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7 Critical Things to Know Before Giving a Presentation

Presentations can be critical turning points for a company's direction, decision-making, and even your own career. before delivering a presentation, make sure you know the answers to these seven questions..

Presentations are forks in the road. If you succeed in your objectives, you may open the door to a new job, a promotion, or funding for your latest venture, but if you fail, you could leave with a damaged reputation and a lost opportunity. The stakes are too high for you to go on stage and "wing it."

Unfortunately, most people--professionals of all industries and experience levels--don't know how to effectively prepare for a presentation. They focus all their energy on making colorful PowerPoint slides, or try to memorize specific facts with which to wow the audience, rather than taking a look at the fundamental environment in which they'll be presenting. 

Before you even start creating the outline of your presentation, be sure you're asking these seven questions:

1. Who is the audience? This is the first question you should ask, and you shouldn't always assume you know the answer. Pretend you're an entrepreneur and you have a new product, and a friend of yours asks you to present it for his company. It could be your friend and a few of his coworkers you're meeting with, but it could also be the president and board of directors. Each situation would require a different approach and a different level of formality. Understand exactly what types of people are going to constitute your audience--otherwise, you could end up writing for the wrong crowd.

2. How big is the audience? This is another important question that will help you prepare effectively, though it's more about the actual presentation than the writing process itself. With a large audience, you'll need to be concise, direct, and fast-paced to keep their attention, looking around the room for eye contact and generally going about your presentation with minimal interruptions. With a small audience, you'll have to pace your presentation more slowly, pausing for potential questions from the audience and gearing your body language to engage fewer participants. If you don't know the exact number attending, a range is often suitable here.

A refreshed look at leadership from the desk of CEO and chief content officer Stephanie Mehta

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.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices 5 essential preparation steps for a successful presentation

by Tom Rielly • June 15, 2020

Keeping your presentation visuals minimalistic, simple, and clear is just one important step to remember when designing a hit presentation. Leaving nothing to chance, great presenters prove quite methodical as they prepare. Here’s a checklist for everything you need to keep in mind before your next presentation:

1. Choose the right software for your needs

The easiest way to select the right presentation software for you is to simply find the one that is native to your device. For example, if you have a Mac, use Apple Keynote, if you work on Windows, use PowerPoint. Google Slides is recommended if you’re working with someone, as it makes collaboration very easy. Another software option is Prezi: a specialty tool called Prezi that creates a presentation using motion, zoom, and panning across one giant visual space.

2. Organize your files

As you develop your script and visuals, you will need to start assembling all the assets for your slides. Create a unique folder on your computer to hold these items. Keep the folder organized by media type (presentation drafts, photos, videos, scripts) and back them up frequently to the Cloud or external disk. Label each file with a specific descriptive name, e.g. “Susan Johnson singing magpie 2020”, as opposed to “IMG_4043.jpg”, which can make it confusing to find your assets. The more organized you are up front, the easier preparing for your presentation will be.

3. Prepare your presentation materials

Make sure your presentation materials (script, graphics, actual slides) are saved in at least two safe spots (for example, your computer and an external USB drive) and are backed-up frequently. If you are using an online presentation software, such as Google Slides, be sure to also download a copy of your presentation in case the internet connection is unreliable. Having all the individual assets on hand in addition to your presentation slides can be helpful if you experience tech issues before presenting, or if you need to make any last minute changes. Make sure to label your final presentation with the title and your name so it’s easy to find.

4. Practice, practice, practice!

Remember, practice makes perfect. People often run out of time making their presentations and have no time to practice. Most TED speakers practice at least ten times. Neuroscientist Jill-Bolte Taylor gave one of the most successful Talks in TED history with nearly 27 million views. How did she do it? She practiced her Talk over 40 times! By rehearsing multiple times you will naturally memorize your Talk, which means you won’t need note cards when you give your final presentation.

5. Do a final test run

Before presenting, make sure the equipment you need is working properly. It’s generally good practice to rehearse standing on the exact stage with the exact lighting using the exact computer that you will be using in your final presentation.

