What Works Today May Not Tomorrow

There are two types of people when it comes to presentations: those who underestimate their abilities (that’s most of us) and those who overestimate them.

The first group is relatively easy to work with because they’re open to learning more. The second group can be more challenging, as they tend to resist advice.

Maybe you work with someone like this — an exec, a client, a team member. Or maybe you yourself fall into this category. After all, we’re communication experts, right? We must be great at it!

So let me tell you what I tell them: No matter how good you are, the presentation landscape is constantly shifting, and those who fail to keep up and adapt can easily fall behind.

I’m a professional speaker and I’ve had to reinvent my technique time and again. Just look at how the world — and, with it, the world of presentations — has evolved over the past couple of decades.

TED talks raised the bar.

The rise of TED talks in the mid-2000s gradually shifted audience expectations — even for ordinary, everyday presentations.

Among other things, we’re expected to be more concise, articulate a clear narrative and offer some level of visual appeal beyond the traditional death by PowerPoint.

For me, this was a big adjustment — and a lot of work. But it forced me to distill my thoughts into as few words as possible and to focus on the big picture. 

Also, the process of searching for evocative images to illustrate my points helps get to the true core of my message.

Virtual tested us as never before.

When the pandemic ushered in the virtual era, I thought I was well-prepared since I had been doing webinars for nearly a decade at that point.

In fact, during that first COVID year I was busy helping clients adapt to this new reality, working with them to master the technical details, simplify their content, improve their presence and project greater authority.

But then Zoom fatigue set in and I soon realized that what I was doing was not enough. The webinars I grew up on were primarily a one-way conversation. Audience members were rarely on camera or microphone; there weren’t any breakouts; and in the earliest days, we were lucky if there was even a chat window.

It soon became clear that audience interaction needed to be more than an afterthought or a perfunctory Q&A period at the end. To engage them, we must involve them.

So, I spent hours devouring other professional speakers’ presentations to learn how to create more of a dialogue than a monologue. Among other things, that entails asking them questions, doing pulse checks, offering them the spotlight and making the most of breakouts.

These days, whether virtual or in-person, I aim for an interactive moment every couple of minutes. 

Competition for attention exploded.

It’s never been easy grabbing and holding people’s attention, but the rise of smartphones afforded audiences a world of distractions literally right at their fingertips.

Once again, I went back to the drawing board. I hired an instructional designer to help me overhaul my presentations from top to bottom.

The biggest takeaway? Less stuff. Instead of going wide with a bunch of content, I try to dig deep on fewer ideas, allowing more time for discussion.

What’s next?

Generative AI has already revolutionized how we create and package content. It can help us distill and organize our thoughts and pressure-test our ideas.

As for delivery technique, platforms like PowerPoint and Zoom feature integrated AI coaching. And there are a variety of stand-alone apps as well.

From what I’ve observed so far, these tools can be pretty blunt. They’re fine at spotting the proverbial “trees” but, too often, it’s at the expense of the forest.

That kind of perspective still requires the human touch, for now, at least. 

So let all this be a reminder to avoid complacency. As the world changes, so does the way we present. To remain relevant, it’s important to stay on top of these trends and continuously fine-tune our approach.