Panic is an understatement.

A presentation is one of the scariest things you’ll ever need to do in business.

You have to cope with public speaking, timing, slides, remembering what to say, that embarrassing voice of yours, judgment by your colleagues.

You’re anxious. You’re nervous. You’re scared.

But most of all…

You’re normal!

It’s perfectly normal to feel these emotions

Let’s look at a case study. A before and after look at the presentation performance of an average business person.

Let’s call our case study subject “Brian”.

Before

Brian’s boss calls him into his office at 4pm on Friday afternoon.

That end-of-week euphoria Brian was experiencing is about the come to a screeching halt.

His boss informs him he needs to do a presentation on Monday morning. In the large conference room. Other departments will be there.

“They want an update on the Harmony project. They’ve given you about 20 minutes.”, his boss tells him.

“Sure, no problem.”, says Brian as he leaves the office, a suddenly broken man.

Brian spends the whole weekend worrying. Anxious about everything… What to do. What to say. What slides to use. What kind of questions the audience will ask.

When his friends are out drinking on Saturday night, Brian is at home putting bullet points on his slides.

When his family are enjoying a picnic on Sunday, Brian is at home writing out and practicing his speech.

Monday morning arrives and Brian hasn’t slept.

Exhausted, he stands in front of his audience trembling. The combination of tiredness and anxiety take their toll. He struggles to remember what to say. His face starts burning. His legs quiver uncontrollably.

Brian can handle the pressure no longer. He turns his back to the audience and reads his bullet points to them.

After

Brian’s boss calls him into his office at 4pm on Friday afternoon.

His boss informs him he needs to do a presentation on Monday morning. In the large conference room. Other departments will be there.

“They want an update on the Harmony project. They’ve given you about 20 minutes.”, his boss tells him.

“Sure, no problem.”, says Brian.

Before Brian leaves the office Friday evening he brainstorms the most important information about the Harmony project and boils it down to three talking points. He spends 20 minutes on a mind map, planning out what he needs to talk about.

At 5.30pm Friday, Brian calls it a night.

Monday morning arrives. Brian has had a great weekend with his friends and family. He feels well rested when he arrives at the office.

He runs through his talking points for his presentation and decides he doesn’t need slides. He grabs his jacket and heads into the large conference room.

Analysis

There is a big difference between Brian’s before and after performance.

What changed?

Only one thing: In the “before” scenario, Brian was focused on the presentation itself. Being on stage. The PowerPoint slides. Perfecting what he had to say. In the “after” scenario, Brian was focused on communicating a message.

When you focus on communicating a message and just getting the point across, something amazing happens… You stop trying to be perfect, you relax, and you become a better communicator.

Mistakes

When you focus on the presentation you set yourself up to become an unsuccessful presenter.

Here are the 11 criminal mistakes unsuccessful presenters make…

1. They say “sorry”

“Sorry, I didn’t have a chance to prepare/practice.”

Saying sorry is self-indulgent.

It tells the audience you are looking for understanding from them when you inevitably mess up. It gives the audience that “here we go again” feeling.

Saying sorry all the time is a distraction and tells the audience they can’t trust you.

Stop apologizing and just focus on communicating your message to the audience.

2. They overuse the laser pointer

Blinding your audience with a laser won’t win you any friends.

Laser-underlining the sentence you are reading from the slide won’t get you much support either.

The laser pointer should be used as a button to advance the slides. Avoid using the laser light where possible.

Think of it like this: If you need to use the laser pointer to indicate what you are talking about there is too much information on your slide. Need more proof? Steve Jobs’ keynote presentations never used the laser pointer.

3. They use their slides as reference material

There are two ways of using your slides as reference material and they are both wrong.

The first is as reference material for the audience. Something to take away with them for additional reading. During the presentation the audience should be listening to you, not reading. So put the “additional” material in printed handouts not in the slide deck.

The second is as reference material for yourself. Worried you’re going to forget something?… Just fill up your slide with bullet points and read along, right? Wrong! The audience is there to listen to you, not to read or be read to. Minimize the bullet points and communicate your message to the audience.

4. They leave dead air after answering questions

You’ve done it!

You got through your entire presentation and now you’re going to mess up the Q&A.

You answer a question, and then… you wait. Does the questioner have a followup question? Is he satisfied with your answer? The audience is on edge of their seats!

Well, not really. The audience is sick of these prolonged silences every time you answer a question.

After you answer a question build your confidence and credibility by checking if you can move on. Simply ask, “Do you have any further questions?” If not, move on to the next question.

5. They wrap themselves in knots trying to answer impossible questions

Be on the look out for questions that will derail your presentation.

Beware of speculation questions and questions that require prolonged answers.

When you receive a question asking for you to speculate on something unrelated or a question which requires too much depth, do this: DELAY!

Explain that you have a time limit and these kind of questions will take too long to answer. Ask the questioner if you can take their question “offline”.

6. They overuse rhetorical questions

What happens when we overuse rhetorical questions?

Do you think it improves or negatively impacts our presentations?

Do you see the problem here?

Rhetorical questions can be great to add impact to your presentation, but it is important not to overuse them. Overuse causes the device to lose its impact and it is also hard on the audience’s ears.

If you notice an excessive amount of rhetorical questions while you are practicing your speech, make a conscious effort to reduce or eradicate them.

7. They read to their audiences

The audience gathered in this conference room to hear something important you have to say. Please do not read to them.

If you read your slides your audience is left thinking one thing:

“Why don’t you just email it to me to read at the comfort of my own desk?”

8. They lecture their audiences

You know what’s really hard to listen to? A lecture.

You know what you really want an audience to do in a presentation? Listen.

Put two and two together and stop lecturing your audience.

Instead of lecturing, have a conversation with them. Turn your presentation into a discussion. Engage your audience, get your point across, and keep everyone happy.

9. They ask for approval from their audiences

Is that okay?

Any problems?

Can I continue?

Asking for approval from your audience kills your credibility. It also bungs up your presentation.

Plan your presentation to be understood. Speak clearly. But, don’t constantly check if everyone is following along or you will frustrate the people who are already following along.

At the outset of your presentation give people permission to stop you and clarify if they don’t understand something.

10. They make sure they fill the time allotment

Remember when you were writing an essay in high school.

The teacher told you it should be 1,000 words. So your essay was 500 words of getting your point across, mixed with 500 words of crap filler. Sentences that were good as 5 words were now filled with random adjectives and adverbs… Barely comprehensible.

It’s a bit like sticking to the time limit in a presentation.

If they give you 15 minutes, but what you need to say only takes 7 minutes, that’s 8 minutes of adjectives and adverbs you’ll have to come up with!

Here’s the thing: no one is going to be upset if you speak for less time in a business presentation. Say what you need to say to get your point across, answer questions, then sit down.

11. They prioritize getting to the end

I’ve just got to get to the end! I’ve just got to get through this!

A sure-fire attitude to drive your audience to distraction.

Just getting the end is good for you, but not so good for your listeners. Imagine talking to a friend and instead of being engaged in the conversation you are trying madly to get to the end of your part of the conversation as quickly as possible.

Not good, right?

Same goes for your presentation. Be in the moment and talk with the audience.

You’ll build your confidence and credibility.

What do you think? Let’s chat in the comments below…