Imagine this:  You’re standing in a formal conference room in front of the executive buying committee.  Your PowerPoint slide show is locked and loaded.  You take a deep breath and begin.  In the middle of your opener, the decision maker interrupts and says, “Let’s cut to the quick and save some time here.  Tell us the ROI for what you propose.”  You gulp.  That number is somewhere in the middle of your 71 slides and you can’t remember where just now.  You were starting to get on a roll.  Now, you have rolled to a stop.

Presenting doesn’t have to be intimidating–even in boardrooms filled with decision makers asking hard questions.  Here are several techniques that will help make your appearance before any audience more comfortable and productive.

Audience Centered

For starters, you don’t matter–only your audience matters (sorry about that).  There are two things you must find out before you plan your presentation: 

• Exactly what content they want covered
• How they like it presented (including what they hate)

Regarding content, think about what they want (or need) to know and to what level of specificity-and what they want left out.  Most of the time a quick check with several influencers will tell you if you are on-track.

Next, consider the style they prefer.  They may detest PowerPoint and view it as a prop for poor presenters.  There is a Fortune 50 company that still prefers overhead projectors versus PowerPoint.  True.  Check with your internal coach and you’ll get valuable scoop on what flies and what dies.

Less is More

Another thing to remember is that your audience probably has the attention span of a gnat.  The best way to manage their attention is to get to the bottom line quickly and know when to stop talking.  If you do this you will earn their respect and admiration.  Limit your presentation to one or two key points.  Sure you have a lot more to say, but guess what–they won’t remember 99% of it.  Better to pick two things you want them to remember and make them ask for details on everything else.

Still not bought in on this one?  Think about the State of the Union address.  The president made three points.  They were:  (1) defend the homeland, (2) end the war, and (3) fix the economy.  Thanks for tuning in.  We recall these points because there were only three and they were clearly presented.  Reagan (The Great Communicator) was the master of simplicity.  It works.

Short is also critical when it comes to PowerPoint.  Less is more.  Think of the “Billboard Rule.”  Treat your slide like a billboard.  Don’t put more on it than you can read driving by it at 40 miles per hour.

Organized but Flexible

Rigidity and control don’t work when presenting to most audiences.  You have to go with their flow.  Don’t fight them when they interrupt and ask that you skip to the middle or end of your presentation.  Don’t tell them you will address that point in a minute.  Be flexible, tune in and respond to their needs.  With simple organization and structure, you can do that.

Try this:  Take your two main points and create a bottom-line statement for each point.  Always state your bottom line up front.  Then develop support for each statement by gathering your two best facts or stats.  Finally, illustrate your point with an anecdote, analogy, case study or client story.

The beauty of simple organization is two-fold:  it is easy to understand and remember for both the audience and the speaker.  If your audience is the kind that peppers you with questions, this simple organization-two points, each with two supporting facts and one illustration-will not desert you.

And if you master your two points you will feel far more comfortable and confident than if you try to cover the whole waterfront.

A great example comes from Senator Tom Daschle’s now famous description of a Republican tax cut proposal.  He said, “If you make over $300,000 a year, you get to buy a new Lexus.  If you make $50,000 a year, you get to buy a new muffler on your used car.”  In two sentences, he illustrated in a straightforward, visual way his opinion of the effect of the tax cut.  He took a huge number, without meaning to the average person, and brought it down to terms anyone could grasp.

Anticipate Questions

Prepare for questions as if you are on trial.  Why?  Because you are, that’s why.  Remember this:  people are more interested in the answer to their question than anything else you have to say.  Learn to view questions as helpful clues.  They tell you:

• What is of interest to the audience
• What you are not being clear about
• What the audience might know and not know

You might organize questions into three categories:  good, neutral and poor.  Good questions lead you to your two main points.  Neutral questions neither help nor hurt and should be answered quickly.  Poor questions lead to dead ends and may raise controversy.  Answer them honestly and succinctly. 

The best preparation for audience questions is to brainstorm as many as possible before your presentation.  That’s what the politician does before a press briefing.  As Cervantes wrote, “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.”

You ARE wonderful, bright and talented–but you don’t matter-not when it comes to making a great presentation.  What matters is your audience.  Know them.  Focus on their needs.  Respect their time.  Be organized but flexible.  Anticipate their questions.  In the end, you will matter much more to them if you do.  (And that’s what matters most, isn’t it?)