Speaking With Intention

Pitches and Presentations need momentum, and nothing kills that faster than your audience taking it from you. Why would they?

Even senior presenters can lose urgency, especially if their audience feels your pitch or presentation is canned or that no one is driving it with intention.

And for less experienced presenters:

Avoid text-heavy slides that you read to the room – or don’t read, and leave your audience to decide if they should be listening to you or reading the slide – either way, it’s a momentum killer.

Avoid multiple slides that build up to your big idea, unless you tell your audience that is what you are doing. Otherwise, they won’t know where you’re going and may say so. Try this exercise:

In rehearsal, with each new slide, say to yourself “The Purpose of This Slide is…….”. No deck should have more than 1 slide with the same purpose. If yours does, edit.

Other Momentum Killers are the more sensational ones. For example, someone on your team starts rambling or whispers or explodes in sweat – I have been there – they are definitely Momentum Killers.

Leave your own experiences or questions below. Or get in touch for a workshop or rehearsal. Thank you.