How to Be a Great Presenter (And Why it Can Change Your Life)
Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash
If you think about the leaders and thinkers who inspire you the most, I guarantee they’ll all have one thing in common – they are great presenters.
Why? Because they have learnt how to tell their story. Great leaders, great thinkers and great presenters are storytellers. Storyteller is a compound word. Story. Teller. Teller of story. We all have a story, many in fact – all of them valid, worthy and important, with the potential to transform lives (ours and other people’s). But stories can only transform lives if we know how to tell them. And that’s what makes a great presenter. They took their story and gave themselves permission to tell it to an audience who might think, act or feel differently after hearing it.
Think you can’t present? Try harder.
Presentation skills are like every other skill – something that is learned and something that can be continually improved over time. Sure, some people are more extroverted than others. Some people have more confidence than others. Some people know their way around a PowerPoint presentation more than others. None of these things make people great presenters. If you want to go all the way in your career (find me a CEO who can’t present) or you want to change lives through your work or your message – you owe it to yourself and your potential audience to commit to becoming a great presenter. Starting now.
Presentation skill myth-busters
The world needs to hear more stories from a wider range of storytellers, not just the over-confident start-up wunderkinds and the shouty jazz-hands life coaches (although their stories are valid too). So, let’s bust some myths about presentation skills:
You’re born with them (or not)
Introverts can’t present
I can do it if I read off a PowerPoint deck
I can’t present because I’m not a confident person
It’s not relevant to my job
All myths.
One of the most frequently used quotes in presentation training circles is by the luminous and wise Maya Angelou,
“People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel”
Stories are what make people, feel and presentations, great. Not your slides or how you used your hands – it’s the stories you chose just for that audience, that you told with authenticity and generosity.
Now this may sound a bit lofty for the little old PowerPoint presentation you need to give in that window-less meeting room on Tuesday morning to Anisha from Sales and David from Marketing about the new CRM system you’re implementing … but bear with me because this storytelling principle can be applied anywhere.
Your topic might not be original - but you are
Whatever you’re talking about has probably been spoken about before, maybe the content is really dry. But what do you think about it? What element of it means something to you? What about it makes you passionate? Is this new system going to mean Anisha’s pipeline and sales figures are more accurately recorded so she can spend more time doing what she loves (out on the road with clients) and less time doing what she loathes (data entry and admin)? Will it mean that David can finally get some decent ROI on his marketing activity and build up his business case for Senior Manager next year? Do you really hate CRM systems and processes, but you love making people’s lives easier? Focus on the time given back, the opportunities created, imagining what they can do (or can stop doing) as a result of the new system rather than the minutiae of the system itself. Make jokes, empathise with them, we all know office systems are boring – so make it fun, be human.
Believe me, I know dry content. I used to coach auditors on how to present to clients to win new audit engagements. And I loved my job – I really did. These guys were technical experts, but they definitely were not presentation experts. They would spend years working towards a big audit pursuit and they would care about it deeply, it meant a lot to them and to their teams and to their firm. They cared about the client, they wanted to help the client be successful, and the client’s clients. The audit became personal. And that was the bit of the story that we needed to tell to make their presentation successful. Not how we’d audit the balance sheet – who cares (read the proposal) – but, why they cared so much about the client’s business and what it meant to them personally.
I heard a story once about an audit pursuit that was ultimately won at the final presentation stage. The lead partner had gone in, sat on a stool in the middle of the room and told a story about a boy whose life had been touched at each significant milestone by this particular company. He told of having ice-cream with his father, buying his first home, his own child’s first day at school. The boy? That was him. He told his story; he made that audit personal – and he got a standing ovation and won the pursuit.
How to become a great presenter
Opportunities to present arise all the time and if you’re a great presenter, these opportunities multiply. Great presenters build their reputation, they create job opportunities, they enhance their personal brand, they are perceived as experts, they inspire people with their ideas, they have the careers they want.
Don’t worry if you’re not a great presenter yet – it’s a skill that can be learnt.
SAY YES! – The first and most important step in becoming a great presenter is saying yes to one of these opportunities (keep your eye out for them, they are everywhere. If you’re not seeing any – ask for one).
DON’T WAIT FOR CONFIDENCE – Confidence is not a requirement for becoming a great presenter, courage is. I train people on presentation skills and yet I still feel nervous before I present (Every. Single. Time.) but, I have courage. I feel the nerves and I get up and do it anyway.
CARE DEEPLY ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE – Without your audience, there is no presentation. Think about them first. What do they need? Why is this important for them? What do you need them to know? How could it change the way they think? How do you want them to feel?
GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION – You have a right to be on that stage, as much right as anybody else. Claim your space and give yourself permission to tell your story. Then…
TELL YOUR STORY – What you are presenting has probably been told before but not by you. Make the content yours by telling your unique truth about it – why are you talking about it? Why is it important to you? Did it change your life? Has it changed the way you think?
The dos and don’ts of great presentations
The most important ingredients for a great presentation are your story and your willingness (and courage) to tell it authentically to your audience – get those bits nailed first and then follow the below principles for preparing and delivering a great presentation.
Preparing your presentation:
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE – Always, always start with the audience in mind
RESEARCH – Knowing your content builds confidence
LAY IT OUT – Use a logical structure and make sure your content flows (I love post-it notes for this)
REHEARSE – Read through it in your head, talk it out aloud, rehearse in front of a friend (or a pet!)
START AND CLOSE STRONG – Memorise your opening and closing line to guarantee a strong start and finish
HOW KEY MESSAGES – Have 3 clear things you definitely want your audience to know. Get those across and give yourself a break if you forget your other points
Delivering your presentation:
MAKE EYE CONTACT – don’t fear your audience, look at them (they want you to succeed)
ASK QUESTIONS – the easiest way to engage with the audience is to ask them questions. Stay present and curious
BE YOURSELF – Show your personality and passion
TAKE UP SPACE – project your voice, talk to the back of the room, own the stage
PAUSE – silence is powerful and allows a message to sink in (take a sip of water if you need to)
BREATH.
SMILE.
If in doubt watch Barack Obama’s best speeches. Watching him is a masterclass in all the elements of a great presentation.
Your story deserves to be shared. Become a lifelong student of presentation skills, it will change your life and could just change the life of your audience too.
Monique Shaw is an Executive Career & Leadership Coach and Brand Story Specialist helping passionate, frustrated and ambitious professionals create careers, teams and businesses that are aligned and effective. Book a consult or get in touch to explore how she can support you.
