Don’t Wing It: Plan Before You Step Behind the Podium
by Frank L. Williams
Leaders often shoulder the responsibility of serving as the official face and voice of their business, association, non-profit, or governmental body. Over the years, I’ve seen far too many leaders step behind a podium or onto a stage, only to completely fumble the opportunity to represent their organization.
In previous articles, I’ve shared ways speakers undermine their presentations. Avoiding many of those mistakes begins long before you step behind the podium.
Effective presentations require planning. This quote attributed to President Woodrow Wilson underscores the importance of preparation: “If it is a ten-minute speech, it takes me all of two weeks to prepare it. If it is a half hour speech, it takes me a week. If I can talk as long as I want to, it requires no preparation at all. I am ready now.”
Planning for an effective presentation isn’t rocket science. Here are a few important considerations:
Know what’s expected. Ask the person or organization that invited you to speak what they are expecting – ideally before you accept the invitation.
Understand the lay of the land. What is the nature of the event? Are you the primary speaker or a secondary one? How long are you expected to speak? If you need audiovisual support, who will provide it? Who will introduce you? What comes immediately before and after your presentation?
Know your audience. Who will be receiving your message? What interests them? What do they already know, and what will you need to explain? Are you making assumptions that they know more than they do? What do they need to hear? Perhaps more importantly, what do they not need to hear? For example, a presentation about transportation should be structured very differently for an audience of engineers than for an audience of elected officials. Avoid industry jargon unless you are certain your audience understands it; use language your audience will understand throughout your presentation.
Have a clear goal. Do you want to educate your audience, inspire them, explain something to them, build credibility by demonstrating your expertise, encourage alignment on an issue, or something else? If you have several goals, decide which one is most important. Know what you want to accomplish before you start developing your presentation.
Identify your key message. If your goal is what you want to accomplish, then your key message is what you want your audience to remember. If they remember only one thing from your presentation, what should it be? How can you communicate in a way that they will understand and remember? Identify that message, then determine which supporting points are necessary to communicate it.
Plan the flow. Before designing your slideshow, outline what you need to say and in what order you need to say it. How will you make the topic relevant to your audience? What background do they need before you get to your main points? How can your points build on one another? Structure your presentation so that it is easy to follow, each point builds toward your goal, and your main message doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
Choose your supporting material carefully. A well-told story can humanize your message, and a relevant example or statistic can help your audience understand and remember your message. Conversely, a poorly told story or an obscure statistic can undermine your effectiveness. Choose supporting material that makes your point clearer without confusing or distracting your audience.
Know how you will close. The end of your presentation should be your closing argument; plan it as carefully as your opening. Use it to reinforce your key message and what you want your audience to think, feel, or do. If you are asking them to take action, be specific about the next step.
Prepare for questions. What is your audience likely to ask? Where might they be confused or disagree? What might be taken out of context or misunderstood? Think through your answers in advance, and clarify whether your allotted time includes questions. If asked a question to which you don’t know the answer, say so and offer to follow up.
Practice—and time yourself. Reading your notes silently is different from delivering a presentation aloud. Rehearse out loud to identify awkward wording, unclear explanations, and places where you are trying to cover too much. Record yourself and watch the replay to review your nonverbals like eye contact, hand gestures and posture. Leave room for pauses and audience interaction. If your rehearsals consistently exceed your allotted time, cut material rather than trying to speak faster.
If you’ve been called on to make a presentation, you owe it to yourself, your audience, and the organization you represent to invest time in preparation. Know what you want to accomplish, decide what your audience needs to hear, and practice delivering it within the time available. Don’t wing it.
Need help preparing yourself or someone on your team to be a more effective spokesperson? Let’s have a conversation!
Related articles:
Don’t Drown Your Audience in Alphabet Soup
