Chapter 24. Time Crunch
How to Prepare if You Have Only...
ONE DAY
If I Have Only One Day to Prepare for a Presentation, What Should I Do?
One hour: Research and gather as much information as possible on the topic on which you'll be presenting. You will be tempted to spend many, many hours more than this on research, but that's a huge mistake. Additional research this late in the game is just an excuse for you to avoid doing the hard work of preparing, refining, and rehearsing your presentation. If you don't stop gathering facts after one hour, you will doom your presentation because you will waste the time necessary to do the remaining (vital) tasks.
30 minutes: Make a bulleted list of points—10 words or less each—of every major message point you might want to communicate to that audience.
30 minutes: Email the bullet points to any friends who might be in the audience or who have a similar mind-set to audience members. Additionally, call three people and tell them your options for messages. Ask the friends you've emailed and called for a list of their top five messages on this topic.
30 minutes: Narrow your 20 to 30 message points down to your top 5 points.
One hour: Think of a case study, an example, and a story involving a conversation you had with a real client, colleague, or customer involving this issue for each of the five points.
30 minutes: Write down every fact, number, or data point that is absolutely essential for you to present. Eliminate anything that is not 100 percent imperative. ...
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