Presentation Myth 5: “tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them”

Presentation Skills Myths and Realities #5

Whilst this has been a presentation mantra for many people over the years – some say going back to Aristotle – it’s now very much out-of-date and needs to be put to rest.

The start of any presentation is critical. This is when all ears and eyes are on you. (Well if they’re not, don’t start!).

This is the moment to let the audience know your main message, the one thing above all else that you want them to remember. It should be the Headline – not the Heading. The Conclusion – not the Agenda. Not “what you’re going to tell them”.

One of the key issues when preparing a presentation is that you can never be sure exactly how much time you’ll have to speak. The meeting may start late, the speakers before you go on too long, someone (usually senior) jumps in with a question….

It’s essential to always remain as flexible as possible to a sudden and unexpected time constraint. And having an Agenda at the start will be a definite handicap when called upon to adjust the length of your talk.

This was never clearer to me than when I spent 14 years helping private corporations in East and South East Asia in offering shares to the public in a new stock issuance.

Kicking off these global IPO Roadshows in Asia, these corporates – advised by the bankers – would typically give a 20 minute presentation, either at a luncheon or in smaller meetings with potential investors. And usually, this was fine.

But then off to London and Frankfurt, it was a different story. No patience there to sit though a talk of 20 minutes. And as for when they reached New York….lucky if they had 5 minutes.

The only way to address this was to be sure to start with that Conclusion up front, message delivered in the first few minutes. Then, if and when there was time, to go through the supporting points.

This, of course, isn’t a new concept. Whether its TV or print, journalists know that the listener, or the reader, wants to hear the Headline first. Not an Agenda.

And in these days of Instagram and TikTok, where attention spans seem to get shorter and shorter, don’t lose your audience by telling them what you’re going to say. Just tell them!