Let me start off with some numbers (because they always tell the truth).
50% or more (perhaps even 80%) of success comes from preparation.
You see, a presentation is an honour, not a chore, so you shouldn't treat it as such.
You have to prepare yourself in the best way possible to deliver & get the chance to do it again in the future.🤷
You are an experienced, high-level executive. Thorough preparation is essential & others (including your boss and company stakeholders) can see it.
They can also clearly see if you come unprepared without giving much prior thought to the details.
Let me help with this! 👇
Today, I gathered the 𝗧𝗼𝗽-𝟳 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.
This is not an exhaustive list, but my year-long experience with top-notch executives helped me narrow down the essentials as follows.
✔️ 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. The better you know who will attend, the more you can tailor your presentation to their needs. Demographics matter, as well as the specific goals, needs, or challenges the audience has.
✔️ 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹. What do you want to achieve? What action do you want to trigger? Be as clear and realistic as possible.
✔️ 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁. It’s often given to you by your superiors or decided by the dynamics of your work. However, you can decide on the perspective and perhaps a twist that will help you achieve your goal.
✔️ 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀. The more you know about the size of the room, seating, the equipment you will use, or other arrangements, the more in control you will feel (hence much calmer).
✔️ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆. Morning dynamics are much different than evening ones, and they can help you customize your presentation to cater to the specific needs of your audience at that specific time.
✔️ 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵. How much time do you have to deliver? 20 minutes may be more than enough. Shorter presentations are going to be a stretch. Longer ones may need more creative material to keep your audience.
✔️ 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹. You may need to have extra material, like data, charts, or graphs, to support your sayings & slides. Be one step ahead to avoid awkward situations.
Having covered all these points will make you feel in control of the presentation & help you anticipate potential issues to address.
It’s a matter of caring about your performance & the impression you give to others & respect for your audience. 💞
Next time you have a presentation scheduled, make sure to go over this list well in advance.
In the meantime, contact me for any questions or help you need with your presentations.
No robot or automation there, just me, #theRealCecile, 🙌 to respond to your message as soon as possible & connect.