Great Presenters Are Not Magicians...

We've all met them. People who seem to hit the ball out of the park every time they present. No matter the message, no matter the audience, no matter the stakes. Nine times out of ten, by the time they’re done, they'll have wooed their listeners to their side: won the deal, locked-in the financing, inked the partnership. These people are stars. Master presenters. "Worth their weight in gold," we say.

How do they do it? It seems like magic. Wonderful. Inscrutable. Irresistible. Completely and utterly out of our reach.

Nonsense.

The truth is, most exceptional presenters are made, not born.

...Exceptional Presentation Skills Can – And Should – Be Learned

It’s estimated that over 30 million presentations get delivered every business day. That includes sales reps "asking for the business," entrepreneurs courting investors, employees pitching ideas to management, potential partners looking for strategic fit – the list goes on and on…

You’ve probably had to sit through your fair share of presentations – the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you had to hazard a guess based on your own experience, what percentage of all presentations would you say are poorly executed? More than 30%? More than 50%? More than 75%?

Now, ask yourself why so many otherwise intelligent, competent professionals allow themselves to fall into the trap of delivering ineffective, even deadly presentations. Especially given the potentially seismic effects of a bad presentation. As one prominent venture capitalist puts it,

    "Building a great company takes many years. Ruining its prospects can take less than an hour."

    – Alex Balkanski, General Partner, Benchmark Capital

So How Do You Take Your Presentation Skills to the Next Level?

OK, so you're sold on the idea that presentation skills matter. But, like a lot of things in life, presentation mastery takes practice.

In order to truly excel, you need to carve out specific, dedicated time to focus in on what works best, and why. Then employ those best practices in every presentation you develop and deliver – until the skills you’ve learned become innate. That's when people on your team just might begin to see you as a magician.