Delivering a presentation — from starting with your first idea, right to the moment you leave the stage.
“Hello …”
Now you know how I have started every single one of my many keynote presentations over the last 10 plus years. No rocket science there, but there are some more details I’d like to share about delivering a talk. A good one, that you enjoy delivering and people remember.
As somebody that has worked within design, marketing, developing user experiences, social media/community management, and many other roles — I’ve often found myself in front of crowds sharing my knowledge and personal experience covering topics ranging from; The importance of a strong visual brand, Business finance in the Australian market, creating a social media plan, sharing my story of living with anxiety and depression and many more topics.
Pretty diverse subject matters there — huh?.
All to different audiences, all in different environments and all different styles of delivery — however, the same process of preparation.
Let's start at the beginning. The very beginning. Like before you’re anywhere near that stage.
I find when I’m helping people prep for a presentation they are keen to talk about what to do on the day, but it’s the lead up where we need to start. So slow down. Take time to really think before you’re anywhere near the stage and surprisingly, when you’re up on stage you’re prepared and it’ll go smoothly on the day.
The first thing I do is I always ask myself this question;
“What is the one thing I want people to walk away with after seeing my talk?”
A single thought and I write that down in my notebook. That is my “true north” for the rest of the process of creating my presentation, if it doesn’t relate to that idea — then I drop it like it’s hot.
Next, I ask myself …
“Simon, who is going to be sitting in that audience?”
Using my design thinking hat I create that persona of the audience, it is the reminder for me as I’m creating my presentation. This helps me understand my audience, consider what they want from the session and make sure I’m creating the strongest connection. While I’m the main attraction on stage (ha!) it’s more about that audience, it’s their wants and needs I need to focus on.
Again, this adds to my true north for my presentation creation. If it’s not going to be relevant to my audience, then … drop it like it’s hot.
With these things in mind, I begin putting the deck together.
Using a deck? Here are some pointers.
First one — Not every presentation requires a deck.
I’ve seen too many presentations where people create a PowerPoint deck, and they fly through it. Quickly skipping through slides that are full of information but utter the phrase “… since we are short on time I’ll move along through these …” and they skip slides and leave the audience confused as to why there is even a slide deck on screen.
So I want you to really ask yourself …
If you answered yes, let’s go through some pointers;
- You’re telling a story. Construct your presentation like your favourite film or novel, it has a beginning — middle and an end. (However, no need for a surprise plot twist.)
- The big one I always see but I say is unless you really need one — no agenda slide! Just start with a strong message and go from there. If you’ve only got a short timeslot, don’t waste your time on stage talking about what you’re going to be talking about — just talk! But, if you have a long presentation, give a brief overview of what you’re covering and refer back to this along the way for your audience.
- Keep your text on each slide to a minimum, people are there for you, not words on a screen.
- Consistent and big fonts, so that person way down the back of the room can see clearly.
- Keep your slide layout simple, don’t feel the pressure to cram everything onto one slide. If that same point or topic needs to be spread across a few slides, then do it. It allows your audience to take this new information in as bite-sized chunks.
- Avoid videos during your presentation, unless you’re talking over the top of them. It breaks the rhythm of a presentation. Fine to have one before you start on stage or as you leave.
- Position all the content in the vertical top 2/3 of the slide, again so that person at the back of the room can see.
- One key message per slide!
- Include slides to help you pause. (more on this later)
- And an optional feature I do — hashtags at the base of the presentation.
Let me expand on that final point.
While I rehearse my presentation beforehand, I’ve been using this little trick on my presentations quite a bit over the years to help me on stage. I keep the content on my slides to a minimum but I still give myself visual cues with the use of hashtags at the base of the slide.
I can see them, the audience might see the hashtags but I use these as the triggers in my head of all the things I need to cover off while on that slide — however, the audience remains focused on my main slide point.
This allows me to be free-flowing, without all of the audience seeing the points I’ll cover off. It allows me to position myself in the middle of the stage without the need for notes, but these are my backups, if I happen to lose my way.
Also for those eagle eyes in the audience, I’ll include the occasional joke hashtag at the end. It’s always great to see somebody smirking when they notice one of the joketags.
Here is a slide I used at a keynote to Mortgage Brokers in the financial services sector while delivering a presentation about digital disruption in their industry.
It follows my suggestions; clean design, main content will be visible to anybody in the room, one clear message per slide and my hashtag pointers for my reference down the bottom — if I need them.
The presentation is looking great — let’s rehearse.
It’s cliche but it is really something I suggest you get into the habit of doing this — no matter your presentation size, audience, internal or external.
When I’m prepping for a presentation in front of a few hundred people or to 10 people in a meeting room in the office, I’ll always spend time rehearsing in the lead-up.
Now if your idea with rehearsing is just reading it through your presentation in your head, I’ve got some news for you — how you say it in your head compared to how you will articulate it out loud are two very different speeds.
