How to Deliver a Great Presentation. And Change Your Life.

Why is speaking in public such an issue for so many of us?

Many friends and clients tell me it is one of their greatest fears.

Some are young and starting their careers. Some are experienced executives.

In every case, they can’t silence their public speaking demons.

A quick Google search on “delivering a great speech” will throw up thousands of results – a lot of clichés, some rehashed stuff but little that is innovative.

This is a worry because presentations are much, much more important than that.

The ability to connect, convince and move people towards what you want is a vital life skill.

Getting in front of other people and sharing your thinking and beliefs is fundamental to success.

I have been speaking to large and small groups since I started working in communications and wanted to try and capture some lessons learned.

These are personal observations over twenty years: from speaking to 1000 people in Brisbane, 100 in London to five in Hong Kong.

Many of these lessons are counter-intuitive, some go against conventional wisdom and a few will make you think I have lost the plot.

But in every case, they have been invaluable to me. I hope they are helpful to you.

#1 It’s not a presentation. It’s a golden opportunity.

You have been asked to make a presentation. Repeat after me: This Is A Great Thing!

It means someone in your professional or personal life wants to hear what you have to say. It is a golden opportunity for you to share your opinions or knowledge in front of other people who might change your life for the better. However hard it may feel, this is the mindset you must apply from the minute you agree (or are told) you are making a presentation.

Example: a senior executive at a global transportation firm was attending his firm’s annual dinner for 500+ guests. He, like everyone else, was looking forward to the after-dinner speech from the guest-of-honour sporting legend. Problem was at the last minute the legend was a no-show. The executive’s CEO tapped him on the shoulder and said “John, you need to make the speech”. Just 20 minutes. To develop a speech. From nothing. To address a packed room. Expecting their hero. Character-building stuff. Result? John stepped up. He delivered a great, funny, crowd-pleasing talk. By the way, John is no longer an executive. He is now CEO.

#2 What do you want?

This is important.

What is your goal from your presentation? Be crystal clear about this.

You will have a group of people focused entirely on you for 20 or so minutes. What do you want the outcome of your talk to be? Be seen as a technical expert? A rising star? A future leader? This will sound counter-intuitive, but the actual subject of the talk is entirely secondary to your opportunity to promote you.

Example: I speak a lot on social media risk, crisis management etc. I think I have built a decent reputation in this area as a technical expert. My primary goal though is not to be an expert: it is to use my reputation to secure (well) paid client engagements. So before even thinking about your content, be sure to ask and answer the question: what do I want?

#3 Why should they care?

Just as you need to figure out what you want, be clear what your audience wants. Unless you are the keynote speaker, you will be one of a few people up there so it’s vital you add value in some way.

How can you make their lives better? What information can you share that will make them look smarter at work? How can they improve their personal relationships?

What insight can you bring to the room that will make the audience pay attention? However bland or boring the subject, there is no excuse for being bland or boring. Light them up. Make them care. Add value.

Example: I recently gave a talk to 80 members of a business group in Hong Kong about negotiating salary increases. One attendee wrote to me a few days later and said she had secured the exact raise she wanted from her (male) boss precisely thanks to the theory and techniques I shared. Bring your audience along with you, add value and make their lives better. Then they will care about you.

#4 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

There is a lot of talk today about “storytelling”. Much of the discussion is utter nonsense.

There is one universal truth though: people like stories.

They like a beginning, a middle and an end. We like a neatly wrapped up bundle when the threads intertwine and the big picture becomes clear.

This is precisely how you should structure every presentation.

Make it a dynamic story with a good plot-line and interesting characters. Present your story arc at the beginning, lead your audience through the plot and wrap up with a powerful closing idea. It doesn’t matter if you are talking about a new bath tap, time-sheet software or your 2020 corporate vision: channel your inner Dickens, Shakespeare, Jed Mercurio – or whoever you like to read or watch – and build your case.

Example: take a look at Uber’s first ever investor presentation. It’s brilliant and applies all the points above. Last time I looked, Uber has done OK. Because riders, drivers and investors bought (and still buy) their story.

#5 Keep it very, very simple.

We all know the statistics about how many trillion messages we see every minute in 2019. It’s a given that we are under information siege. So when your wonderful audience is about to give you twenty minutes of their lives that they won’t get back, do them a favour. Keep your presentation simple, your words clear and your visuals compelling.

Complexity is not your friend. Or theirs.

The obvious exception is an ultra-technical subject. If you are a world-renowned expert on the inner workings of the human eyeball then OK, fine scientific detail is allowed. I would still argue that even technical audiences craves clarity and simplicity. Take your topic back to absolute first principles, rip it apart and rebuild it in language that someone who knows zero (and cares even less) about your subject will understand.

