Why so many presentations fail
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July 26th, 2006
failed presentations have a high personal cost, and a high financial cost to a business.
A recent survey suggests that 80% of business presentations fail as a consequence of poor preparation, posing a real threat to organizations that may not get a second opportunity to remedy the situation. Whilst we can only hazard a guess as to the financial consequences of a failed presentation, we all can share the irritation of delayed and wasted meetings, postponed presentations or the embarrassment of paper handouts.
failed presentations are caused by a magnitude of factors, but presenters rarely consider failure due to technological or preventable human failure. As a generation, we have become too familiar with reliability, and most organizations have contingency plans for recovery in the event of floods, fires and theft. Yet, when was the last time you considered what could cause failure in an important pitch, from pc failure (9%), through to the client reducing the time available by half on the day of the event (3%). As a seasoned presenter, I have had my fair share of disasters from power cuts, through to squirrels eating through my car fuel line causing me to turn up, considerably later than expected. It is through these experiences, and I can say with authority that an unexpected event will occur 10% of the time you present.
Planning for failure is as important as planning for success. I always ask my clients four simple questions:
what happens if the technology fails
what would happen if one of your team members fails to show
what would happen if the presentation is cut unexpectedly short
what exactly would happen if you didn’t reach your objective?
Rarely do I get an answer for the first three questions, but not surprisingly, I always get a huge response from the last question.
Whilst we can’t eradicate the risk of squirrels spoiling your big day, we can plan for that eventuality. Start by having a backup presentation that doesn’t require any technology, carry a box that has spare pens, an extension lead and bulbs in it, and ensure that another team member is well versed in your presentation. These simple things will help you cope with disaster, increasing your chances of success significantly.
Ends
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