Mastering Presentations: Say Goodbye to Dull and Ineffective Talks
Three Presentation Blunders to easily avoid and how!
Hey everyone, I’m Abdo Wahba 🙋🏽♂️
Let me paint a picture for you that I’ve encountered way too often in my 17+ years of experience in Product:
Imagine you’re either in a dimly lit conference room or on a routine video call…
You find yourself struggling to keep your eyes open as yet another monotonous presentation drones on.
The slides are overcrowded with text, and the speaker monotonously reads each sentence from the screen.
🙄 🔫 You catch yourself wondering just how much longer you can endure this mind-numbing ordeal.
Sounds familiar, right? 😴
I’ve been there, too. But over the years, from a junior PM to CPO, I realized that presentations don’t have to be this way. They absolutely shouldn’t be!
After delivering over 1300 hours of training and coaching CEOs, startup founders, and industry experts, I’ve seen firsthand how inspiring, impactful, and enjoyable a well-crafted and well-delivered presentation can be!
Sadly, I have also witnessed good and noble ideas made unnecessarily complex, boring, and eventually lifeless by poorly prepared and delivered presentations.
The most crucial thing I’ve learned from those experiences is:
It's all about avoiding super simple yet very common blunders and focusing on what truly matters!
This is what I would like to share with you today: 3 Presentation Blunders to easily avoid and how!
Blunder 1: Focusing on What You Want to Say, Not What You Want Them to Remember 🧠
The biggest mistake people make is thinking about what they want to say rather than what they want the audience to remember. It's not about you; it's about them.
Start with the End in Mind 🎯
Any presentation essentially aims for 1 of the following 3 things to happen AFTER the audience adjourns:
🎯 Make the audience feel differently about something
🎯 Make the audience think differently about something
🎯 Make the audience do something different
Therefore, when preparing your presentation, ask yourself: after the audience leaves my presentation,...
❓ What action do I want to inspire? 🚀
❓ What emotion do I want to evoke? ❤️
❓ How do I want their minds to change? 🔄
In other words: What’s your message?
Examples
✅ I want the audience to believe that "We are on track with our roadmap." 📅
✅ I want the audience to "Give me support to get back on track due to X." 🤝
✅ I want the audience to feel confident in my plan to fix user churn. 💪🏽
Write down your message in one clear sentence. This becomes your North Star. Every slide, story, and example should serve this message. If it doesn’t, cut it! ✂️
Concrete Story
Alan, one of my coachees, wanted to talk about decision-making techniques. His initial presentation included an emotional story about philosophers debating super interesting topics.
While engaging, it didn't support his key message. His message was: “I want the audience to consider multiple decision-making techniques when making important decisions.”
After focusing on his message, we streamlined his content and cut some of the philosophers’ stories to deliver his point effectively.
Blunder #2: Using Abstract Concepts 🤔
Abstract concepts can lose your audience. They’re hard to grasp and remember. Instead, make your points concrete and relatable.
Human beings are creatures of stories and concrete examples. Whether we like it or not, we resonate and engage more with things we can imagine, visualize and almost grasp with our own hands. So…
Make It Tangible 🛠️
- Instead of saying, "Offset carbon emissions," be specific: "Buying one bottle of olive oil from local artisans offsets the carbon emissions of three months of driving a sedan."
- Instead of "Refactoring this software will reduce errors," say, "Refactoring will cut testing time from one day to two hours and reduce bugs from 15 to 10."
Think Gossip 🗣️
Imagine explaining the concept to a friend or even your grandma. You wouldn’t say “reduce risk of errors”; you’d explain it in a tangible, relatable way. Use stories and concrete examples to make your points stick.
The sanity check should be: “Does this example qualify as gossip? If I’m talking to my friend over lunch, would I say the same things or would I phrase things differently?”
Essentially ⇒ Think Gossip!
Blunder #3: Thinking You Don't Have Time to Prepare ⏳
Many believe they’re too busy to prepare properly. In fact, Product Managers exist to manage an extremely hectic world and bring a lot of order and structure to it, which is very time-taxing.
However, even in high-stress environments, planning is essential. My friend Alan’s sister Chloe, an ER Doctor, said that in >90% of her ER cases, she always has a moment to sit down, think, and plan her steps with each patient, regardless of how dire the situation is. If an ER Doctor dealing in life-and-death situations can find time to plan, so can any product manager and leader!
Take the Time to Plan 📝
Before diving into slide creation, outline your message in bullet points:
What’s your Message? Write it in one sentence.
Supporting Thoughts: List ideas, arguments, and stories that support your message.
Concrete Examples: Choose specific, relatable examples to illustrate your points.
Remember, preparation is not optional. It’s crucial. You’re not busier than an ER Doctor, and proper planning ensures your presentation is clear, engaging, and effective.
Key Takeaways ✅
1. Think of the Message: Start with what you want the audience to remember. Write it down and build your content around it.
2. Be Concrete: Use tangible examples and relatable stories. Avoid abstract concepts that your audience can’t grasp.
3. Take the Time to Plan: Proper preparation is essential. You have the time, so use it wisely to craft a compelling presentation.
No one wants to be a presenter who is mind-numbing their audience and boring them to sleep!
No one wants their audience to be asking themselves: “When will this end?!”
You shouldn’t either. And it’s not hard to do it!
Follow the takeaways and you’ll be on track to become in the top 20% of presenters because 80% of speakers just don’t do this!
Want to dive deeper and learn how to avoid these blunders in your next presentation? Book a free coaching session with me and let's transform your presentation skills together! 🌟
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Very nice article and easy to read. Thanks!