How To Deliver A Winning Presentation
Giving a winning presentation is key to any business success. Being able to present in a professional way is an absolute must for anyone. No matter what kind of profession you are in, you will have to win and convince others. Your success strongly depends on how you communicate your business, your start-up and your ideas.
Presenting is deeply embedded in everything we do. Sales, marketing, customer service and of course leadership all require advanced presentation skills in order to win.
Last September a well known company wanted to sell their service to me. Their presentation sucked and they made no apologies about it. They broke several fundamental rules which made it easy for me not to invest into their service.
How to deliver a winning presentation or speech
- Work with a team
Find the right people that will give you feedback, inputs and help you with your content.
Most of the time we are too deeply involved with a subject and know all the details. This could make it difficult to focus on the key facts.
A good team or a presentation coach will help to cut off from unnecessary information and deliver a presentation that will focus on the interest of your listeners. - Create a story
Storytelling is the heart of any good presentation. In former times the best presenters were the best storytellers.
Frame your content with a story. Start with a story – continue with facts, that are important for your audience – finish with the story.
Make sure you use a descriptive language throughout your presentation. - Be yourself – be authentic
The worst thing a presenter can do is trying to be someone else. Rather concentrate on how to get your subject across and share information that is important to your audience (not what you think is important). Never read notes or slides. It comes across as not coming from your heart. If an audience cannot feel your passion for your presentation, they will not accept your proposal. - Timing
Stick to your given timeframe – or even shorter. Why? Our attention spans have dropped from 12 minutes to five to eight minutes. (Infographic)
Fill this time with the main information that is important to your listeners. (and cut the rest). Ever wondered why most TED talks are 18 minutes? Check out this article. - Practice
In my opinion this is the most important part of all. Plan enough time for this and be ready for changes. By rehearsing you will find out if your presentation is powerful or boring.
If you don’t feel any passion while rehearsing, be ready to re-write your presentation. Focus on a clear and interesting message and make it easy for the audience to digest.
A note on rehearsing: Carmine Gallo wrote in his book, The presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: “For two full days before a presentation, Jobs would practice the entire presentation, asking for feedback from product managers in the room. For 48 hours, all of his energy is directed at making the presentation the perfect embodiment of Apple’s messages.”
Now you have some ideas of how to create a winning presentation.
No matter if you speak to a small or to a large group, audiences are giving you their time. Make the most out of it and surprise them with the most valuable presentation ever.
If you want to improve you business speaking skills check in on High Impact Speaker
