Making a presentation yours

If you’re like me and you used to (or maybe still do,) waste opportunities by winging your way through things more than putting the effort into actually preparing, this short guide is for you.

There is a big difference between presenting a Slide deck, and giving a presentation. It’s relatively easy for someone to pull up a slide and read the words verbatim, the real skill comes in knowing the material, practicing, and being able to speak naturally while presenting.?

One of the telltale ways to know if someone truly understands their product is, can they actually do their presentation without the slides at all? We all have seen a speaker who is completely frozen, or is stuck delaying their presentation due to technical issues. Normally, this simply shows a lack of preparation.?

This isn’t to say that slide decks aren’t a useful visual aid for the audience, they definitely are, and can help many people understand the information better. This is pointing out that if you can’t provide your presentation without the deck, you’re likely unprepared.?

Now, I’m just as guilty of this as everyone else. I’ve looked at a deck, glanced at it once or twice and thought to myself “I know this information, I don’t need to practice too much” and I did the presentation, completed it, and got the sale with less time preparing than the actual presentation took. Looking back on it though, I could have probably done that presentation 50x better, and they likely bought due to the inherent value of the product, moreso than how well I presented the information.?

So if you want to prepare for presentations better, do these 8 simple steps:

Step 1: make sure you know the information.?

Okay, I know this seems simple, but you should be able to recall the important information and be able to answer simple questions about whatever you’re presenting. If you represent a technical product, you don’t have to be a design engineer to understand the basics of the capabilities. If you offer a service, you should be able to evaluate and discuss the pro’s and con’s of the service, and how you really help? someone. Know what it is you offer, and know when you need to potentially direct the questions to someone that has more specialized knowledge.?

Step 2: Review the slide deck.

If you’re working witha? standard deck that is already made, read everything on the deck. Look at the meeting or presentation you’re going into and try to determine if what’s on the slides is A) relevant and B) going to fit into your time slot. If you’re getting to the end of your presentation and go “oops, we’re running out of time, i’ll skip these 18 slides to get to the summary” I know you either didn’t know the material, can’t stay on track, or didn’t prepare.?

Step 3: Edit the slide deck

Don’t be afraid to remove things from your slide deck, including whole paragraphs. I’m very much so of the opinion that a slide deck should be and outline, and you are providing the content. If you can’t stand 7(ish) feet away from a normal-sized screen and read your slides, you probably have too much info on them. Edit them down so you can present everything in a way that flows naturally from one slide to the next.

4: Add your notes

While the slide should be an outline, there is nothing stopping you from putting extensive notes on each slide. This can act as both a reference point for technical or detailed information you have to refer to, or as a script when you’re practicing. I encourage you to write out, word-for-word, exactly what you want to say for each slide. While you’ll likely never say it word for word perfectly, this will be helpful as you go to practice.?

Step 5: Rractice

This is huge. I prefer to do a presentation MINIMUM of 20 times before I ever show another person. If I can, I’ll then do a presentation internally, or with a friend to get feedback before I’m standing in front of a customer or audience. A great way to do this, is to use the recording feature on Powerpoint. You can use your note as a script and have it run like a teleprompter (this is why you needed it word-for-word.) while I don’t suggest you use this live, practicing in this way give you good practice in cadence, and being able o make edits for consistent change. The other benefit is you can watch the recordings back to ensure you like the way it sounds. Make sure you’re not practicing in just a monotone to get it done. Do it the way that you will do it live

Step 6: re-edit

After you’ve practiced atleast 5-10 times, go back and edit your deck, and your script. This allows you to improve the presentation and change either the deck, or your phrasing to have a more natural feel. The best speakers always seemed like they were speaking naturally, not from a script. This can only be achieved by practicing and ensuring the speech pattern feels natural to YOU.?

Step 7: Do your presentation.

Go do the presentation. Here’s the time! All of your work culminates to this. Make sure you have energy when you speak (you should have practiced this) and you’re 100% engaged. Do your best to get a recording of the presentation from the back of the room (or a screen recording). If you can’t record formally, atleast put your phone on record and put it in your pocket, or on your desk.

Step 8: review and rework.?

This is the most important step. You’ve done the presentation, you’ve got the core of it, now here is where you can take it from good, to truly great. This will not only allow you two review it, but also to recognize times you got held up, or maybe were asked a question you didn’t know the answer to. Even if you were only doing the presentation once, you can likely find ways to improve for future presentations. But for a deck that you’ll use over and over, you can likely make changes (even if they’re small) to make it clearer, better, and more engaging. Keep in mind that when you’re speaking and using the presentation, you should be focused on your audience, not the slides. Those slides are there for them, not for you.?

I hope this guide was helpful to you. If you want to gain more confidence in speaking, shoot me a message!

Jake Hurley