5 steps to nail your presentations

Here are 5 steps tested and proven with all the people i worked with:

Know your audience

Your audience change, especially with each promotion you get. You will find a mix audience, may that be your team, peer, higher management, external customer, etc.

Know your goal

With each promotion, your presentation will progress from presenting a task/ result/KPI to presenting an idea, strategy, initiatives. Always be clear what you want out of this presentation: a decision, investment, find alignment, support.

Structure your storyline

Just like a good book or article, you want to capture the audience’s attention from the start. But it’s more difficult than writing a book, you don’t usually have the luxury for a long winded beginning and hoping your readers will get to the exciting part after reading 4 chapters. Some call it executive summary. I use more short provocative statement to get people attention, also easier for me refer back during the presentation. Storyline and important points need to be around that statement. Always summarize your presentation with conclusion and a clear ask to your audience.

Less is more

Less words on the slides the better. You want some key words there, but you don’t want to read your entire presentation like a book, and you certainly don’t want your audience to start reading the slides rather than engage with you.

A rule of 3(5)-10-20: 3 bullet points ( 5 maximum), 10 slides max, 20 mins for your presentation

Practice it out LOUD

A perfect presentation doesn’t mean you are PREPARED. Set a timer. Practice your presentation like there is an audience in front of you (or online). Only when you hear yourself say those words you will be able to adapt your words/voice/even storyline.

What do you think? Thank you for sharing below your experience with me!