Here’s a quick checklist of what to look for when testing your equipment:

• If you're not using your own computer, the one provided might be slower and have trouble playing media. If you have videos or other media, make sure they play correctly
• Test the projector to make sure it’s HD
• Make sure images are clear
• Test the sound of any clips you use, as this is what goes wrong most frequently
• If you’re using a mic, test the volume

Don’t let technical issues or other blunders overshadow your presentation. By following these guidelines, and with a little preparation, you can engineer out the problems BEFORE they happen.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

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How to Prepare for a Presentation, with Examples

February 15, 2021 - Dom Barnard

This guide covers everything you need to know to prepare for your presentation. including what you need to think about beforehand, during and after the presentation.

1. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse (always aloud)

Once you have your presentation worked out, you will need to practice it, but even though you might think it’s the best way to have a flawless presentation, don’t memorise what you’re going to say.

That might sound like incredibly bad advice, but here’s why:

• If you memorise your speech, you’ll get stuck in thinking you can only deliver your ideas in that way, and that stifles your creativity, and the chance for new thoughts and ways to put things that come up as you speak.

Not only that, but every  audience is different . Sometimes they laugh out loud, sometimes they sit and smile, and you never know which type of audience you’ll have until you’re live.

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If you’re going off a memorised presentation, it’s much more difficult to break away from that to go with the flow on the day, and respond naturally to your audience.

• If you forget your speech in the middle of it, you will be thrown, and you’ll have more chance of complete brain freeze, which really will knock your confidence.
• Memorising your presentation gives you a false sense of security, which could leave you high and dry if something goes wrong. If you’ve only got your memorised speech, for example, what will you do if your PowerPoint freezes or your props break, and you can’t do what you were going to do?

Rehearse in front of colleagues, friends, a mirror, in virtual reality – always aloud. Make sure you spend plenty of time practising your presentation, it will make you feel much more relaxed if you know your material.

Courses where you can rehearse with interactive exercises:

• Essential Public Speaking
• How to Present over Video

Video showing how you can prepare for your presentation using virtual reality.  Learn more about virtual reality training .

2. Memorise your opening line

Do, however, memorise your opening line. If you know how you’re going to begin, you’ll get a strong start and that will build your confidence.

Many speakers and stage actors find that the minute they’ve actually delivered their first line, the nerves are gone and they’re well into their stride.

3. Practise your speech from written notes

Writing your presentation out in your own handwriting will help you clarify your ideas and may well bring you new ones.

• How to Write a Speech to Engage your Audience

4. Practise presentation flow

As well as practising for the ideas and what you want to say, practise how you want your presentation to flow. Think of it almost as a symphony, with high points, slow movements and crescendos. If it’s important, think about how you want your audience to feel, what emotions you want them to have, and when.

5. The power of silence

Don’t be afraid to pause and use the power of silence. A good pause can have a huge emotional impact. It allows people to really absorb what you are saying and react, and it’s vital to pause if you’re using humour so that the next part of your presentation doesn’t get lost underneath people’s laughter.

For more on the ‘Power of the Pause’, watch this short from video Brian Tracy:  The Power of the Pause

• 10 Effective Ways to use Pauses in your Speech

6. Have a backup

There’s nothing worse than the projector dying or finding that your laptop won’t communicate with the projector for some reason. If you know you have a backup, even if it’s only a pre-prepared flip chart, you’ll feel better, and you’ll be more confident.

7. Arrive early

Following on from that, arrive at least half an hour early so you aren’t feeling rushed, and so you have time to check your equipment and get your notes laid out ready to go. That gives you time to breathe and relax before you go on, knowing everything is as set as it can be.

8. Use physical props for a demo

Use physical props, if possible, for a demo. This can make you stand out and be more memorable among all the other speakers who only use PowerPoint, and it can add greatly to the impact of your presentation.

Video showing an example of using physical props during a live demo.

9. Structure your presentation

First, find out how much time you have to present, is it 10 minutes, 15, an hour? Prepare enough material for this time and have a couple of extra slides as backup – we tend to speak much quicker when nervous so you might find you finish your presentation too early. At some large conference events, timings may change on the day, be aware of this have a shorter version of your presentation in mind (i.e. know which slides to skip over).

• How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples
• Examples of Corporate Presentation Structures

10. Prepare for questions

Have a few backup slides for questions you think will arise from your presentation. It is sometime a tactic to explain a section briefly in your speech, so that you get a question about it afterwards. If you don’t understand the question, ask for it to be rephrased.

