To make sure your message is concise and impactful for a high-stakes presentation -> Use the Pyramid Principle - Start with your main conclusion or message, then back it up with supporting points. This structure quickly conveys the most important information and keeps you focused.

Less is more & that’s especially true for big presentations. We should keep our message clear by focusing on three main points. Use simple words & real-life examples to make our ideas stick. We have to think of our speech like a tasty snack - small, satisfying & easy to digest. Practice cutting out extra details so our audience remembers what really matters!

Ask yourself what single takeaway you want the audience to remember. Be clear about the purpose, whether it’s to inform, persuade, or inspire, and distill your main message into a sentence or two. For example, “Our new strategy will increase efficiency by 20% and improve customer satisfaction.” Limiting yourself to a few main points prevents information overload and helps your audience focus. Select the points that are most essential to supporting your main message, and cut out any non-essential details. Frameworks like Problem-Solution-Outcome or Past-Present-Future keep your message organized. Starting with the problem draws the audience in, offering the solution maintains engagement, and outlining the outcomes clarifies why it matters.

When it comes to high-stakes presentations, I’m all about focus and flow. First, structuring the content is essential—I break it down into clear sections, like storytelling, with a strong intro, key points, and a memorable close. I emphasize main ideas by slowing down, using pauses, and repeating crucial takeaways, making sure they stick. Visuals are my secret weapon—simple, clean images or graphs add power without distraction. And finally, I rehearse with a fresh perspective: thinking about what the audience truly needs to hear.

Know your audience. Making a high stakes presentation requires some research on who you’re talking to and what is important to them. If you can make a clear connection in your presentation about how the subject relates, affects or impact them as individuals then you have successfully engineered a high impact presentation. If it solves a problem for them it’s guaranteed to have an impact.