Timing is key when delivering a presentation, so don’t skip practice.
I suggest you find a room or space and be LOUD! If you’re at work and self-conscious find a meeting room or if you feel safer doing at home, then go with that. You be you! My dog has been my practice audience and has heard many of my presentations beforehand, he’s quite the expert these days.
Hearing the words come out of your mouth will make you question everything. You feel how it sounds, this process allows you to change your presentation and adapt your story.
I have a certain space, my workshop in the backyard, where I have a small mirror and I use that as the area where I can stand, practice and adjust my presentation. I’m a creature of habit. So I try to use the same space each time to rehearse, it allows me to feel safe and comfortable. In some way, when I’m on stage looking out to a sea of people I feel like I’m just standing in my workshop.
The more you do these presentations, the more natural this will come to you but never skip the basics. Every big band out there still has rehearsal time, every Broadway production still spends time fine-tuning their act before show time — your presentation to your audience should be no different.
Have you written a script to learn word for word? Great. Throw it away.
Sure it’s good to have a structure of what you want to say, but do not learn this word for word.
When I’m rehearsing the one thing I’m always keeping in the back of my head is “stay loose”. I never want to learn a script or sound like I’m reading a script because when you’re on stage and you forget where you are in that script you’ll find it hard to recover on the spot. It’s too much pressure you don’t need on the day.
I often find people will spend their time aiming to be word perfect with a script and they aren’t natural on stage. Audiences are smart, they’ll see through that and you’ll lose your connection with them. I remind myself that nobody is expecting me to be perfect, the audience wants to see a person on stage, not a robot, and they will often warm to me more when I own my flaws and show my human side.
My tip is “Learn the key triggers in your head.”
Those hashtags I mentioned earlier, they are my triggers. Those are my fallback if I need them, my simple terms to spark what I need to say next.
Remind yourself that you’re most likely talking about something you do every day of the week and it will come naturally to you — it’s really just about how your order the story with for the audience to understand.
Control what you can control.
If you’re delivering a presentation in a meeting room, get in there before the meeting and be set up, test everything beforehand. Figure out where you’ll stand, where they’ll sit.
When you’re speaking at a big conference room, I would suggest trying to understand the room before the day. If you can, get to the venue early or ask when they are doing set up the day before and get there to check it out.
Test your presentation, understand the room, get a feel for how the lights will shine into your eyes, how the seats are positioned, how the stage might make a noise as you walk around, is there one screen?, a fallback screen for you to view?, if you have a video — test it, understand how your voice might echo; all these things and more are small but if you equip yourself with this knowledge before you get up on stage then you’ll be able to stay focused and deliver your presentation.
I understand it’s not always possible given the scenario, but if you’re delivering a presentation of any size — think about what things you can control before you start and control them.
Accept the fact it’s going to be scary.
I’m not going to say “the more you do this, the less nervous you’ll be” … because you’re human and as humans, we fear the unknown and with a presentation there is always going to be a little element of the unknown and therefore there will always be an element of fear. So own it!
When you overcome fear, boy oh boy is that adrenaline rush exciting! I’ve delivered over a hundred presentations in my career and I still get nervous each time. It’s human nature, you’re not alone. Reminding myself those butterflies are normal each time stops me losing focus on what I’m there for … delivering that one key message I wrote down at the start of this journey.
Time to hit the stage!
We are there now, it’s time to get up on stage. Finally!
But before we do (I know, I know) let’s do one more thing. Trust me, this one is worth it.
Who are your allies in the crowd? Find those friendly faces in your audience.
Before I’m talking at a large event, I walk around introducing myself to people as it’s part of my job but it also allows me to get an idea of the mood in the room and also find my allies. If I find a “friendly” engaging person I ask where they are sitting and I’ll keep an eye out for them when I’m on stage. If there are other speakers on before me, I watch the crowd to see movement, laughter or any sign of life from audience members.
Why?
They are my allies while I’m on stage. I look to them to gauge reaction on how I’m going while on stage. These are the audience members I make eye contact with, take energy from and aim to form that connection with. They are the ones I look for amongst the crowd and will help spread the engagement to the masses.
Knowing the audience is handy. If there is an MC for the conference you’re talking at, check in with them on the day and get their feeling for the crowd. They’ve most likely been up and down / on and off the stage and would know what is working that day for the crowd — if you feel comfortable, make some adjustments to your presentation to make it fly.
Now, back to walking on to the stage — time to stand and deliver.
Where and how you stand on the stage is extremely important, let’s start with where to stand on stage.
Find what works for you, but here is some advice with what has worked for me over the years. I walk onto the stage smiling and standing tall, I want to show people I’m happy to be there. I always walk to the middle of the stage, a few steps back from the front of the stage and begin my introduction.
As I start my intro I slowly move to the front of the stage and by the time at the end of my introduction I’m standing very close to the edge of the stage, in the middle — so my audience feels connected with me. This short period of time allows me to move a bit, get myself comfortable on stage and focus. A remember this is always about me on stage, this allows my audience to spend time assessing me “Who is this guy?” … before I settle in the space I’m going to spend the next 40 mins or so standing and commanding their attention.