If there are no questions, it is not an indication how good or bad your presentation was. You many have explain your material extremely well, or simply that people are tired at the end of the day and want to go home.

• Guide for Handling Questions after a Presentation

11. Prepare for where you are presenting

If you can, go to the room you are speaking in before the actual event. It gives you an idea of furniture layout, podium height, location, room size, audience size and lighting. You can then visualise the room while practising and avoid the shock of suddenly being faced with a huge room when you expected a tiny one.

Ask the organiser if you need any particular props, for example a table to help with your live demo.

Additional planning to think about before your presentation:

1. Purpose  – what outcome are we trying to achieve? How can results be measured? What will success look like?

2. Topic  – Novelty? Complexity? Technical?

3. People  – Who should attend? What do they already know? How are they going to help?

4. Timing  – When will it happen and how long will the presentation take?

5. Location  – Where will the presentation be held? Do you have access to the correct facilities for the presentation?

6. Papers  – Who is keeping minutes? Do you need to send out an agenda before the presentation? Background information required?

7. Visual aids  – Is a  projector required ? Boards?

8. Style  – Structure or unstructured, discussion style? How assertive should you be? How should the meeting items be organised?

12. Choose the signals to give to your audience

Before the presentation, think about these 5 topics:

• Eye contact
• Facial gestures
• Body language

Decide how you will use each of these to reinforce your message. Use the table below for help.

Additional courses to help you prepare for your presentation:

• Presentation Skills Training Courses

Example from Steve Jobs

Think about these 10 techniques while you are preparing your presentation..

• Planning in Analog.  Tell a story, create stunning visuals and videos to complement video, use demonstrations and other speakers, keep the audience engaged.
• Creating a Twitter-Friendly Description  Single description sentence, condensed his message into 140 characters.
• Introduce the Enemy  Story needs villains or a problem to be solved. Jobs highlighted IBM and useless mobile phones (during iPhone release) as his villains.
• Focusing on Benefits  Keep reinforcing the benefits of your product, create top 10 lists, understand this is what customers care about.
• Sticking to Rule of Three  Classic Literary technique, things are best remembered and reinforced in threes. Read this article on  Literary Techniques  for more detail.
• Sell Dreams, Not Products  Create a vision people believe in, create a vision which will make people’s lives better
• Create Visual Slides  Use as few words as possible and use colourful graphics on the slide to highlight points.
• Make Numbers Meaningful  Compare large numbers to things people understand.
• Use Plain English  Use easy to say and easy to remember words, keep it simple.
• Large Reveals  Due to Apple secrecy, Jobs was able to deliver unexpected products to the world at his product launches.

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Don’t Let Anxiety Sabotage Your Next Presentation

• Riaz Meghji

Stop focusing on yourself and start focusing on your audience.

If you want to beat speaking anxiety, you need to stop focusing on yourself and point your focus outward. This shift isn’t something that can happen instantaneously. It takes time, patience, and practice. Here’s how to get started.

• Be a giver, not a taker. Takers tend to have more anxiety. They want and need validation from their listeners.
• Givers, on the other hand, are all about service. They do work beforehand to connect with stakeholders and use the information they receive to address the needs of their audience. As a result, their presentation becomes less about them and more about helping the other people in the room.
• If you want to turn your presentation into an act of service, you need to talk to the people in the room — well before your presentation begins.
• Choose about three to five influential leaders, and meet with them before to learn their concerns and goals surrounding the topic you’re presenting on.
• Then, incorporate your findings into you presentation. This will help you shift your focus outwards, from yourself to the audience, and as a result, ease some of your nerves.

How many times have you had an important message to share, only to be sabotaged by anxiety right before you speak?

• RM Riaz Meghji is a human connection keynote speaker, author of Every Conversation Counts: The 5 Habits of Human Connection That Build Extraordinary Relationships and creator of The Magnetic Presenter speaker coaching program. He is also an accomplished broadcaster with 17 years of television hosting experience. Riaz has hosted for Citytv’s Breakfast Television, MTV Canada, TEDxVancouver, CTV News, and the Toronto International Film Festival.  

