Business Presentation Tips
6 minutes read
Are business presentations a “necessary evil” in your professional life? Then let these experts guide you with their top tips for public speakers.
We’ve polled some of the best public speakers to bring you the best public speaking tips.
Imagine you’re speaking in public at an important business meeting. The room is filled with your colleagues.
The CEO’s phone vibrates. They take the call and run out of the room. Bob stifles a yawn (and fails). Your friend, Anne, smiles and nods her head.
“Breathe,” you remind yourself as sweat stains bloom under your arms. You must get that budget approved. The contract closed. The project authorized. And so you force a smile and click to your next slide.
“Sheesh, I’m not trying to be the next Tony Robbins,” you say to yourself. “I just want this business presentation to stop hurting—for me and for the people watching.”
And it can.
People spend millions on training courses, books, and coaching every year, seeking to improve their public speaking skills. The phrase “tips for public speakers” is Googled over 5,000 times every month.
Careers and reputations are at stake, after all.
In this post, you’re going to learn from successful public speakers, most of whom have written the books and designed the training programs on the topic.
Basic Elements of a Great Business Presentation
Successful business presentations come in various forms, but they share several basic elements.
The word “presentation” usually evokes images of someone projecting a slideshow on a screen filled with words, charts, and pictures. But it’s much more than that.
A presentation is both form and substance. Content and delivery. Message and medium.
Let’s break down a great presentation into its most essential elements:
Message
The content of your business presentation, also known as the message or substance, is the core of your presentation. It’s the idea, concept, problem, solution, or information you want to convey.
Your message is informed by your goal or the impact you want to make. An effective presentation brings about change in your audience, whether it’s altering their knowledge, perception, attitudes, feelings, beliefs, or behavior about your topic. You know you’ve done a good job when your audience leaves the room slightly different from how they entered.
If you need help crafting your message into a speech, this tutorial takes you through the speech-writing process:
Medium
The medium is how you transmit your message. In business settings, the slideshow remains the most common medium, accompanied by your speech. To avoid “death by PowerPoint,” consider using presentation templates, like those from Envato Elements, if you’re not a graphic designer.
You may also find yourself utilizing a flip chart, a whiteboard, or even the back of a napkin. Props can make ideas more concrete. Decide which medium, or combination of media, will best convey your message and achieve your goal.
Presence
You, the presenter, are also a medium for your message. “Presence” refers to how you conduct yourself during the presentation. Your appearance, tone, actions, personality, and overall vibe all play a role.
A strong presence captures and retains your audience’s attention, establishes credibility, and fosters rapport. Being an effective speaker doesn’t mean pretending to be someone else; it means being present in a way that best communicates your message.
Helpful tips for improving your speech can be found in this tutorial:
Audience
Your audience brings with them their existing knowledge and attitudes about your topic, along with their own expectations. Their relationship with you also influences your impact.
If your audience includes a mentor, they may be more receptive and forgiving, while an unfamiliar senior executive may require a different approach.
“What’s in it for me?” is a question everyone subconsciously asks. If you take time to understand your audience and help them achieve their goals, you’ll be on your way to a successful presentation.
With so many factors contributing to a fruitful business presentation, it’s no wonder that the average person would rather die than speak in public. The good news is that public speaking is a skill that can be learned, honed, and mastered.
Business Presentation Advice From Experts
I asked several public speaking experts:
If you could give only one piece of advice on how to deliver an effective business presentation, what would it be?
Here are their insights:
Michael Port
Michael Port, a bestselling author and co-founder of Heroic Public Speaking, advises:
Vividly paint a picture. All world-saving performances are transformational experiences for your audience. Start by showing, “here’s what you’ve got today, and here’s how it could be.” This builds immediate rapport and hooks the audience’s interest.
Michelle Mazur
Speech and message coach Michelle Mazur emphasizes:
Get clear on the ONE and only one message that you want your audience to remember. Research shows that most audiences forget 80%-90% of what they hear within 24 hours. If you want to be memorable, focus on that one core message.
Roger Love
Vocal coach Roger Love highlights the importance of voice:
Start thinking about what you SOUND LIKE. Your voice is the most powerful communication tool you possess. Learn how to use melody, volume, pitch, and pace to create sounds that move people emotionally.
Donna Moritz
Digital content strategist Donna Moritz advises:
Focus on key, actionable takeaways that your audience will remember. Use stories alongside powerful visuals for memorable presentations.
Tim Calkins
Marketing professor Tim Calkins stresses audience awareness:
Start by thinking about your audience. Create a presentation that will be most useful for them, focusing on the most senior person in the room.
Lisa Bloom
Consultant Lisa Bloom emphasizes storytelling:
Using story in your presentation awakens creativity and engages your audience. Powerful stories can connect deeply and inspire action.
Michael Hudson
Business strategy coach Michael Hudson suggests:
Decide what you want the audience to do and take them on a journey to reveal why it matters and how to get started.
Additional Tips for Public Speakers
In addition to the aforementioned tips, here are more insights from presentation experts:
Nancy Duarte
The audience does not need to tune themselves to you—you need to tune your message to fit them. Understand their hearts and minds and create a message that resonates with their needs and desires.
Bo Eason
My hands would shake every time I stepped on stage. My coach said, “That’s not nerves, it’s love. You want to be good. It’s okay.”
Michael Hyatt
Stories are what move people, and the more you tell, the more influential you’ll be.
Dave McKinsey
Emotional intelligence plays a far greater role in persuasive speaking than traditional intelligence.
Lisa Nichols
Sharing your story makes the listener part of your journey, tapping into something within them.
Dave Paradi
Think of a presentation as taking the audience on a journey. A structured approach can help guide them from their current situation to your desired outcome.
Garr Reynolds
A good presentation mixes logic, data, emotion, and inspiration to inspire change.
Dan Roam
To create extraordinary presentations: Tell the truth, tell it with a story, and tell it with a picture.
Simon Sinek
I only talk about things that I care about and understand. You can’t manufacture passion.
Poornima Vijayashanker
A talk is an exchange of information. Presenting in a conversational tone helps connect with your audience.