Tips for top presentations

On average, every adult spends 23 minutes of each working hour trying to influence people. Whether we are trying to get people to commit to action, change their mind about something or urge them to prioritise something, influencing is a critical aspect of our working life. As a manager or leader it is even more important. Your influencing situations are likely to have high stakes and might also involve the need to present (either formally or informally) to groups of people. We examine what it is the best presenters do that enables them to maximise the positive impact and influence of their presentations.

From our work with highly effective presenters in a variety of businesses and professional firms we have identified six presentation fundamentals that help ensure your business presentations have a successful outcome. Paying attention to these when you are planning and preparing your presentations will make you more influential and will engage your audiences more effectively.

While this might sound obvious, we constantly see managers and leaders plan their presentation for themselves rather than for the audience. They take a collection of slides that they used in a vaguely similar presentation, change some bullets, add a diagram or two and then feel it is fit for purpose. The best presenters consider a few fundamental questions that guide their planning.

First ask: “What do I want to achieve through this presentation?” This defines a clear outcome, and there are generally three types of desirable outcome: you either want your audience to ‘do’ something, ‘understand’ something or ‘commit to action’. Whatever the objective, you need to specify it first as it will inform everything else. Then consider who is the audience and how will they feel about this topic at the start of the presentation. Ask: why should they care about this and what do they already know about the topic? Think carefully about what the audience will need from the presentation in order to ensure you achieve your desired objective. You must be clear about your key points and, putting yourself in the audience’s shoes, think about what questions they might have.

Another fundamental mistake we see from presenters is less obvious but just as impactful: they try to lead their audience to the desired outcome too quickly and without recognising or acknowledging their current reality. Leaving them behind communicates a lack of empathy that will have a negative impact on your desired objective.

Pacing the audience is the process of letting them know you understand how they might feel about the topic on which you are presenting before you launch into your content. You can do this effectively by taking a moment to look at things from their point of view:

• How might you feel about this topic right now?
• What other priorities, pressures or challenges might you have that could be taking more of your focus at this moment?
• What else might be happening for you that might negatively or positively impact your view of this presentation?
• What concerns might you want addressed?

Based on your answers you can construct a few pacing statements, which you can make at the very start of the presentation, that demonstrate empathy and understanding of the reality for your audience. You are looking to make three or four statements that elicit nods from them. Once you have this agreement you can move on to your presentation, as you will have established empathy.

Your attitude will affect how you plan and prepare and, even more importantly, will be picked up on by your audience while you present. We have all seen nervous presenters and were aware they were nervous before they spoke. It is likely you felt one of two emotions in response to their nervousness: switched off from what they were saying or sorry for them. Neither of these are desirable outcomes.

If you are nervous, change your physiognomy: look up rather than down, focus on breathing from your diaphragm (rather than your chest) and manage your thoughts so that you mentally see a positive outcome. To change your attitude, you need to take a minute to become aware of what you are thinking, which can only be managed if you are aware of it.

When creating content to support your presentation, remember that you are the presentation, not PowerPoint. Make sure the audience focuses on you rather than on too many slides. If you are using slides remember that a visual aid needs to be two things: visual and an aid! Resist having lots of slides with bullet points. Make sure your content serves the purpose of achieving your objective. It is also a good idea to minimise the number of slides and replace them with anecdotes, discussions and exercises to engage the audience.

Your audience will remember the first and last things you say, so focus on creating a compelling start and finish. Ideally have no more than three key points to make and summarise these points, along with your ‘call to action’ both at the start and the end of the presentation.

If you plan to take questions, do this before your final summary. If you get a tough question at the end you don’t want that being what the audience remembers. Save your summary and key points for after the questions.

Some leaders we know pride themselves on being able to ‘wing it’. If you want to achieve a specific outcome you must rehearse. Effective rehearsing would ideally take place in the location of your presentation. Rehearse it all the way through and consider some tough questions you might be asked and your answer. Ideally, get someone you trust to give you feedback to improve your delivery.

These presentation fundamentals work on the basis that people buy an idea emotionally first and then justify it logically (think about any personal purchase you have made recently). Your presentation needs to recognise and leverage this if the audience is to be open to your logical case. By following the steps outlined here, you maximise the chance of achieving your outcome more of the time – something that as managers and leaders we are judged upon.

• Tips for top presentations
  Business & Management magazine, Issue 254, May 2017, p.10-11

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to leading business, finance and management journals. Further reading on presenting well is available through the articles below.