One of the most misunderstood aspects of presenting might seem to be the simplest: Where does the presentation take place? Immediately, a number of answers might come to mind: In the conference room! In the PowerPoint projection! In the words the presenter is saying! None of these are bad answers, but they’re all wrong. When the presentation is over, and everyone shakes hands and leaves the room, the only place the presentation has taken place is in the individual minds of each of your audience members. You didn’t know it, but you just gave 100 unique, specific presentations to each and every person in the room. Your job is to make sure that your crucial points get through to – and get remembered by – every one of your audience members. That’s why you’ve got to keep it simple.
Is Your Presentation Height/Weight Proportionate?
Obviously, intricate, broader subjects may require longer, more complex presentations. The point is that nearly every presentation has visual and textual information that is unnecessary for effectively conveying its message to an audience. What happens when you leave this clutter laying about in your delivery? It gets in the way. Get rid of it! Edit. Edit. Edit. And never make the mistake of letting your ego get in the way of deleting that chart or eliminating that series of images in the PowerPoint. It’s not about you. It’s about your message.
Will You Still Love it Tomorrow?
Try to get your presentation together quickly enough so you can actually sleep on your decisions. You’d be surprised how unnecessary those stats seem on Wednesday, even though you were ready to die for them on Monday. Again, don’t sacrifice the whole for the parts. Don’t worry, they’ll understand.
How Thin is Too Thin?
Almost never! Unlike fashion models, presentations are almost never too lean. As an expert, you know a lot about your subject and you have a lot to say. Presumably your audience is much less familiar with the ideas you are sharing and they are taking them all in, one after another, in the space of your presentation. Never be afraid to err when it comes to streamlining. Less really is more.
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