You aren’t alone! Most people dread speaking in front of others. But, often as you advance in your career you will have to do it and do it well. If you stand up in front of senior leadership and bomb, how will that impact your reputation and career advancement opportunities?

Here is the good news…there is a way to ensure your presentation hits the mark!

1. Identify your Audience. Who are you speaking to? What are their goals? What do they need to hear from you? What is important to them? When you focus on what they need to hear and not on what you want to say, you can modify your approach.

2. Define your Objectives. What are you trying to do with your presentation? Education or inform them of something? Persuade or influence them to do something? If everything went flawlessly, what are the outcomes? Starting with the end goal in mind helps you focus on the most important points.

3. Build your Presentation to your Audience. Once you know who you are speaking to and what is most important to them and the end result, then you start crafting your presentation and speaking points. After you build out your draft, go back through it and confirm that all of your points are aligned with your goal and the audience.

4. Practice. Don’t memorize your script. But practice giving the presentation so you know the flow. Practice until you feel like if the projector went out and/or any handouts disappeared, you could still effectively share your message. 

5. Do it Again. The more you present, the better and more confident you get. Is it nerve-wracking? Sure, but keep doing it and polishing your presentation style.

If you want a more detailed, step-by-step approach, check out Spitfire Presentation Skills Bootcamp. This virtual class goes in depth on my repeatable process so you can build out and deliver killer presentations every time.