6 Ways to Give a Kick-Ass Presentation

Published in

Lunchbox Technologies

5 min readMar 30, 2019

I have been a shy kid for as long as I can remember. So I was naturally bad at public speaking. I mean I absolutely sucked ass. But at the mere age of fifteen, as I was watching the greatest entrepreneurial movie of all time, Scarface, it dawned on me that I too had a thing or two to say.

Giving presentations to a public audience can be scary as hell. But, then again, it doesn’t have to be. Now pay attention for the next five minutes, and I’ll have you ready to be the next Tim Apple. (You’ll at least be much, much better than Trump.)

1. Tell a story

Anyone can list a set of data points and spit out a conclusion. You’re not just anyone. You’re someone who will be remembered, someone who engages an audience to the point where they want to stay after and chat with their new hero. You’re someone who goes above and beyond to create, share and personalize an experience that will end with a standing ovation. For that type of performance, you need a good story.

When mapping out your points, begin with your goal, or conclusion. What point are you trying to make? Reinforce that point with cited research, data and personal findings. Create an introduction that touches on these points just enough to hook your audience, but not enough to give away all of the answers. Then, re-structure your story so it has a clear beginning (introduce!), middle (conflicts! data! support!) and end (conclude!). If it makes sense to create a series of stories with data and numbers in between, do it that way. Be bold. Break the mold. This presentation has your name on it, nobody else’s.

Have fun with it. Break up facts with short anecdotes and humor. Slide in some relevant pop culture references. Allow the audience to relate. If your passion shines through and you’re having fun up there, your audience will be more likely to get (or stay!) on board.

2. Commit to YOU

Who are you? Be true to yourself, especially when in front of a group of strangers. Whether a (perhaps charming?) smart-ass, classic comedian, or a straight-up nerd, commit to it. You will never be loved by all, so you might as well be comfortable with who you are. Once this concept clicks, your stage nerves will be reduced ten-fold. Besides, brand consistency is always a win.

3. Don’t leave room for surprises

You may have prepared the best damn presentation of your lifetime, and still get thwarted by a lack of knowledge of the place in which you will be presenting. Don’t rely on a middle man, show up early and go down to the auditorium or cafeteria or charmingly makeshift stage yourself and study it. Bring spare dongles. Play with the mic until you can adjust it smoothly, with confidence. Note the brightness and color scheme of the stage (extra points to you for managing to choose an outfit that stands out but does not distract). If there are stairs, walk up and down a few times. Conquer any potential tripping fears. Say hi to the tech team; you’ll want them on your side for this one. Test the audio on the mic as well as the projector/computer/speaker system if applicable. Cover your bases!

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4. Know your strengths

If you’re a bad public speaker and you know it clap your hands — and take advantage of the power of visuals. A beautiful presentation can make up for a few stammers or too many valley girl-esque filler “likes.” On the flip side, if you’re a very strong public speaker, make sure your visuals aren’t a distraction. Do a run-through in front of a smart person (better yet, a smart group of people) you trust. They’ll let you know if you’ve found the aesthetically-appropriate balance.

5. The three P’s: Practice, practice and… practice

If you’re a fellow procrastinator, all it takes is one very awkward failure of a presentation to learn that procrastination is not the way to go in this particular context. If you’d like to get that lesson out of the way now, I have no problem saying, “I told you so.” In fact, come back and hit the comments section just so I can personalize the sentiment. No. Seriously, practice way, way before you hit the stage. I’m talking weeks, not hours or days. Instead of memorizing, I advise that you simply familiarize. Begin by creating the presentation, and assigning blocks of information (story blocks!) per adjacent slide. Every block of info, assign one word that prompts recall. Write that one word on a notecard, creating a series of notecards from which you will practice reciting the storyblock. Not verbatim, necessarily, but with certainty and crystal-clear logic.

A little trick, dating back to when I was forced to memorize and recite to my English class, an 8-stanza Shakespeare passage: from the passage, write down in your own words everything that happens. Simplify it, even to the most comedic degree. Once you understand it, you may then focus on the original words. Your presentation will be monumentally easier than reciting Shakespeare, because you’ve created the language in the first place. Writing it in a different way, or even multiple ways, will allow your brain to navigate the information in a way that it will really stick, even when outside variables are re-introduced (added nerves, crowd chatter, distracting lights, etc.)

6. There is always room for improvement.

Plant a trusted colleague in the back with a video camera (Loners, buy a tripod). Film the whole thing, from before you set foot on stage to when the lights go all the way down. This is your time to get better. Play it back a couple of days after the presentation, after you’ve taken in any outside feedback. Cringe at all of your mistakes, and force yourself to learn from them. Applaud yourself during the most powerful moments. Next time, make more of those.

There. You’re practically Obama. Or Amelia Earhart.