The Anatomy of a

Great Presentation

byJeph Maystruck/Jul 17, 2024/inAdvice, Presentations, Regina, Research, Strategy

I’ve been public speaking, hosting workshops, delivering keynotes, and teaching classes for a while now, and it still gets me very excited when I come across someone who knows how to captivate an audience. Below are some things I’ve learned over the years of presenting.

My wish is that you never take for granted the opportunity to speak in front of people. In today’s world, ‘attention’ is one of, if not the most valuable thing someone can give you. We must not squander it. Instead, treat it as a gift.

Below are my points on how to craft a remarkable presentation. From reading your audience to developing an intro people can’t forget, that putting together an amazing keynote isn’t impossible, it’s actually not as hard as you think. As long as you follow these steps, you’ll be melting faces and wooing crowds of all sizes.

My first “speech” in elementary school was about cars, I thought it was awesome. I remember playing the lead role in 1-800 Christmas, having to memorize my lines, and going out on opening night with the most butterflies I’ve ever experienced. But after, the feeling you get when you overcome that pit in your stomach, and realize what you just did gives you a lot of confidence. I don’t know a better way to increase self-confidence than to sign up to speak in front of an audience.

I also remember in high school how boring some pep rallies were. I mean, “pep” was in the title and these weren’t peppy at all! I have the teachers that started the “K-Team” to thank (McLellen, and Clark, you know what you did!). They allowed us to have fun in front of the school. They encouraged us to write content and perform for our audience (which sometimes was the entire school listening through the intercom system). Without these teachers encouraging us to think differently and communicate differently I don’t think I would be doing what I am today.

There is one person to blame for my love for speaking, Larry Hall. He was my grade 7 teacher. A once Olympic Speed Skating coach, this guy knew his stuff. From making eye contact with the audience to making sure you have a storyline, Mr. Hall changed me for the better.

1. Reading Your Audience

Recently I bombed a presentation. Well, I didn’t “bomb”, I just didn’t get the response that I’m used to. What happened?

I didn’t read the audience.

They were engineers, from all over the country. Smart, brilliant people, who didn’t give a shit about my marketing ideas and cool innovative ways people are using social media. No, they didn’t get what they were looking for because I didn’t spend enough time with the audience. How can I solve this problem in the future? By showing up early and learning about who they are, what they care about, and where they’ve come from.

Cameron Herold’s “Let’s Raise Kids to Be Entrepreneurs” is a great example of a presenter reading his audience perfectly. So many laughs throughout! That’s always a great sign.

2. Your Intro Matters

Your introduction to the audience matters a lot. They either start liking you or start getting bored. Don’t underestimate the power of a great intro. I don’t think anyone does this better than Clifford Stoll. I remember watching this years ago, maybe a decade even, and I’ll never forget it because of the way he fumbles and bumbles his way into his presentation. I don’t think there’s another Ted Talk like it.

Clifford, you are one of a kind my friend. Because of the exciting intro, you’re hooked, you have to keep watching to see what he’s going to do next!

Start with a story.

Some of my best presentations have started with a story. No, “who you are”, or any pleasantries, just get into the story that’s going to sweep your audience off their feet.

Start with a joke.

I love how Dan Gilbert starts off his talk on the puzzle of motivation. If you can get your audience laughing in the beginning that’s a GREAT thing!

The way Benjamin Zander begins his presentation is textbook. A funny story that gets the audience to not only laugh but to think about the analogy he was them to focus on, is classical music dying?

Start with a quote. In grade 7 we had to write a speech on Racism. I researched the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and talked a lot about what he did for the movement. To start the speech I recited part of his “I Have a Dream” speech mimicking his accent in everything. If you were in the room when I started speaking you had to stop what you were doing and listen, because of the emotion in the quote and the unlining meaning of it. It was a powerful way to command the attention in the room.

I went to regionals and lost, but I learned a lot about public speaking. And yes, I can still recite that quote off by heart.

I have a dream. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

3. What’s The Catch?

What’s your thesis? What’s the purpose of your talk? Can you sum it up in a phrase? Can your audience quote your main points after the presentation? Are you repeating the phrase you want people to remember up to 7 times over? I just made up that number but you get the picture.

In Simon Sinek’s now famous How Great Leaders Inspire Action, the “Golden Circle” is seared into your brain, the “why, how, what” framework is not only easy to remember, but it’s a powerful metaphor as to what to focus on as a company (or leader). I remember going into an office and seeing the golden circle on a wall and I instantly said, Start With Why?! These are MY people!

I wouldn’t know who Samuel Pierpont Langley was either if it wasn’t for the story Simon tells about the race to make a flying machine. Stories cut through the clutter in our brains and make it easier to remember things.

Don’t have a catch? Make one. If you’re presenting on something you care about it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out the catch. Usually, a story can do it. Like Dan Pinks, The Surprising Science of Motivation, the story about the candle. You remember the lesson easier because of the story.

