The Four Ps of a Perfect Presentation

If you have a presentation or a proposal to share, then you will want to make sure it’s polished and practiced to perfection. You may have only One Chance to make a great impression! So here are four things I do every time a presentation is approaching.

The Four Ps of Presentations:

1. Prepare: I don’t need a word-by-word script; I do need to have a well-prepared presentation. My presentation is a story – it must have a start, beginning and an end, as well as having a purpose. I plan out the structure first, and ensure I work back from the ultimate goal, so that everything in the presentation leads up to that.
2. Practice: I need to practice. And practice. And practice. And practice. (Practice until it hurts!) You know, the most ardent and experience presenters still practice. It’s why they’re so good at it! I don’t practice until I know every word I want to say (in fact this is something I avoid so the presentation doesn’t sound too staged) But I make sure that I read my presentations out loud a number of times to develop effective inflections in my voice and a good rhythm.
3. Pronounce: To get my points across effectively, I need to speak very clearly. This can make or break my presentations. If I mumble or stutter (normally brought on because I am not well prepared or practiced) then I’ll lose the interest of my audience. I project my voice, speak slower (than in normal conversation) and fully pronounce every letter of every word.
4. Participate: The more I engage my audience, the more my presentation is memorable, and more to the point, the less I feel nervous. Participation has a remarkable impact; it helps my audience become part of the presentation and it also removes the invisible barrier between myself and the audience, so it feels less like a performance and more like a discussion.

I could add a fifth one – Planning, which is also crucial for me. When I have a presentation coming up, it’s essential that I plan my time to ensure I prepare and practice.

What would be YOUR fifth? If you have another tactic that should be in this list (and it doesn’t have to begin with P!) then leave a comment below and share your thoughts!

Good Luck in your own presentations!

Simon CEO/CTO, Author and Blogger

Simon is a creative and passionate business leader dedicated to having fun in the pursuit of high performance and personal development. He is co-founder of Truthsayers Neurotech, the world's first Neurotech platform servicing the enterprise. Simon graduated from the University of Liverpool Business School with a MBA, and the University of Teesside with BSc Computer Science. Simon is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Professional Development and Associate Member of the Agile Business Consortium. He ia also the President of his regional BNI group.

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