During the course of our projects, we sometimes have the opportunity to give presentations either to our customers or to our executive management staff. This may be a proof of concept presentation, a project kickoff presentation, or a presentation to start up a new phase of the project. Whether you are a project manager or team member, as a presenter it’s a good idea to must follow six fundamental steps:
Know yourself and the audience
Find out about the audience to ascertain your commonalities and differences. You can get useful information, for example, by interviewing people who know audience members. Follow up by making a list of what you share and don’t share with the audience. This knowledge will prove useful in preparing the presentation.
Perceive your audience and how it perceives you
Look at ways to influence the audience to see you in a favorable light. This will make it easier to communicate your message. You can win the audience over, for example, by expressing values or experiences you share with its members.
Determine the type and structure of the presentation
Answer all the who, what, when, where, and why questions pertaining to your topic. Determine if your presentation is meant to inform, persuade, or explain. Then formulate your overall strategy to achieve the goal of your presentation and your tactics for executing that strategy. If you are able to anticipate most of the questions in advance, then you won’t be blindsided by questions that can torpedo your presentation. The more knowledgeable you sound, the more successful your presentation will be.
Develop the material
Build your presentation. Determine the content and logically arrange it. For example, you can arrange topics chronologically or by the level of importance. Also incorporate visual aids, statistics, and other materials. When preparing for something like a project kickoff, base the order of your presentation and the information contained within on some common high-level document, such as the Statement of Work.
Rehearse
Practice as if you were actually giving the presentation—do a dry run. Try to improve your delivery. This is also the time to become familiar with the location for the presentation - room size, lighting, sound equipment, and so on. Rehearse there, if you can. If possible, try out the presentation on your project team. They’ll likely be attending and can critique the presentation for any weak areas. You may also want them to participate or present portions – now are the time to figure that out.
Deliver the presentation
You have polished your delivery, eliminated any poorly designed visual aids and distracting mannerisms (e.g., pacing about with your hands in your pockets or playing with pocket change). You should encourage and be prepared to answer questions. You might elicit questions from a reluctant audience by asking a question yourself.