Preparation is the key to success. Knowing what you are going to talk about, knowing whom you are talking to, knowing what they are interested in, and knowing how you will perform. All this knowing comes from preparation.
If there is one single golden rule of presenting, it is:
Preparation Preparation Preparation
The more preparation you do, the more you think about your presentation, invariably, the better it will be. You cannot rehearse too much, or know too much about you audience or the subject.
Being well prepared is one of the best ways to conquer nerves.
Preparation beats trepidation every time.
Knowing what the slides are and having seen someone else give a presentation, is not the same as giving it yourself. If you have a corporate presentation to give, for which you did not write the slides, one of the biggest pit falls is to think you can give the presentation, just because you know the subject and have seen someone else do it.
You need to make the presentation your own. Think up your own introduction, your own anecdotes and your own humorous asides. The slides after all are not the presentation; they are just the visual aids. Even using a ‘standard’ set of company presentation slides, you still need to create the presentation in you own head.
Poor Preparation Produces Perfectly Pathetic Presentations
Presentation Training and Coaching is available from the author of this blog. Please visit my presentation training website.
Give me a day and I’ll change your presentations, forever
Graham Young
A to Z of Business Presentations 