4. How Will You Keep Their Attention?

We now know from studies (or observing people in the real world) that we lose our attention every 10 minutes or so. Part of making a remarkable presentation is keeping your audience’s attention.

But Jeph, there’s so much to get through and I have so much text on my slides!

First, be honest, if you’re presenting for longer than forty-five minutes to an hour then you need to plan brain breaks accordingly. Getting people to get up and walk around, the 4th quarter stretch if you’re a Rider fan! But we can plan to keep your audience on the edge of their seat here’s how.

Ask a question, and get the audience to respond. There’s some improvisation you’ll need to do but that usually ends up being more entertaining than the presentation! The more you get the audience to talk the more interested in the presentation they’ll be.
Show videos. I rarely present without showing something to nail home a point. There are geniuses all over YouTube, learn how to use video effectively to strengthen your argument. Derek Sivers uses video remarkably well in his Ted Talk “How to Start a Movement”.
Get the audience to vote on something. Does pineapple belong on Pizza? YES/NO? I use Mentimeter to present, it has a built-in function that you can ask for audience participation. This works well in getting people to pay attention.
Do trivia for a prize. Again, in Menti, there’s a trivia function where you can ask an audience questions and it tracks who’s answering the fastest and who’s correct. Prizes don’t need to be fancy, just funny. My favourite currently was inspired by the late Jackson Middleton, I give away a block of Valveeta Cheese. Yup, a $15 block of cheese seems to get the audience’s attention brilliantly.
Give away prizes. I give away lottery tickets to anyone who answers a question or who makes the group laugh. It’s a simple way to keep people engaged.

When I was young training at a restaurant I was working at, they had an educator come in and teach us about all the cuts of a cow. He asks a question in the beginning and offers a crisp $20 bill to the person with the correct answer. I didn’t answer right but for the rest of the presentation, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for him to ask another $20 question. Sadly, he didn’t give away any more money but he taught me the power of prizes in exchange for attention.

The other one I see done all the time (usually at Real Estate conferences) is putting a $20 bill or some other prize under a seat in the room and then getting everyone to check their seat. I still remember asking a presenter “why” he did it and his response. “Jeph, I get at least a couple of referrals every time I do it, so I can’t stop!”

Surprise and delight is a great strategy when presenting to people.

5. Why will they care?

If you don’t like the topic you’re presenting on you shouldn’t be giving a presentation. That’s what University was for! HA!

The best presenters know their material inside and out AND they seem to really enjoy talking about it. These days I get excited for presentations, I make slides fun, I use jokes, and I include something personal I care about. If you can be open about what matters to you, you’ll find your audience tends to agree with you. Personal stories, something you care about, and meaningful moments will get your audience feeling what it is to be in your shoes for a moment.

I usually would talk about coaching volleyball and how inspired I was by these young athletes. Learning moments, a story I used to tell from 100 Acts of Kindness, though that story always makes me tear up so I tend to avoid it now! HA! Talking about the things in my life I’m the most proud of, my kids, my family, Big Idea Camp, my coworkers at StratLab, my friends. It’s all up for a story to help show the audience my point about why I want them to “out-care the competition”.

Amy Cuddy does this incredibly well in her TED talk “Your body language may shape who you are”.

Try it next time you present. Tell a personal story. Share too much. See what happens. I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

6. Your Ending.

Easily the most overlooked part of your presentation is your ending. Studies show that people only remember the start and the end, so put a lot of effort into both for a successful keynote.

I like ending with a bang, a fun video usually gets people laughing and they assume the presentation was really fun when in reality the video at the end was what they thought was fun and they attribute that to you.

Leave them with some key takeaways, point form, make them easy to understand or funny. Something they will remember OR can take a photo of so they will go back to it on their phone.

Seth Godin is the master of amazing presentation. Once you finish “How to get your ideas to spread” you instantly want to watch it again. That’s the ideal reaction to your presentation, your audience can’t get enough.

7. Your Slide Design

I remember watching Justin Reves (formerly Justin & Greg) present an amazing keynote in front of a packed crowd. I didn’t like his slide design, I LOVED it. It was clean, it wasn’t overpowering, the font was nice and it was just easy to look at. I need to know how he came up with it. So I asked…. His response: “Oh, that’s the default presentation in Keynote”.

I was floored. Here’s a guy who’s amazing at what he does, so confident, people are loving it, they’re laughing, and HE USED THE DEFAULT SLIDE DESIGN?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

Your slide design doesn’t matter. Well, it matters a little, it needs to look clean. But that’s it. Stop overthinking it and put more effort into your stories and less into the font you’re going to choose!

If you want to learn more about presenting or to see how to hire us for a presentation or workshop check out this page here. Thanks for reading! We really appreciate it!

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