Example: we work with a hugely technical firm in data security. At our first meeting, a colleague asked what sounded like a very dumb question: what does your technology actually do? It initially took four clients an hour to answer the question, often contradicting each other. It now takes them thirty seconds.

#6 Robbie Williams is right: Let Me Entertain You.

One of the greatest myths about presentations of any type is that people are there to learn. They are not. They are there to be entertained, whether they know it or not.

By entertaining (which also means engaging) your audience, you will bring them with you. They will be far more predisposed to listen and remember what you said. I’ll save you the psychobabble, but trust me, it’s true. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen a speaker lose the audience in seconds by doing nothing to give them a reason to care. So entertain them. Tell a funny story. Share a joke. Be self-deprecating. Chat with someone in the first row. Show a funny picture or film clip. Yes, I get it – it might seem inappropriate, terrifying or both – but get past this. Connecting with your audience using humour, early, and making them laugh, will powerfully bond your audience with each other and (more importantly) with you. Whatever your topic, find something funny!

I am not advocating you become a stand-up comedian. But I am recommending using humour to connect with your audience.

Example: I was at a private banking conference in 2018 in Hong Kong. The speaker after me was the CEO of a global auction house. His subject was technical – valuation trends in art – but his delivery was very, very funny. He held the room in the palm of his hand by making people laugh. Humour was a gateway to allow his technical knowledge to be heard. I met him afterwards and said he should be a stand-up comedian. The number of people wanting to speak with him at the coffee break said it all: I am sure he entertained his way to many new clients that day.

#7 Instagrab your audience.

People love pictures. Use good ones liberally in your presentation. Use them to illustrate your ideas wherever possible. There is plenty of scientific data to back this up – just Google “picture and words studies”. But please, I beg you, no clip-art or stock photos of “winning”, “team success” or “crisis”.

Find interesting, memorable, funny, different images that illustrate your point. Pictures make people think or laugh – and pay attention.

Keep text to an absolute minimum as it gets in the way of what you are trying to say. More than ten words on a slide is probably too many unless it is a technical or investor presentation.

Example: I was working with a wonderful professor in Hong Kong as she developed her presentation prior to a TED talk. Her subject was complex and involved the food chain. Dry, technical and not engaging or accessible. So we took her subject apart, especially in the area of food waste in Hong Kong. How could we make it more visual and easily understood? Solution: we calculated how many Hong Kong bus-full amounts of food waste were thrown away every day in Hong Kong. Hint: it's a lot. We then created a graphic that showed food waste volume via bus numbers. The audience gasped. Point made. Job done.

#8 Practice. Makes. Perfect.

Practice. Practice. Practice your presentation. No other information required. Did I mention you should practice your presentation? You should.

Even if it is to your cat, pot plant, kid or colleague. Practice.

#9 (Really) know your presentation environment.

I cannot emphasise this enough.

However large or small, it’s your reputation on the line so KYPE – Know Your Presentation Environment.

Where will the presentation take place? How will the seating be arranged? What kind of AV equipment will be used? Be a pain: ask to test run your slides and videos. Check the sound system. Play with the slide clicker. Get comfortable and familiar with the whole presentation environment. Worst case, if you can’t do this, get a colleague to visit and send you images or video of the venue in advance.

Example: I like to walk around when I present and connect with the audience with no lectern or barrier and use a wireless microphone. On one of the few occasions where I did not follow my own rules, I walked onto the stage to find a large fixed podium with a built-in microphone that was at the perfect level for someone half my height. I spent the next 30 minutes looking like a contortionist at the circus speaking to my audience at a 45 degree angle. Not a good look.

#10 Make yourself BIGGER.

So you are about to go on stage. You are prepared. You are good to go. One finishing touch – greatly beloved by the animal kingdom – make yourself BIG! Find somewhere private – even the elevator – and stretch all the way up and out. Push your arms up, take deep breaths and make yourself as big as you can.

Really, really super big. Hulk sized. Sounds dumb. Works amazingly.

Note: please don’t do this onstage or you will be the wrong kind of funny.

Example: the guineafowl pufferfish has getting bigger down to a fine art – although for self-defence vs. audience engagement purposes.

#11 It’s all about the first four seconds.

Like dating and job interviews, you have about four seconds before your audience decides if it is thumbs up or thumbs down for you. Brutal, Darwinian: it’s almost a chemical thing.

So manage those four seconds as if your (professional) life depended on them. Because it does.

It is vital you walk on to the stage confident, engaged and well-presented. Even if you are as nervous as hell. You are the focal point of the room and the de facto leader. This is a fragile role that can be easily shattered. Shuffling, mumbling or looking uncomfortable are sure-fire ways to lose your audience.

Get up there. Look like you belong. Own the room.

