How to Prepare for Presentation

How Do You Prepare for Presentations?

So how do you prepare for a big presentation?

There’s no straightforward answer. And there’s lots of great advice on public speaking and presenting out there. Some people recommend memorizing a script and practicing it intensely for as long as you possibly can. Other people suggest having key talking points and riffing on those. I’m not sure anyone would suggest going totally unprepared, because that would be tantamount to presentation-suicide … but from heavy-duty preparation to minimal preparation, you’ll get it all, and everything in-between.

Here’s my suggestion: Do what you need to in order to feel confident and comfortable giving the presentation.

If you’re not sure what to do in order to feel confident and comfortable, then I’d lean towards being more prepared than not.

Here are some tips for things you can do:

1. Start with your key talking points. There’s no point writing a full script or presentation until you know what points you want to hammer home. Then, you can stick with a standard format: (a) tell them what you’re going to show them; (b) show them; and, (c) tell them what you just showed them.

2. Write a script. I think this is a good idea. It lets you write everything out and start massaging the words the way you want. It also gives you a benchmark against which you can practice and refine things.

3. Don’t get hung up on specific words. It’s unlikely that missing or changing any one word will totally ruin your presentation, so don’t worry about perfection. The only person that knows you “screwed up” is you…

4. Find your speaking style. Over time with enough practice you can learn to speak and present in any style, but if you’re in crunch mode and don’t have enough time, just try and find your own speaking style. Find your groove. Some people are ultra-enthusiastic. Some are much calmer. For DEMO, I’m aiming for calm confidence. I’m not a flashy guy. I want people to see the practice I’m...