Lesson time.
When I started doing this presenting thing, I used to walk around on stage quite a bit and for some people this works but for me I stopped doing it. I found it distracted me, so I almost plant my feet in an area and remain centre stage. One foot slightly in front of the other, making sure I’m standing in a natural way.
It goes without saying, body language is important. I’m a tall guy, just shy of 200cm, and standing tall while you’re on stage or while everybody else is sitting down does feel overwhelming sometimes but you need to stand tall and confident.
How should you be on stage?
Be you! Just maybe with a little bit more normal energy than you would be on a normal day. Remember, you need to be you but you also need to be entertaining — right?
There is a wide range of speaker types that work for various personality types out there, the aim is to understand your normal style and as Spinal Tap would say “turn it up to 11”.
The opening statement.
Know your audience. Don’t make a joke unless you know it’s going to connect — nothing like a joke bombing straight up. If I need an ice breaker, I might refer to something I enjoyed from a previous presenter, or during the day at the conference or relate something back to my intro from the MC for the day. Just something to help me get comfortable before I start my main presentation.
Again, you be you and find what works for you in these situations.
What do I do with my hands?
The first bit of advice — be aware of them. They are your tools in engaging with the audience but they can be your worst nightmare too.
I had some great advice of locking my elbows against my hips and having my hands naturally in front of me. I start by holding them together and as I begin to feel comfortable on stage, I start to move my hands and arms slightly. Always aware not to make big massive gestures, but moving my hands in a natural manner to connect with the points I’m discussing, the process I’m explaining or whatever it might be — however I will always bring my hands back together when I finish covering off one topic and I’m about to move onto another topic.
This is a visual cue to my audience that I have finished a section, and I’m ready to move on to the next theme — topic or part of my presentation.
Pause. Yep. Take a moment.
Often I’ll see a presenter fly through their presentation, covering section after section without taking a moment to let their audience catch up. The dramatic pause is so important, it allows your audience to digest the topic you’ve been talking about and gives them a breather before you move onto your next topic.
It’s important to include slides in your presentation that allow you to pause, make them be different colours / style to your main slides. It’s the visual cue that what you’ve just been talking about has wrapped up — you’re now moving onto a new idea.
Now, combine this with your hand gestures — you’re suddenly in sync with your slides and you. Remember your audience is hearing this content for the first time, give them a rest every now and then and it allows you to compose yourself too.
I often use the line “… with that in mind, let's move on.” and I’ll pause for a few seconds coming to the new section slide and hand movement altogether. It’s really simple and your audience won’t even realise it, but they’ll appreciate it.
A short few second pauses on stage feels incredibly awkward, I won’t lie. It’s silence in the room. All these eyes looking at you … but, it’s so important and you’ll find that adding in those little pauses every so often will keep your audience engaged.
PANIC MOMENT!
I’m on stage, 500 people looking at me and I’ve forgotten what I was going to say. OH NO! … guess what, they didn’t know what I was going to say in the first place. PHEW.
I’ve been there, no amount of prep can avoid the dreaded brain fart on stage where you just forget what you were going to say.
This is why I keep my slides to a minimum, nothing worse than having a point on a slide that you skip over because you can’t remember the words to go with that point. If it isn’t up there on the screen, it’s easy to move on and the audience won’t know any different.
The “thank you”.
When you wrap up, don’t run for the side of the stage. Say thank you and own that stage. You’ve just worked your ass off for weeks leading up to this presentation, this is your time to enjoy your reward. If it’s gone well, smile and embrace the appreciation from the crowd. Be proud!
Finally — borrow styles, ideas and delivery methods from others.
While speaking at many conferences around Australia I’ve watched a number of talented Australian and international speakers deliver their presentations and I’ve borrowed bits from their styles that suit me. So if I can, I always make sure to watch speakers for the entire day and learn what others are doing well, and if I see a first timer on stage — I’ll chat with them afterward to see how it felt for them.
On that, I’ll make sure if I see somebody that inspires me I will pick their brain on their techniques, process, and prep.
Get feedback, and listen to it.
I always, always, always ask for feedback on how I went. If there is an MC at the conference, I’ll ask them before I get up on stage to give me feedback afterward. I want to get an idea if my initial approach was on the money or way off.
It is the only way I’ll become better at delivering a presentation and create presentations that my audience not only enjoys but mainly, retains that key a single key message I wrote down in my notebook weeks earlier.
That’s it! Now you’re good to go and deliver that kickass presentation.
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If you would like to get in touch with me for any advice on public speaking or have me speak at one of your events, please get in touch. Currently, I can be found speaking on behalf of my work at AFG to all our amazing customers across the country.
You can follow me on Twitter at @sunky or via LinkedIn for more related chatter.