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15 things to do 15 minutes before a presentation

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Chelsi Nakano October 04, 2014

All that time spent polishing, honing, and rehearsing your presentation… Gone in a split second. You’re on stage, paralysed by fear. You can’t open your mouth. Your heart is beating like a drum, and the fight-or-flight reaction is in full swing.

What’s the best way to beat this terrifying paralysis? The more we can make presenting feel habitual, the less nerve-wracking it will be. This routine made up of 15 simple habits will help you count down to every presentation with less anxiety and better preparedness.

1 5 minutes before your presentation: Walk to the venue.

Many studies have demonstrated that light exercise activates the brain. For instance, scientists at the Salk Institute have shown that walking can improve verbal and spatial memory.

A study at Princeton University , published in the Journal of Neuroscience, demonstrates that light exercise reduces anxiety. But how do you fit this useful activity into your busy schedule? The simplest exercise that you can always do without any equipment is walking. So the next time you have a presentation, why don’t you park a bit further away and make sure that you have a short walk before you reach the venue?

14 minutes before your presentation: Have a mint and drink some water.

No matter how beautiful your presentation looks or how polished your speech is, perpetually clearing your throat—or even worse, not being able to make any sounds at all—will distract your audience.

Add some mints to your packing list and make sure to have them in a bag close to you. Ask for a bottle of water at the venue or carry your own. These steps will ensure that your voice doesn’t suddenly fail you when showtime rolls around.

13 minutes before your presentation: Hit the restroom and check a mirror.

Get into the habit of going to the restroom before a big presentation. There’s another reason to do so besides the obvious. A visit to the restroom gives you a chance to check your appearance in the mirror. Fear can make us vulnerable to serious, even irrational doubt. Checking our general appearance in a mirror can help reassure us that we look just fine.

12 minutes before your presentation: Set up the technology early.

There is nothing worse than having a rush of public speaking anxiety while you are in a full computer meltdown.

Don’t rely solely on the technical team at the venue. Make sure that you know how to connect your laptop to a projector , how to switch between the different video and input modes, and how to put your presentation in fullscreen mode.

Consider bringing a few extra gadgets. A remote allows you to stand further away from the podium. A USB stick with a backup of your presentation can be useful in case your tech does not work.

11 minutes before the presentation: Check your desktop background.

If you already know that you are going to present using your laptop, you have no excuse for embarrassing yourself with your desktop background.

Does it tell a story you want to share with your audience? If it does, way to go—you’ve found a nice way to break the ice. If—as more often happens—your desktop image does not add much to your presentation, or even distracts your audience, go with something from the presets of your computer and save yourself any embarrassment.

10 minutes before your presentation: Practice the first minute of your presentation.

The beginning is the hardest part when it comes to giving presentations. Having the full first minute of your presentation committed to memory will help you at the most critical moment.

As Stephen Lucas writes in The Art of Public Speakin g , “Research has shown that a speaker’s anxiety level begins to drop significantly after the first 30 to 60 seconds of a presentation.”

Having memorized your first 60 seconds can give you a head start in overcoming the hardest part of your presentation. When those first moments have passed and you are still alive, standing and speaking, your fear starts to fade and your confidence starts to grow.

9 minutes before your presentation: Just breathe.

Calming exercises and meditation can certainly help in controlling pre-presentation anxiety, but if you need to deliver a high-energy talk on stage, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to slow yourself down just before stepping on stage.

My suggestion is instead to focus on your breathing. Anxiety stops us from breathing normally. Focus on breathing deeply, and you will find that your heart rate will slow down and you’ll feel less anxious.

8 minutes before your presentation: Stand up.

A study by the Harvard Business School shows that our pose influences how we perceive ourselves. If we make our bodies small, we will feel smaller—that means less powerful, and thus, less convincing on stage. And since you need to be persuasive, it’s much better if you feel big in front of your audience.

Standing will also make your heart rate go up, bringing more blood to the brain and activating more muscles in the body. This will prepare you for a high-energy delivery.

7 minutes before your presentation: Smile.

Your audience will mirror your mood. You don’t need to signal to them how tense you are. In fact, you should show a different side of yourself. The best way to ease your listeners into your presentation is to smile. Smiling is a universal symbol of openness and acceptance—it signals that you welcome your audience.

