3 Steps to Kick*ss Presentation Decks

I must give this advice to my coaching clients at least once a week so I figured I should share it with the world.

If you are like most people in leadership, you give a good amount of presentations (unless of course you're at Amazon or a company that has adopted their memo process). Chances are even if you were a former management consultant, you aren't sure if your decks are up to snuff or what you can do to improve them. If you think you're good at creating a deck to present, I hope you'll still gain something from below, as it applies to sales, product, or really any presentation.

Step 1: Know your Audience

• Build empathy for EACH of the key decisions makers

• Customize phraseology, data presented, value propositions to what the audience cares about

Step 2: Tell a Story

• Do not simply present data, have a point that you are getting a across, this should be visible on the slides as well as in the talking points as you present

• Start with the frustrating problem, then talk about the amazing solution and how it will be super duper awesome, then talk about why the audience should trust you to be in charge of leading said solution

Step 3: Connect the Dots

• Don't expect your audience to come to same conclusions as you have. Include WHY your idea has potential, WHY you chose it over other ideas, and WHY this should be done now and not later.

• Use the title of each and every slide to make a point and then the body to back up said perspective, potentially summarizing the conclusion again at the bottom

That's it. If you follow the three steps above, you should be able to read the titles of each of your slides in succession and they should tell a story which your audience will find compelling. Everything inside the slides (and potentially the appendix) will only reinforce what you have communicated and build trust that you have done your homework and should be trusted to lead.