How to present like a pro in 5 steps

At some point, we’re all going to have to present something. Whether it’s a toast at a wedding, a pitch to a VC team, or the outcome of a AB test, it’s going to happen to you.

No matter how hard you avoid it, the corporate/professional world for some reason is synonymous with having to get up in front of people, speak, and answer questions.

Some of us love presenting. It gets us excited, we can’t wait to stand up in front of a room, ride the wave, and share something we’re passionate about.

For others... it’s practically our worst nightmare.

To those that love presenting - get to it! Congrats!

And to those that would rather get a root canal... read on. Here are five steps that may not make you love presenting, but, they’ll at least let you take control of the process so you can feel (a tiny bit more) prepared.

So what are we covering here?

Step 1: Get context

Step 2: Craft content

Step 3: Practice, practice, practice

Step 4: Cut loose

Step 5: Celebrate!

Step 1: Get context

Most of us as humans want to dive right in and tell the story exactly how we want to tell it. In fact, a story is more powerful when it considers our audience. Think if you decided to present an embarrassing story to your friends versus your parents versus your colleagues - you likely will make some slight shifts in what you share and how you share it.

This is the same thing. We don’t live in a vacuum and in order to be persuasive, we need to ensure that we’re developing is considering who we’re speaking to. So before you jump into writing that lengthy email that no one reads... ask yourself these questions to ensure you’re creating something useful.

1. Who is this presentation for?

2. What do these individuals need to know from this presentation?

3. What do we want them to walk away with?

4. What are we asking of them?

5. What other information is important to ensure they understand what we’re sharing?

Start with these questions to make sure you’re not diving deep into something, skipping over important details, etc. The same presentation may look the same for multiple parties, but the way you tee it up or share it could shift whether you’re talking to the CEO, an external client, or your manager.

Step 2: Craft content

Writing content may not come easily to all of us. So here are some questions that can help you get started.

1. What am I trying to share?

2. What needs to be included?

3. What doesn’t need to be included?

4. What is my goal with this content?

5. How can I tell this story in a compelling way?

Start with an outline of the content.

Pro-tip, consider these high headers: Summary (The TLDR for an executive with the clear takeaways and ask), Introduction/Background, Details, Round-up, Appendix/Reference Materials

Then, start flowing your content into whatever presentation style you want. Add as much as feels right - we can always cut down later!

Step 3: Practice, practice, practice

Practice makes perfect, right? But no one really wants to practice. And it’s a huge miss. Write out your presentation, and then present it. Not convinced you want to do that? Here are five reasons why you should.

1. Practicing a presentation (out loud) helps you capture any grammatical or spelling errors

2. Practicing a presentation (out loud!) let’s you know how long it will take you present - cutting off a couple minutes since most of us speed up when we’re nervous

3. Practicing a presentation (with an audience) let’s you see where the stumble blocks are, what information is missing versus what information is over indexed on

4. Practicing a presentation (with an audience) let’s you access feedback on your presentation style and format

5. Practicing a presentation let’s your capture your “cheat sheet” of notes - what are some of the anecdotes you want to share? Capture one word that let’s your brain hit on that. What is the thing you want to hit extra hard on? Write down a word to remind you. The “cheat sheet” can look like chicken scratch, but, it’s your secret sauce to make sure you don’t forget anything that’s not on a slide

Step 4: Cut loose!

We have our presentation that’s crafted perfectly for our audience. We have our cheat sheet of notes of what to hit on, we know how long it’s going to take, and we are READY TO GO.

Now what?

We have to loosen up. Free up those nervous jitters before your presentation. There’s no way you can answer every question ahead of time - there will ALWAYS be surprises. But, we know we did our best.

So, take time to loosen up! Here are three things that can help:

1. Move! Get up out of your chair and move! Whether it’s jumping jacks, a quick run, or a little dance party... make sure to release all that nervous energy

2. Laugh! Watching stand-up comedy, doing a round of improv or a silly warm-up vocal exercise is going to help you feel good.

3. Pep talk! Before we go into a presentation remind yourself: I’m good at what I do. I know my stuff. My work is strong. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. You did the work. You can do the meeting.

Now get in there and rock it!

Step 5: Celebrate!

It is HARD work to prepare a presentation. No matter what the outcome is (more work? pivoting? dropping a project?!) celebrate the work you put into it. Personal go-to is a doughnut, but you choose yours!

Are you struggling to navigate tricky communication moments in your organization? Let’s talk about it!