Preface
Congratulations on your promotion! As a new manager, there is a lot to learn and a lot of new duties to juggle. On top of all your responsibilities, you have to give your first presentation—a crucial step toward establishing yourself in your new role. This first presentation allows you to demonstrate your authority and share your leadership style. It also provides you with the opportunity to solidify relationships with your team members and your boss. It requires careful planning, thoughtful content development, sufficient practice, and confident delivery.
If that sounds like a lot to handle, don't worry! This book is here to guide you through the entire presentation process—from planning to writing to practicing to giving a masterful presentation that instills your team with confidence and enthusiasm. By following my practical, encouraging, and systematic approach, you'll be presentation-ready before you know it, prepared to impress key stakeholders, win over your team, and showcase your value to the entire organization.
We'll begin with some strategic thinking about your personality, audience, and purpose. An exercise designed to address any fears or anxiety will pave the way to identifying your own signature presentation style. Leveraging your management skills will help you understand your audience and define your presentation purpose. We'll also consider a variety of parameters that can impact the content and delivery of your presentation.
Like managing, presenting is about building relationships. A content development worksheet and a sample presentation outline assist you in pinpointing the information, arguments, and structure that will motivate the audience to act on your words. Several ways of sharing information and examples of interactive presentation techniques are explored, allowing you to choose the ones that match your style, audience, and purpose.
To ensure effective communication of your thoughtfully developed presentation content, the book contains a crash course in public speaking basics along with simple exercises to improve speaking skills. Several rehearsal strategies paired with an evaluation form empower you to select the practice method that fits your schedule and your presentation parameters. Handling Q&A can be tricky at times, so I've included some practical techniques and a "quick response" table for your convenience.
After all the strategizing, development, and practicing, the final chapter shows you how to approach the before, during, and after of your presentation. Stress-management techniques and a checklist of pre-presentation activities help you cope with anxiety and minimize uncertainty. Suggestions for staying focused and connected with the audience are also provided. A sample presentation evaluation form and recommended follow-up interview questions assist you in getting constructive feedback from key stakeholders to improve future presentations.
So, what are you waiting for? A management-worthy presentation is just a few pages away. Let's get started!
What this book covers
Chapter 1, Planning Your Presentation, begins with strategic thinking about your personality, audience, purpose, and parameters.
Chapter 2, Developing Your Presentation, will help you identify the information, arguments, and structure that will motivate your audience to act on your words.
Chapter 3, Practicing Your Presentation, will help you prepare to give a masterful presentation through rehearsing and evaluating your delivery and learning how to handle Q&A sessions.
Chapter 4, Giving Your Presentation, helps you manage stress, minimize uncertainty, stay connected with your audience, and follow up with key stakeholders as you navigate the before, during, and after of your presentation.
Who this book is for
This book guides readers through a practical, stress-free, step-by-step process of planning, developing, practicing, and delivering a masterful presentation. While specifically addressing the challenges new managers face when confronting their first presentation in a new role, the insights, exercises, and worksheets are ideal for anyone seeking to give a promotion-worthy presentation.
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