The Manager's Guide to Presentations: Ace the first presentation you deliver as a new manager and make your mark as a rising star in your organization with this book and ebook.

One of the key elements of an effective presentation is authenticity. Being real, being you.

Unfortunately, a lot of presentation "tips" and "rules" prevent people from being themselves. That's why so many presentations are bland, boring, and torturous. Everyone is copying and mimicking the same tired routine. Most presentations waste precious time by including unnecessary information and too many slides with uninspired images and far too much text. Typical presentations lose sight of the fact that every slide and every piece of data should be aimed at engaging the audience.

Newsflash! You aren't any other presenter. You have your own leadership style, management personality, and approach to team dynamics. Embracing what is unique about you is what will help you stand out from the crowd. More importantly, your presentation won't be credible if your presentation persona is vastly different from the way you communicate every day.

So, who are you? Let's do a quick personal branding exercise:

When you've identified five distinct words, you've identified your personal brand attributes.

Identifying these attributes helps you create a presentation style that is authentically you. A funny, smart, artistic, ambitious, and brave person presents differently from someone who is serious, thoughtful, empowering, resourceful, and innovative.

Write your five personal brand attributes on the Presentation Planning Worksheet. They'll be useful in Chapter 2, Developing Your Presentation.

A successful presentation meets the audience's needs and addresses the audience's interests in a way that resonates with them. To deliver a presentation that moves people to action, you have to know your audience.

As a new manager, you have to get to know several internal audiences, and fast! By connecting and interacting with key players in the organization, you can establish your role and gain an understanding of your presentation audience at the same time.

Will you be presenting to internal groups such as your team, your boss, high-level executives, or the board of directors? Will you be presenting to external groups such as customers, clients, or the media? Perhaps you are presenting to some combination of these or other groups.

Chances are, unless you're in a position that involves media or customer relations, most of your presentations will be given to internal audiences. We'll look at three likely internal audiences—your boss, your team, and internal strategic partners—and discuss ways to connect with them. Then, we'll talk about identifying and prioritizing the audiences for this particular presentation.

Every presentation you give in your new role will impact your immediate boss in some way: not only will your boss evaluate your presentation, but your performance will also reflect on them. It is important that you understand your boss's expectations so you can craft a presentation that resonates with them and with other executives.

Find an opportunity to briefly talk with your boss and ask the following questions:

By understanding your boss's goals, you'll be able to address the issues he or she finds most worthy of discussion. Likewise, avoid anything your boss expressly disapproves of in a presentation.

As you get to know your team, listen carefully to their views on meetings and presentations. Ask them about organizational norms for presentations including any formatting or technology requirements. Ask them what they like to see in a presentation and the approaches that best hold their attention. Ask them what kind of examples and illustrations help them to understand and act on information.

Succeeding in your new position will require an understanding of organizational norms and expectations regarding your role. Your first presentation as a new manager may be the first time members of other departments see you in action. Learning and adhering to the accepted organizational procedure for presentations demonstrates your adaptability, flexibility, and commitment.

Also, observe the culture. Chat with people from other departments about presentations that have been particularly well received, as well as those that have been considered a disaster! Ask if they have any "pet peeves" about ways that presenters from outside their department provide information to them. Seeking the input of those outside your immediate team allows you to quickly build strategic internal partnerships and cement yourself in your new role.

Once you've done the background work of connecting with and getting to know key internal stakeholders, it's time to identify your audience for this specific presentation.

Let's say your boss intends to watch you present to your team about upcoming projects. Your primary audience is your team. The presentation is for their benefit, so you will need to focus on making sure that the content and delivery resonates with them.

Your boss is a secondary audience. While the information isn't for their benefit, they will be listening, observing, and making judgments about how you are performing in your new role. So, it's important to consider their perspective when preparing the presentation.

Let's further assume your presentation will be recorded and sent throughout the organization. This is yet another audience, and a successful presentation should be designed to communicate to this broader group as well.

Use the Presentation Planning Worksheet from the beginning of this chapter to record and prioritize the audiences and uses of this presentation.

How many times have you left a presentation or a speech wondering, "What was the point of that? Why did I sit through it?" It happens all the time because presenters fail to clearly set a goal.

To illustrate the importance of defining the presentation purpose, let's consider the following hypothetical situation: imagine you work for a cell phone manufacturer that has a new product coming out. You will be speaking about the product. You could talk about features, price, development, innovation, partnerships, and so on, but if you try to cover everything, the audience will be overwhelmed or bored and nothing will stick.

How do you narrow your focus? You must decide what you want the audience to do.

Should they:

Each possible purpose is slightly different, requiring different information, different stories, and different tones.

Reflecting on the "cell phone launch" example from the previous section, think about your own presentation and answer this question:

What do you want the audience to do when you finish speaking?

Jot down whatever comes immediately to mind. Now let's examine your answer.

Is it clear?

The purpose must be easy to understand and something you can articulate in a simple sentence. For example, I want the audience to ___________________________________.

Is it achievable?

The goal must be something you can accomplish with this audience and the time you've been given. Aim for a strategically-selected, tangible outcome.

Is it measurable?

Most organizations are results-oriented, and managers that consistently demonstrate success are highly valued. For that reason, your goal should be specific enough to allow you to determine whether it was achieved. It's more difficult to measure feelings and impressions than actions. So, "I want the audience to tell three people about the product" is better than "I want the audience to be excited about the product." Not only does a measurable goal enable you to track your effectiveness and communicate it to your bosses, a measurable goal also ensures you will give the audience actionable directives.

Rethink and rephrase your goal until you can answer yes to all of the preceding questions. Then, give the purpose two final tests: does it align with your boss's expectations? Is it clear enough to give your audience actionable direction?

If your goal aligns with expectations, provides actionable direction to your team, and is clear, achievable, and measurable, plug it into the Presentation Planning Worksheet and move on to considering presentation parameters.

The length of time you've been given to speak dictates how much material and detail you can cover in your presentation. Remember to allow time for questions and interaction and stick to time limits. Nothing you have to say is more important than your audience's time.

Multi-tasking is an important part of being a manager, so you can't allow this presentation to take an inordinate amount of your time and attention. No matter how much you want to include Pixar-caliber animation, whiling away the hours designing world-class slides is probably not the best use of your time.

Where will you be presenting? If possible, visit the location well in advance of your presentation to get a feel for the space, the acoustics, and any unique features that can hinder or enhance your delivery. Figure out the seating arrangements and determine whether you will be sitting or standing while speaking. Note the technological options available in the room and inquire as to whether any audience members will be conferenced into the presentation. If visiting is not a possibility, find out as much about the space as you can. It is better to know than to be surprised.

Technology enhances many excellent presentations, but it is also the cause of many a presentation nightmare. Don't use technology just because everyone else does it. Carefully consider if technology will help you achieve your presentation goal. And, if you choose to use technology, be sure you have a back-up plan in case something goes wrong. It's terrible to spend hours crafting a beautiful slide deck only to discover that the laptop won't boot or the file won't open. It's downright horrific if you aren't prepared to give the presentation anyway!

A small group lends itself to a more conversational approach with lots of audience interaction. A very large crowd requires a delivery style that will reach the back row.

Considering the circumstances surrounding your presentation will allow you to craft content and a delivery style that will maximize audience attention and responsiveness. Will your presentation stand alone or will it be part of a series? Will you be introduced by someone else or will you need to include your own introduction? What time of day will it be? Will people be hungry? Tired? Itching to call it a day?