How I Prepare for and Create Presentations

I follow a particular process for any session I'm asked to deliver, and thought I might share that process here in hopes it can inform your own.

Choose the Topic

I have a list of sessions I have created on the Sessionize website, so I often point folks to that if I am asked to speak. Whenever I re-deliver any of these sessions, I still go through this entire process, since the areas I deal in change quite frequently. I also add to and trim from this list.

I also reach out to event organizers from time to time and ask what they need at their event. I like to be evaluated last, so that they can ask me to create something they want, if I have the expertise in that area.

I do respond to "Call For Content" for events when I think I have something I can add to the event, and it's an event I can afford to go to present.

In general, I have two types of topics - things the audience may not know yet because it is new or my team is just creating it, or things the audience wants to know more about.

For instance, if my team is creating a new feature, I will create a session on what it is, why one might use it, and how it works.

If the audience would like to know more about a common topic, such as troubleshooting or performance tuning, I develop content that is a new angle or one that encompasses the latest techniques.

To find those well-known topics, I look at Q/A sites and Forums to find two kinds of questions: What gets asked the most, and what gets answered the least. Both of those make excellent topics.

I rarely worry about the fact that a topic has already been presented. I add my own voice, experiences and research and make the content new.

When I pick my topic, I always keep the "call to action" at the forefront of all I do from this point on. What do I want the audience to do, know, or feel when I am done? Everything done from here on out needs to drive to that call to action.

Research the Topic

The very first thing I do when I research a topic is to ask "why am I the right person to talk about this?" Sometimes that reason is that I have a lot of experience in this topic and might be able to give someone new information. Sometimes that reason is that I am a beginner in the topic, and I'm sharing the experience of learning along with the audience. I don't need to be an expert in something to speak on that area, as long as I am clear that is the context of the session.

Once I have that answer, I read and study widely. I find every book, article, post, video and any other resource I can. At this point, I do not take notes, as it might be too easy to slip into plagiarism, and I want the work to be my own.

A word here about plagiarism: It is completely acceptable to read another person's work, and even to quote them (with permission and attribution) for specific points here and there in a presentation. It is not acceptable to wholly reproduce content or simply take it and change up the wording a bit. That's stealing another's work, and is wrong. You can see a more in-depth discussion of this topic here.

I then read the official documentation carefully. This is where I will take notes, making large "entities" out of the areas I learn that I think lead to the What, Why, and How questions I mentioned earlier. I don't worry about the order yet, just the main parts of the topic.

I talk to people who wrote the feature, or who I have found knows the most about it. I will set up time, buy them a coffee or some other time-bribe, and ask "so is X like a Y?" And sometimes they will reply "That's exactly right!" or "You are way off. X is more like Z." The way I pose the question is "If I told a group of your customers X, would that be correct?"

My friend Bob Ward is one of the most thorough professionals I know. He has taught me that even when the developer or creator tells you "this is how it works" to go and check it yourself. He tries the examples, samples, and his own software code to see if the thing really does what it says that it does, pushing at all the corners and edges. It's a valuable process that I try and emulate.

As far as the tools I use for this process, I tend to live in OneNote, so that's where these go. I use a lot of symbols, checkboxes and bullet-graphics to arrange my thoughts.

Again, I ensure that all this information drives to the call to action for the session.

Create the Initial Outline

With my large concept entities and their sub-points defined, I switch to whatever graphical tool I will be using (Power Point, a github page, or just notes - the tool isn't the important thing) and begin to lay in only 3-5 points. Anything more than that is overwhelming.

Language is compression. Whenever I hear the word "dinner", I think of various parts of a meal, sitting down to eat, family, friends, and a location. All that comes from just one word. Presentations are the same - they are compressed research, and so I need to give my audience space within the presentation to understand where we are in the flow of the session, and provide references for them to learn more on their own after the session.

With my 3-5 points laid in, I arrange the outline in a logical flow. I tell a story, figuratively and for the main points quite literally, to make a cohesive outline.

Develop the Outline

Now I can lay in the sub-concepts and topics for my main points. I add everything I can think of, and then trim it back ruthlessly. At some point, it loses the concept, and so I will put something back. Eventually, I have the completed outline in main slides, pages, or notes.

At this point I add in references for as much of the concepts as I can. I do this in the "Notes" section if I am using Power Point, or as hyperlinks if I'm using something else. This shows my work, my sources, and allows the listener to go decompress the concepts I have compressed for them.

Add Demonstrations

At this phase I look for short, understandable demonstrations that illustrate an important point. Sometimes that isn't necessary, but where it is, I ensure that the demo is short, explains the point, and is reproducible.

Create Theme and Graphics

So far I have been working with plain white slides or web pages with only one font and no graphics. If the event requires a theme, I use that, and if not, I create one that gets the information across to the audience. A study in Visual Accuity shows that for most people, light mode artifacts are preferable to dark mode ones, so that is what I use.

Graphics should show the state of something, and any transitions or motion effects should show state-transition. I show that something is a certain way (perhaps a database status or an architectural diagram) and then the motion shows the new state (the database fades or some other action to show it is offline). The primary thought is that graphics should support the point, and drive to the call to action.

I will use some background graphics sparingly, but if they don't support the theme or the call to action, they are a distraction and I leave them out.

Practice

There is no substitute for practice. At least two weeks out from the session I practice the session (even if I have done it dozens of times) by reading over it, and then standing in front of a mirror and audibly delivering. I do this multiple times a week.

Power Point has a great feature called "Presenter Coach" that will let you give your presentation to your computer and it will listen and offer hints. Even if I am not using Power Point to deliver the session, I often use this feature.

My wife and I get up early in the morning and after a little reading, we take a 2-3 mile walk. Often I will explain to her what I am working on, and she will ask probing questions that I then make a mental note to ensure I cover well during the delivery.

The Purpose of the Presentation

I keep one thought in mind when I deliver a session:

I am there for the audience, not the other way around.

Time is our most valuable resource, and I always want to ensure I am helping people invest theirs wisely.

I hope this short article is of some use. Everyone has a different way of thinking, speaking, and presenting, and it's important you bring your authentic self to the session - don't try and be anyone else. Use this information like all information you get - as an addition to your knowledge.