Moods are contagious. Your smile will make your audience feel more at ease.

6 minutes before your presentation: Meet the audience.

If nobody is talking before you, and you are all set before the time of your presentation, you have a terrific opportunity—time to talk to your audience members individually.

The abstract notion of “audience” will be radically transformed by just talking to one or two of them. They will no longer seem like a menacing group but rather an aggregate of individuals with names, personal stories, needs and aspirations.

This cue comes from Scott Berkun, author of Confessions of a Public Speaker, which highlights how beneficial it can be to have some friendly faces in the audience.

5 minutes before your presentation: Remember, you don’t look as nervous as you think.

Your presentation is about to start and you have a rush of thoughts in your head. Most of them are not calming at all. The good news is that your audience can’t see those thoughts.

Remember, you are the only person that is inside your head. Your audience has no idea how nervous you really are. You are standing in front of them greeting them, talking with them, your technology is already in order, you’re smiling. They will have no clue how you are feeling inside.

Your anxiety is going to be our little secret, right?

4 minutes before your presentation: Control your audience.

Before fear starts controlling you, start controlling your audience. Solicit their opinions. You can ask for a show of hands or ask something very simple and ask them to simply shout their answer. If they comply with some simple “orders” like tweeting with the correct hashtag or raising their hands if they are newcomers, then there is no point in fearing them, right?

3 minutes before your presentation: Never complain.

I’ll be honest—it’s really hard to stick to this one. When glitches happen during a presentation, it’s tempting to give in and complain. But complaining makes your audience focus on a fault, an error, something missing, something broken. You may know that your presentation looked better on a different projector, but your audience doesn’t need to know that. They need to focus on the benefit of your presentation, not on some technical glitch or shortcoming.

2 minutes before your presentation: Transform your fear into energy .

Let go. Don’t block your fear or anxiety. Let it circulate freely in your body and your mind. There is really no way that you can completely control it. You can do one thing, though—use your fear to give you energy and strength. You can limit the negative effects of anxiety as demonstrated in a study conducted by Alison Wood Brooks at Harvard Business School.

Yes, this is a presentation and it requires your alertness and attention. So use your fear to energize yourself, give you more focus, alertness and attention.

1 minute before your presentation: Don’t obsess over small details.

There is a difference between written and oral language. Even native speakers make small mistakes while speaking. It’s normal, and you shouldn’t obsess about it.

Instead of worrying about small details, focus on the big picture. Make sure you cover all the basics and never mind the smaller glitches that may happen during your talk. Nobody but you will recall these details, if they remain in the background of a great event.

Showtime: Just begin!

Your host has introduced you, your first slide is on the screen, and all eyes are on you. Fear strikes. Feel it. React to it by saying one word—the word that begins your presentation. You have rehearsed it and know it by heart. Count mentally to three and begin with your well-rehearsed first minute.

Addendum: Find your own routine. This is my personal routine. It is so ingrained in my public speaking habits that I also have a checklist that I carry around when I’m speaking.

This post was written by Matteo Cassese, author of the innovative and creative presentation training platform Presentation Hero . Matteo is also a consultant and entrepreneur living in Berlin. For more of his writing , you can check out his blog .

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PowerPoint – Where do you stand?

Mannerofspeaking.

• May 15, 2009

Where do you stand with PowerPoint? I am not asking whether you are in favour of PowerPoint or against.  Given the number of excrutiatingly painful PowerPoint presentations to which we have all been subjected, I am sure that the answer would be a resounding “AGAINST!”

No, what I want to know is, where physically do you stand when you give a presentation using PowerPoint? OK, not in front of the screen – that much is a given (although it is surprising the number of people who frequently think that their shirt would serve just as well). But does the side on which you stand matter? In fact, it does.

When giving a slide presentation , you should stand, from the audience’s perspective, to the left of the screen. Why? We read from left to right. Our eyes start at the left of the page, move across, and then jump back. Similarly, it will feel natural for your audience to look at you, follow the (limited!) text or other information on the screen, and then jump back to you.

If you present from the right, your audience will have to look at you, jump to the far end of the screen, and then work their way back. It might not seem like a big point, but it does make a difference. Of course, if your slides are in Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu or other languages that read right to left , then you should stand on the right side of the screen.

