The Eight Common Presentation Failures

(Avoid these and this alone can give you a competitive advantage.)

1. Self absorbed. It’s all about the presenter’s company the presenter’s products—and not about the audience. They tell their story and don’t connect it to the audience’s needs. No relevance.

2. No differentiation. Clients have told me about sitting through a dozen presentations, all using PowerPoint, or some other electronic presentation vehicle, and all using it the same way.

And nobody saying or showing what makes them different. They look the same; they sound the same.

3. No benefit. No clear demonstration of how their product or service improved anything.

4. Unfocused and disconnected. It’s all over the place. They may have a main point in there someplace, but they lose it.

5. Complicated boring visuals. Readers have to wade through charts, graphs and other visuals that add nothing and complicate rather than illuminate.

6. More dullness. Lots and lots of words on the screen; presenters become readers. No human connection.

7. Buzzwords. Jam in too many buzzwords and you end up sounding like everybody else. By the year 2001, I vowed never to use the word solutions again. And, what does enhanced mean, anyway.

8. No chemistry. Given the other items on this list, how could there be.

Talk to me.

As a presentation consultant I can help you turn your competitions' failures into your competitive advantage.