Think back to the best presentation you’ve ever watched. A presentation likely popped into your head that, to this day, remains engraved in your memory as exceptionally good. No matter who it was, what the topic was, or when it happened, there was something about that presentation that stood out. Here are some key qualities I bet it had:
I recall two presentations from my time at Salesforce five years ago that had each of these criteria. These two gentlemen were brought in at separate times to educate us on very different topics: developing client satisfaction and trends in the media space. Five years later, I still remember key points of the content of these presentations, but other details remain vivid in my memory as well. I can describe the room we were in, what clothes I was wearing, what the speakers wore, who I was sitting next to, and even guess the date these presentations took place—at least certainly the week. And I distinctly remember thinking, "Holy shit, that guy was good" as both presentations concluded.
The first speaker was a flamboyant, provocative man who tolerated no nonsense. For example, he bluntly stated in a meeting full of salespeople that the "bottom 25% of performers should just be fired." This level of straightforwardness might be ill-advised for most, but it worked for him. Despite his shoddy slides, which featured a hodgepodge of different fonts and crudely placed graphics and pictures, he managed to convey his points effectively. He also had a stack of papers with handwritten notes, which he would jot more on as he spoke. He would sometimes place these papers down to think, taking incredibly long pauses before starting again. His understanding that he had been allocated 60 minutes to give his presentation in any manner he chose was evident. He owned the floor.
The second speaker was more polished and professional, which was fitting since he was a professional actor since childhood. He had the ability to engage an audience and speak fluidly, skills acquired at a very young age. What I remember most about him was his humility. He was a self-described "complete nerd," obsessed with video games, the evolution of eSports, and the underlying hardware that enabled gaming. He had orange hair and wore glasses, which further embodied the nerd archetype. His 60-minute talk referenced his nerdiness explicitly and implicitly several times, something most speakers might avoid for fear of appearing less authoritative. But like the first presenter, he made the presentation his own.
These presentations were powerful because each speaker took ownership of the room with little regard for what the audience might expect. They spoke about what they knew to be true, which wasn’t just an opportunity to seek consensus but to drive an outcome. This is what great presenters do. They drive outcomes. Whether it's a presentation for enablement, a sales pitch, a consulting presentation, an interview, or any other critical moment where we stand at Point A attempting to drive to Point B.
Rick Rubin once said, "The audience comes last. I'm not making it for them, I'm making it for me. It turns out that when you truly make something for yourself, you're doing the best thing you possibly can for the audience." This philosophy captures the essence of what makes a presentation not just good, but great.