Last-Minute Presentation Strategy

What do you do when your client or prospect asks you to give a “last-minute” presentation? In other words, they’d like it right away, as soon as possible.

The only people I know who don’t mind giving these are those who give “canned” presentations. They give the same presentation over and over, regardless of audience or situation. Since there’s little to no preparation involved, they could give it on a moment’s notice.

But if you’re like me, you believe in customizing every presentation based on the audience, the situation, and your objective. Since those vary widely, canned doesn’t work very well. However, customization does take time.

So the first thing you do is try to grab some extra time. Even one extra day to prepare helps. Actually, that’s the second thing. The first thing is asking what they’d like done and why so soon.

Note: For purposes of this discussion, let’s assume they’re qualified. You’ve been working with them and their interest is sincere. They’re not trying to use you as column fodder to get a better deal from someone else. They just need to get some answers for one or more stakeholders.

Let’s drill down a bit on what to do next. Even with little time, you can still customize your presentation. Follow these 4 steps:

Step 1: Rapid Client Input - As mentioned above, you want to know what they want and why. Ask, “What would you like us to cover and why?” “How would you prioritize these topics?” “What specific questions would you like to have answered?” “Who will be attending & how much time is allotted for the meeting?” And the last question: “If all goes well, and all your questions are answered, what do you see as the next step?”

Step 2: Rapid Pre-Development - Here’s where you make some quick decisions before developing your presentation. (1.) Decide on your objective - what you want them to do at the end of the presentation. (2.) Decide what they’ll have to believe by the end of the presentation, so they will take the next step. (We should have a good idea what they believe right now based on what we’ve covered and their responses to our questions). (3.) Decide on key proof points - what do we need to say so they’ll believe what you need them to believe?   

Step 3: Rapid development - Using all the information from above, how do I make this interesting & informative? What structure do I use? If most of the client’s input are questions they want answered, make that your presentation structure. You can add things you want to talk about but not specifically mentioned by the client. The next step, for example. If you do, use a question to introduce the topic so that it fits the format. For example, “Why should you check our references?” 

Step 4: Rapid rehearsal - Do a quick run thru of your slides checking for typos and logic. Then, go through each slide speaking out loud. Spend the most amount of time rehearsing your opening, closing, and answering expected audience questions. Those tend to be the most impactful parts of a presentation.

The good news is that even with a last minute presentation request you can still pull off a solid, customized presentation.

Have a great week

Bob

P.S. If you’re interested in a tune-up of the slides or delivery of one of your presentations from me, just send me an email: [email protected]. Your investment is $95. (For newsletter subscribers only.)