There is one important caveat to this advice: it all depends on the layout of the room. We usually have little or no say in terms of the room in which we are speaking. Often, we have to make the best of subprime conditions.  (For those of us who speak, “subprime” is not all that new of a word.)

Depending on the layout, it might be better to speak from a certain position for reasons that trump the left-right PowerPoint consideration.  In such cases, you have to make do.  However, all things being equal, try to speak from the left of the screen to the extent you can.  It’s a little thing, but the little things add up.

Like this article?

I’ve been thinking about this lately, as I’ve heard it before. It’s the conventional wisdom. If I stand on the left of the screen, it’s easy for the audience to go from me to the left of the screen. They end up on the right side of the screen and have to jump all the way back to me. In other words, easy to go from me to the screen, hard to go from the screen to me. If I stand on the right of the screen, it is, as you said, harder (a longer distance) to go from me to reading the screen, but they end up on the right side of the screen and it’s easy to go back to me. Just a short distance back to me. So, 2 questions. If my slides aren’t full of text, it shouldn’t make much difference. And, which do I want to make easy? Going from me to the screen (if I’m on the screen’s left) or going from the screen to me (if I’m on its right)? Maybe I’d like to make it easier for the audience to put their attention back on me.

It’s a fair point, Ellen. Of course it presupposes that (with you on the right) your audience will always look at you when it reaches the end of the line. In fact, I think it equally, if not more, likely that they will get to the end of the text and go back to the next line without getting to you! You do raise the very valid point of not putting too much text on the slides and it is something to which I allude in the post. I also think it helpful to add animations to your different points so that they come in one at a time when you click. That way, your audience reads the point quickly and then returns to you as you expand upon it. If all points appear at once, the audience’s natural inclination will be to read the whole slide. They can read quicker than you can speak, so they will have finished while you are still on the first or second point. Thanks for the comment.

Hey John! Nice blog – way to go! So, here is the quintessential statement I use whenever the topic of PowerPoint comes up, courtesy of Seth Godin: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/01/really_bad_powe.html Cheers! http://www.twitter.com/donpower

Terrific points in all of these articles! You have a fine blog here. Bravo!

John, First off: excellent blog, and great work. The enthousiasm with which you appear to tackle everything in life shows off here as well, with quality content and good suggestions. I appreciate your point about positioning when it comes to Powerpoint. As you rightly pointed out, I feel it depends on the layout of the room and the duration and type of presentation. Depending on the the level of interaction I am trying to get with the audience, I like to move around the room a little. That being said: good tip about staying on the left side – I’ll keep it in mind for future presentations! Ago

Hi – nice point, but don’t forget also that sometimes (sometimes!!!!) it’s entirely appropriate for the audiences attention to stay off the presenter for some time. (For example, if you’re talking about something that’s visually complicated.) S

Thanks for the comment, Simon. You are right. When it comes to public speaking, there are very few “absolutes”. Cheers! John

It’s a great discussion. If you don’t mind the outside link, there’s a good LinkedIn group called “Great Communicators! Effective Presenting & PowerPoint” that is discussing many of the same issues, so I thought people might be interested. If you have a LinkedIn account, you can find it at http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=3153646

Ellen, thanks for the contribution. I’m always happy to have links to good material. That’s what the Internet should be about: sharing information and exchanging ideas. Thanks very much! John

Is there not a case to stand on the left or right depending if you are delivering facts, statistics, etc. or if you are drawing on emotion? These are handled on different sides of the brain and benefit from appropriate delivery. If you are covering both aspects you need to transition during the presentation accordingly.

Hi Mark. You raise an intriguing question and I will give you an honest answer … I don’t know. I have never thought of drawing a correlation between where you stand and what you are talking about. Do you have any insights or experience with the issue?

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John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

Karsta Goetze

TA Leader, Gore and Associates

I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

CEO, Proton Technologies

John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

David Lindelöf

Senior Data Scientist, Expedia Group

After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

Umberto de Pretto

Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

Thomas Scott

National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

General Manager Europe, Hayward Industries

Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

Henning Dehler

CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

Eric Thuillard

Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

Guadalupe Garcia

Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International

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7 Things You Need to do Before a Presentation

A presentation is more than just an opportunity to explain a position or idea; it’s a means to demonstrate the hard work and research you’ve invested into it. And when it comes to preparing for a presentation—any presentation—you need to remember that the way you deliver your presentation is just as important (perhaps even more so) than the actual content.

