In a Hurry? The Presentation Quick Guide

WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE . . . too much to do, not enough time in which to do it, and somehow we have to put together a presentation for a new prospect, or to update a client, or to rally support for a new initiative. That’s why you see so many people (even you?) twiddling with PowerPoint on airplanes — that’s when they finally get a little quiet time to put their thoughts onto, ahh, pixels.
        We won’t discuss whether seat 22F is the most conducive spot for brilliant thinking (especially if there are babies on board), but let’s take a quick moment to cover what you can do when you’re crunched for time.

If you’re REALLY pressed:
Ask yourself, “What’s the one thing they really need to know?” (to make a decision, support your cause, or whatever is the action you want them to take) Not three things, not seven, only one. Put 90% of your energy into defining, engaging, and delivering on that one thing, and you’ll do far better than if you throw an endless string of slides at them.
        Lead with that one thing, get their feedback on that one thing, and close on that one thing. You’ll find that a lot of other bits that you might want to talk about will naturally come in to support that one thing. And your audience will organically connect all these other bits to the one over-riding idea that you have set for them.
        (And, you know what? This is a powerful way to go, even if you’re not really pressed for time . . .)

If you have a little time:
Let’s say you’ve got a long flight and a clear mind, and maybe even some elbow room (okay, wishful thinking). Here are the things to cover in your presentation:

1) Where are they today?

2) Where would they like to be in the future
    (or should be, or could be)?

3) How big is the gap between where they are and
    where they would/could/should be?

4) What are the various ways in which they could
    get there (of which your path is only one)?

5) How can you help them get there?
    (but don’t give them a feature dump unless
     they demand it)

6) What might be their objections or concerns?

7) How can you support your case?
    (quotes? testimonials? case studies?)

8) What action should they take now?

There, you’ve just had my workshop (provided you do the work :-), and you didn’t even need to leave your seat. Focus on these eight items and you’ll have the makings of a killer presentation. You can prep all sorts of other slides (but watch out for those typical, dense, feature-laden slides), just put them at the end, to jump to if you reeeeeeeally need to show them.
        And have a great flight (is that an oxymoron these days?), and a terrific time with your audience!