why you deserve to win.
2. Answer the questions
Don’t fall into the trap of talking about what you want to talk about – always make sure you tick every box on the criteria so the judges can award you with the score you deserve.
3. Bring your entry to life
Capitalise on the chance to present directly to the panel, ensuring your presentation looks professional and engaging. Grab the judges’ attention with video content and case studies to add personality to your delivery.
4. Don’t rely on the judges’ prior knowledge
Judges will be reading lots of entries during the judging process so don’t be afraid to re-emphasise the key information included within your written entry.
5. Show us your passion
The delivery of your presentation can make all the difference to a judge’s understanding of your initiative. Taking with passion will inspire the judges but remember to be clear and concise with the criteria in mind.
6. Select your winning team
Having the right team in place to answer questions confidently will add credibility to your entry, so select people working on the initiative you’re submitting. If you have entered more than one category you may need two teams.
7. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! –
Meet up with your team ahead of the finals and check everything will run smoothly on the day – but if you do experience technical difficulties, don’t panic, we’ve all been there!
All finalists in the ‘Hospitality, Leisure and Travel’ category at the UK Customer Experience Awards did an incredible job and what really stood out about the winning team was how they brought their entry to life.
Explaining the context of their initiative, the team went on to show real life examples of how they are making a difference to their customers’ experience with videos, props, and case studies. It really was unforgettable!