Yes, that’s right. What you say isn’t necessarily as important as how you say it .

Think back to the last really good presentation you heard. I mean, the one that had you thinking about it for days afterwards. What made it so compelling? Why did it motivate or inspire you?

I’ll tell you why: Because the speaker engaged you .  That was no accident! He or she didn’t walk up to the podium and wing it.

How to Prepare for a Presentation?

There’s a ton of preparation that goes on behind the scenes of an amazing presentation. We know because it’s our business to teach you the fundamentals of public speaking. What you may not realize is the preparation stage goes further than just jotting down some notes and practising in front of a mirror. A stellar presentation takes a lot of time, a lot of energy, and… oh yes… a lot of practice. Here are seven key things you need to do before any presentation:

• Do Your Research —Regardless of whether or not you are an expert in your field, there is always something new to learn. Do a thorough investigation before plotting your presentation to see if there are any new developments that could be relevant to your subject or to your audience. And make sure you really know your material. It will eliminate the dreaded “umms” and “uhs” that we’ve all come to hate. It’s a sure sign you’re not as knowledgeable or prepared as you should be.
• Know Your Audience —No two presentations should ever be the same. I don’t care if it’s the 12th time this month that you’ve talked about the same subject. You may not have to start from scratch every time, but at least put the effort into finding out who’s going to be in your audience and tailor your presentation in a way that will appeal to them. The same jokes you told a business crowd at a breakfast meeting are probably going to fall flat with your daughter and her fellow third-graders on Career Day.
• Craft Your Notes —Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you can’t do your presentation without it being written down, you probably can’t do it at all. Don’t write a speech. Ever. Instead, craft notes to jog your memory on your speaking points. Glance at them periodically to keep you on track. Take those notes and practice with them every day until you don’t need them anymore. (But take them with you anyway… people tend to get forgetful in front of a crowd.)
• Practice Your Delivery —Your notes will help you prepare what you are going to say, but I’ve already told you what you say doesn’t keep a crowd engaged. So grab a video camera, your cell phone… anything with a video recording option and get in front of it. Record yourself delivering your presentation and give yourself an honest critique: Do you use effective body language? Do you walk around and interact with the crowd? How is your posture? If you can’t give yourself an honest critique, enlist a friend or family member to take a look and point out areas for improvement. Then practice, practice, practice.
• Dress For Success —As I mentioned before, every bit of a great presentation is intentional, including the speaker’s choice of clothing. Take special attention the next time you see someone speaking (usually a politician) who’s trying to appeal to blue-collar workers. Do you know what they’ll be wearing? A blue-collared shirt with their sleeves rolled up. Your attire should match the audience. Wearing a tuxedo to deliver a speech at a ground-breaking ceremony for a new chemical plant just doesn’t make sense.
• Get a Good Night’s Sleep —Make sure you look alert and refreshed by getting plenty of rest the night before a presentation. A drowsy mind is a forgetful mind. And the bags under your eyes won’t do you any good, either.
• Prepare Your Space —Arrive with enough time ahead of your presentation to properly prepare the space you’ll be using. Make sure your slides are in order and that any equipment you’ll be using is functioning properly to avoid embarrassing hiccups and delays during your presentation. Place your speaking notes in a logical spot and get yourself a glass of water. Spend a few quiet minutes mentally preparing.

Be the speaker that has inspired you. Think back to the speeches you’ve heard or the people who’ve appealed to you and strive to make that same connection with your audience. Preparation is key. There’s no such thing as an off-the-cuff winning presentation, so invest some time into yourself and your audience. And of course, we’re always here to help when you need to spend a little extra time brushing up on your skills.

Have you ever had a presentation or speech that you were completely unprepared for? Let us know in the comment section below, and if this topic has helped you, share it on social media to help those in your circles as well!

10 Comments

I need to spend more time preparing for presentations than I do.  I used to prepare more but i think I;m getting lazy the older I get.

I love how you touched on knowing your audience. A lot of people tend to forget this and in turn, end up being forgettable. You want to really connect with who you are speaking to in order to be remembered and thought about after the presentation is over. I have talked to many people who will touch on all the point mentioned but tuning yourself to your audience. 

