Get There Early

There are 3 ways to do this:

1. Arrive at the venue well in advance

You don’t want to arrive flustered, sweaty and/or looking chaotic. Research your destination and get there an hour or two before you need to be there. Eat, drink, go to the toilet, check your social meeja, whatever you need to do to be ‘ready’. Then you eliminate the possibility of having to run to the venue, which should be avoided at all costs, because it shouts ‘unreliable’ and messes with your mental state.

2. Encounter problems before they’re a threat

Run through your presentation, checking all the technology. Is there a socket where you can easily plug in your laptop and phone? Are you going to use your phone (I time speakers with mine), in which case set it to ‘Airplane’ mode so you can still use it without the possibility of things being interrupted by an unwanted phone call or text. Check the projector, lighting, microphones, etc. Any technical issues will threaten your credibility and the smooth-running of the whole thing.

3. Get to the point

Reach your conclusion BEFORE they expect it. This is a good surprise; you could even start with it (I know; crrrazy. Works, though).

Make it simple. Then it’s easy to understand, remember and pass on. If your point takes more than 3 seconds to say or read then you probably need to distil it.

Make it a big theme e.g. ‘Maximum efficiency in the packing systems in our distribution centres’ (specialist) ticks boxes but isn’t as good as ‘Quicker deliveries’ (generalist) which is written how people actually talk.

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