The Power of Practicing Your Presentation

It was the stuff of nightmares.   

Five slides into a client presentation, right as she was unveiling a BIG IDEA, one of our Lead Writers lost the internet connection in her home office.  

Poof. It was like the worst kind of magic trick.   

After allowing herself a three-minute freakout, she hustled to her car (leaving her shoes under her desk in the rush). Our writer drove to her parents’ house, where she rejoined the call from her childhood basement.

As her finger hovered over “Join Now,” she prepared herself for heavy silence and annoyed-but-polite expressions. Instead, she was greeted by smiles and laughter.  

Her teammates had continued without her. They were winging it — and doing great.   

When asked if she’d like to pick up where they left off, our writer had another sharp moment of panic.  

What was she saying, again? What was this call about?   

Where were her shoes?   

But then she read the slide on the screen, and it all came back to her. She knew this stuff.  

Because she had practiced.  

Fear was replaced by excitement, and she jumped in.  The presentation was a success. And our writer learned a couple of things. 

First, never kick off your shoes during a presentation. 

And, also, practice is powerful.

Fear is the mind killer, and practice is the best defense.

Client presentations can be scary — even when the client is amazing.  

And when things go wrong and the sirens in your head start blaring, it can be easy to get distracted by the noise. But practice has a way of silencing the fear – at least temporarily.  

Here are some techniques we use to prep for important presentations. We hope they come in handy the next time someone throws a wrench in your plans.  

1. Practice talking about your topic outside of your presentation.

Take away the slides and the notes. Can you speak to your topic without them?  

If you can’t, practice until you can.  

You’ll look (and feel) more confident. Plus, you won’t have that, “Don’t interrupt me, I’m reading from a cue card” face.   

2. Write great notes for yourself — then forget they exist. 

The act of writing notes will help you memorize the top points you want to hit. But what happens if someone updates the document and those notes disappear? Nothing, if you’ve practiced without them.  

3. Rehearse with your audience in mind. 

We’ve spoken before about taking a walk in your audience’s shoes. This advice applies here, too.  

Are you presenting to a C-suite exec? An HR rep? A marketer? All three at once? Take the time to consider your topic from their POV.  

What questions are they likely to have? Keep the answers in your back pocket, or, if you’re really determined to shine, try to answer some of them before they’re even asked. 

4. Rehearse in front of a real audience.

While screaming, “We’ll do it live!!!” three seconds before the call starts might feel edgy and cool, in most cases, it’s a recipe for disaster.  

We recommend practicing a few times in front of a live audience. For those of you in an office, this could mean snagging a coworker and asking for a few minutes of their time. Those of you at home can enlist a friend, partner or in our particular writer’s case, a disinterested and incredibly judgy cat.   

As Ferris Bueller once said, life comes at you fast. You’ll never be able to plan for every variable. And you’ll never be able to prevent every disaster.

But remember this parting rhyme. 

In the end, whether you’re presenting from your home office or the basement where you used to watch Looney Tunes, remember:   

It’s not about the shoes you wear (or don’t), but the steps you take to prepare.