I agree with John. I have gotten a little lazy and probably a lot boring because I’ve done my presentation so many times. I need to revisit what prep looks like. Thanks

I’ve tried ‘winging it’ only to discover I looked pretty foolish. Preparation is the key.

Off-the-cuff is definitely not good. I think we’ve all tried that strategy (and failed).

I liked the point about dressing for success. People put so much thought into what they’re going to say. They don’t think about what their outfit says.

People don’t realize just how much of a benefit a good night’s sleep can be. It’s not something you’d expect to help your public speaking, but it makes a lot of sense.

Really happy to read this blog. its valuable information for me ,thank you

Wonderful article! We are linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the great writing.

I disagree, some people need a script just to take a dump. That’s not me. I don’t work well with scripts, they’re too confining, and my best presentations have been off the top of my head. I am an improver and always will be.

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Why Do We Need to Prepare for a Presentation?

Why should you prepare?

1. to identify your audience, 2. to remember all the content, 3. to be confident in your delivery.

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4. To avoid mistakes

5. to be sure your content is interesting.

6. To be sure you stick to the point

7. to avoid stiffness in speech, what happens if you don't prepare.

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Google Slide Presentations

2nd -  5th  , google slides, 5th -  6th  , powerpoint & presentations, 7th -  8th  , colon semi colon, 5th -  8th  , 1st -  2nd  , transition words and phrases, la ropa vocabulary quiz, 9th -  12th  , tales of a fourth grade nothing.

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• 1. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt What is a predefined combination of colors, fonts and font effects, that can be applied to your presentation? Picture Style Footer Thumbnail Theme
• 2. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt What is the main advantage of using templates and other presentations to create a new presentation? They save time designing slides and allow you to focus on the content They give you access to additional slide layouts They allow you to include more slides They automatically fill-in content and allow you to spend more time on designing slides
• 3. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Before starting your presentation, you should______. Know the audience Have a clear goal Create all of the graphics A and B
• 4. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Why would you use the insert picture from file command? To add an image saved on your computer To search for images in clip art To add video or audio to a slide All of the above
• 5. Multiple Choice Edit 1 minute 1 pt What should you change if you want one particular slide to have a different arrangement of text box placeholders? Font Effect Slide Layout Theme Clip art
• 6. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt TRUE OR FALSE: Try to put as much info into each slide, to limit the number of slides. True False Moo
• 7. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Which of the following are valid ways to create a new presentation? Based on a template Based on another existing presentation From scratch with a blank presentation All of the above
• 8. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Why should you ask questions during a presentation? Reduce the amount of text To engage the audience Create fewer slides Question slides have fewer graphical elements
• 9. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt What is a template? Extra info included at the top of a slide A design layer that coordinates the colors and fonts of a presentation Extra info included at the bottom of a slide A present starting file designed and formatted for a specific purpose
• 10. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt TRUE OR FALSE: Every presentation should have a beginning, a middle and an end? True False Don't select the fourth option!!!!!
• 11. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt TRUE OR FALSE: It's always better to add more graphic elements to a slide. True False Its one of them
• 12. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt TRUE OR FALSE: Every presentation should have a clear goal. True False
• 13. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Selecting the blank presentation option allows you to start a presentation from____. A template A clean slate An image An idea
• 14. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt What is a collection of illustrations and photographs that can be searched to find images for your presentation? Shapes Effects Clip art Drawing tools
• 15. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Which view shows thumbnails of a presentations slides, making it easy to rearrange them? Slide sorter Slide show Normal Notes page
• 16. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Which button allows you to preview the presentation as the audience will see it? Slide sorter Normal view Notes page Slide show
• 17. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Can you open a web site from within a PowerPoint presentation? Yes; just because No; there is no feature in that allows this Maybe; depends on the on the web site address Yes; your best option would be to use Hyperlink
• 18. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Can captions be added to a photo album? Yes No Maybe I don't know
• 19. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt What Ribbon would you select to create a photo album? The other button Home Insert Design
• 20. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Which of the following statements is TRUE?! Action buttons are predefined shapes Because of MEOW!! Only texts objects and shapes can be defined as hyperlinks

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