Example: I was at a client sales meeting where the second presenter made every mistake imaginable. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion. He walked hesitantly to the stage. His shirt was badly creased. He began by apologising that his talk would not be as good as the previous speaker. And he read his entire speech from his iPhone which meant he was permanently looking down and had zero connection with the room. An unfortunate masterclass in what not to do. Sad face.

#12 Whether an audience of 10 or 1000, you are talking to 1.

We all like to feel special. We all like to think people are interested in us, remember our name and care about how we are feeling. Your audience in any presentation is exactly the same. It is never 1000, 100 or ten people.

You always have an audience of one.

Every presentation should be a personal, intimate conversation between you and one other. If a large group, you can achieve this by mentally segmenting the room into three blocks and "sweeping" your gaze from each block, picking a mid-point in each and seemingly talking to a single person in that block. If a smaller group, do the same. Sounds strange. Works brilliantly well. Everyone will think you are talking to them individually.

#13 Remember the Murphy family.

Appropriately enough, at #13, remember Murphy’s Law. It happens. You have done all the preparation you can. Then the projector fails. Your video has no sound. The wifi drops. A hammer drill starts next door.

Two words: stay frosty.

If you can quickly fix the problem, do so. If not, keep calm and carry on the best you can. Your audience will understand and may even be forgiving, providing you prevail and retain their attention. Never be distracted by what’s happening around you: focus on the people in front of you.

Example: we were running a one-day crisis simulation training exercise for a large automotive client at their offices in China. The session started at 9:30am and we had 50 of their senior executives attending from around the world. Our session was based around an evolving scenario that used video, news sites, mock emails, conference calls et al. Wifi access was critical. All of which required electricity. At precisely 9:29am (you couldn't make it up) the building lost all power through a massive electrical failing. We were, literally, dark. Solution: we changed the crisis scenario from a product recall to catastrophic loss of power. We then planned how the business would function in the absence of 90% of its services and support. We used paper and pens and whatever communications devices were still functioning: cell phones and battery chargers. Result? Our client learned a lot about business continuity. They also gave the session the highest score we had ever achieved.

#14 Guerilla tactics to regain the room.

Occasionally, even if you have a great presentation and are delivering it beautifully, you will lose the room.

You will have your first “Phone Moment”.

For those who remember, it used to be the Blackberry Moment. Someone’s screen will light up. Their WhatsApp is suddenly much more interesting than your talk. This is contagious. Soon you will see rows of screens illuminating.

You. Are. Losing. The. Room.

If you are addressing a smaller group, a simple (and cheeky) solution? Ask a direct question about your subject to a person on their phone in the middle of the room. It can be anything really, but I find “does this ever happen at your company?” works very well. Be polite and respectful.

The surprise of being called out will engage the individual and refocus the room.

Unless your presentation is truly awful, you will get back on track. A technique for a larger group, if you are feeling audience drift, is to ask a question to the entire room and request a show of hands. This is a subtle, but very powerful, means of (re)gaining control.

Example: I was giving a talk to 50 attendees at a risk management conference in Singapore a few months ago. I was given the speaking session just after lunch: lucky me. It was clear that the material (and I) were simply not connecting with the audience. So I stopped. I let silence fall. Everyone looked up. I asked “how many of us think we are genuinely prepared to manage a crisis at our workplace? Can we have a show of hands?” Only 5 percent said they were prepared. The impact was electrifying. We then moved to a lively, spontaneous 45 minute debate on risk. Know your audience psychology!

#15 Take a Bow, Prepare for Victory.

As mentioned, these are very personal insights. But they have served me well. Anyone who delivers presentations will have their own hits and misses and horror stories.

I make you one promise: if you follow these steps, you will give yourself the best chance for success at your next presentation.

It doesn’t matter if you like, dislike or are neutral about giving presentations. The recommendations here will greatly improve your chances for success and help create your own queue of people waiting to talk to you in the coffee break.

Good luck!

Example: last month, my team and I were part of a three-day Asia-Pacific meeting for 1,000 senior executives at an international hospitality corporation. The agenda was menu-based: each executive could choose from any of 18 45-minute sessions over the three days. My firm’s topic was managing high risk events. Our “competition” was significant. Many global consulting, design, HR, legal, social media and branding corporations were offering their own 45-minute sessions. So we decided to be a bit different. For all our risk sessions, we split each group into smaller teams and asked them to film a news interview responding to an issue at their property. Each team then screened their interviews in front of all their colleagues and the entire group voted for the best. A bit like the Oscars. We laughed a lot. Attendees told us they learned a lot. I saw my primary client a couple of days ago. She explained the results of the conference were in and she had the attendee rankings for all the 18 sessions.

We were #1.

Charles Lankester is EVP, Global Reputation Management at Ruder Finn Asia. He has been working in communications consulting and risk management for more than 20 years in Asia and Europe.