Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The Effective Presentation

I spent the morning attending a conference. One of the sessions I attended dealt with 'delivering an effective presentation'. As I sat through the presentation, I thought to myself, this is one of the worst presentations I have ever sat through. Dull. Drab. Boring.

Don't get me wrong; the content was spot on. The presenter provided some of the science behind delivering a solid presentation. As well, there were ideas shared on alternatives to the tradition powerpoint. All good stuff. However, it lacked a key, main ingredient: enthusiasm.

It was as if the presenter was going through the motions...delivering the slides- with no emotional connection tied to it.

As I reflected on the session, I drew this conclusion: the most dynamic presentations I have sat through have been delivered by people who passionately believed in their message. And, they left an indelible impression on me- along with other attendees.

I inherently believe if you want to deliver a presentation that people will talk about long after you left the room, put your heart into it. If  you cannot muster the strength to put your heart, soul, and passion into what you are presenting on, go find something else to do with your life. Life is too short to be wasted on going through the motions. If you have to present, present like you want people to walk away from your speech truly changed.

Determining the size of font- and how many words you have on a slide are important. And, if not done well, can be a major distractor. However, if you get the nuts and bolts right- yet lack passion, don't be disappointed when people pull out their phones to check Facebook or Twitter.

Delivering the effective presentation? Simply put: Bring your thunder stick.


“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” -D. H. Lawrence