Winning The Room

SECTION 7Delivering: Giving thePresentation

When the big day has arrived and you're stepping to the front of the room, there are still a range of things to focus on if you want your presentation to be a success. This section will cover various presentation mechanics to use, as well as some important principles to follow, as you deliver your data‐driven presentation. Here are some of the concepts discussed in this section:

• Read the room and adapt your delivery to what you see.
• Handle difficult audience members.
• Be honest and confident while not hedging too much.
• Drive home the impacts of your work and related recommendations for action.
• Close with a “wow” to finish strong by tying the results to a larger context.

After all the work that went into getting ready for the big day, your final delivery will have a huge impact on whether those efforts pay off. Ensuring that you follow the guidance in this section will help you make your delivery compelling. If you win the trust and confidence of the audience, you can motivate them to embrace your conclusions and act on your recommendations. This, in turn, will allow your efforts to be a resounding success!

Tip 101: Do Not Read Your Slides … Ever!

One of the single most destructive things you can do to ruin any live presentation is to read from your slides. We have all been in a meeting where someone puts up slides, turns to the screen instead of the audience, and then proceeds to read the slide word for word. There are many reasons ...