Think your presentation is done? Not so fast.
As speakers and presenters, we need to take a cue from the writing world.
The written word and spoken word need to be structured differently and use different rhetorical devices, syntax, and vocabulary. (This is a challenge that surfaces often when I’m preparing writers for a big talk.)
But one important commonality exists between them:
The need for another set of eyes on our content.
As a writer myself, none of my published work reaches its final audience without being first read and amended by an editor. (Given that my writing is delivered to millions of people in 55 languages, I’m extremely thankful for the year-long, three-phase editing process!)
I’m not suggesting you need that kind of editorial support for your presentations, but I do recommend you take a few extra steps to ensure your message lands as you intend.
First, work far enough in advance that you can set it aside for a few days (at least) and come back to it with fresh eyes. You’ll be surprised at what you find in your notes and on your slides—errors that you couldn’t previously see because, due to your familiarity with the content, your brain saw what you intended to say, not what you actually said.
Second, give your presentation to a trusted colleague and ask them to listen for several things:
- Was your call to action clear? Will the audience know what you want them to do? (You might think it’s obvious, but—trust me—it isn’t always.)
- Were your claims/recommendations well supported?
- Was there a logical flow to the content? Would the message be any clearer if the points were sequenced differently?
- Were there any questions that you left unresolved or missing content pieces?
- Were your slides easy to understand—quickly? Or did they spend time deciphering your message and stopped listening to you?
Finally, if you’ll be speaking to an audience that’s unfamiliar with your subject matter, take the extra step of giving your presentation to someone outside your field. Perhaps you’re presenting to your execs on a technical topic they’re less familiar with. Or maybe you’re speaking at an event with attendees from a variety of fields. (My clients find the fact that I’m an outsider to their industries a tremendous asset.) By giving your content a test drive with someone who is outside your industry, you’ll find out:
- Whether your word choice (diction) is an impediment to your audience as “insider language” or jargon. If that’s the case, simply replace specific words with their definition as you speak.
- Where there are gaps in foundational knowledge that need to be explained.
- Whether your slides are aiding their comprehension or detracting from it. Visuals are a tremendous asset to communicating unfamiliar content but only if they’re intuitive.
After getting feedback from your test audiences, go back and re-tool anything that wasn’t clear. In a perfect world, you’d make another run at it with them (or someone similar) to gauge improvement… but that may not fit in your timeline.
This may seem like a time-consuming effort. I encourage you to look at it as rehearsal (which is vital to delivering a presentation well) and as an investment in the success/adoption of your idea. If the recommendation you’re making (or the idea you’re presenting) is worth consideration, it’s worth the effort of making sure it will be understood as you desire.
Need an extra set of eyes on your content? I’d be happy to help with a content review or a coaching session. Contact me or set up a free consultation.