How to boss every presentation and be remembered [7-Step Framework]

If you've ever felt the butterflies before a big presentation, you're not alone.

And all those questions in your head that won’t go away like:

“Have I prepared enough?”

“What if I don’t remember something?”

“What if they don’t buy into my idea?”

Sometimes you get through and feel like you’ve only just survived.

• They didn’t get it
• They didn’t agree to your proposal
• They didn’t get behind your big new idea

I happens to everyone.

But what if I told you there's a way to not just to ‘get-through’ your presentations, but absolutely smash them?

If so, this one’s for you.

We need to get you a place of concern to confidence.

What we’ll talk through today is an easy process.

But it will require time.

This means you need to:

• Prep earlier than you’d planned
• Rehearse more than you’d think
• Put yourself outside of your comfort zone (beforehand)

Having given countless presentations in my career, from pitching to clients to motivating teams, I've learned how to turn those nerve-wracking moments into opportunities to shine (and enjoy).

Recently, this took the form of a TEDx talk.

One of my proudest moments.

However.

• I fluffed some of my words
• I missed bits out that I’d planned
• I didn’t get my slide cues perfect

But all of that stuff DOES NOT matter.

Why?

Your audience have no idea what you’re going to present.

What you’ll find is, It's not about being the smoothest talker, delivering a set script, or having the fanciest slides.

It's about mastering a set of skills that will provide value, engage your audience, and ensure your message sticks.

Let's break it down.

When I gave my talk is split it into:

1. Audience - What were my audience wanting to hear and learn?
2. Theme - What was the ‘big idea’ and the transformative lesson?
3. Structure - What was the flow and what data was I going to use?
4. Story - How could I weave a story throughout?
5. Step-by-step - How could I make everything actionable?
6. Rehearse - How could I ensure I not only rehearsed, but memorised?
7. Deliver - How could I engage the audience and ensure I was memorable?

Here’s the framework in detail…

1. Audience

Before you even think about your content, you need to understand who you're talking to. This is where your EQ (Emotional Intelligence) comes into play.

Ask yourself:

• What do they care about?
• What problems are they facing?
• What language do they speak (industry / departmental language)?

If possible, chat with a few attendees beforehand. Get a feel for their expectations and concerns.

2. Theme

Every great presentation has a central theme that ties everything together. Mixed messages just don’t work.

People need to think afterwards “Oh yeh, I remember that presentation from them on that ONE thing that was really good”

Your theme should be:

• Relevant to your audience
• Transformational
• Emotive

With my talk “How technology can enable a passion based career”

‘Passion’ was my key theme with the detail around the tech supporting it as opposed to the other way around. My story weaved into that (more on this in a bit).

Pro tip: Try to distill your theme into a single sentence. If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.

3. Structure

Now that you have your theme, it's time to build the skeleton of your presentation. A solid structure ensures your ideas flow logically and keeps your audience engaged.

There’ 3 concepts I want you to internalise here:

1. 1 point per slide
2. Start, middle and end
3. Past, present and future

Slides should be simple and support / summarise your narrative. Preferably visually.

You need to start with a bang, wake people up in the middle (especially on Zoom calls), and finish strong.

You need to take people on a journey, from where they were (to show progress), where they are now (to empathise with the current situation) and where you want them to go (bright shiny future)

Then you need to decide what data and stats you will / won’t include.

• Don’t add data for data’s sake
• Don’t find statistics because you think they look cool
• Look for evidence backed data that ADDS something.

When I was adding data / stats, I used ChatGPT to search the web for academically / industry validated information WITH SOURCES.

Remember: A clear structure helps your audience follow along and remember your key points.

4. Story

Humans are wired for stories. Use this to your advantage.

Start with a hook - a surprising stat, a personal anecdote, or a thought-provoking question.

Then, structure your content like a hero's journey. This links to structure.

• The challenge (the problem your audience faces)
• The struggle (why it's hard to overcome)
• The revelation (your solution or insight)
• The new world (the benefits of implementing your idea)

My talk started with:

“When I was young, I loved 2 things. Computers, and music. But I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career until secondary school.”

Immediate hook, immediate curiosity, with people itching to know what was coming next.

Remember: People might forget your slides, but they'll remember how you made them feel.

5. Step by Step

Now that you've nailed your story, it's time to give your audience something tangible to take away. A step-by-step framework makes your ideas actionable and memorable.

You’ve given them the what, where, who and when. Now you need to give them a ‘how’.

Here's how to create an effective framework:

• Keep it simple (3-5 steps max)
• Make each step clear and concise
• Use memorable acronyms or alliteration if possible
• Explain how each step contributes to the overall goal
  
  

Create a visual representation of your framework. It could be a flowchart, a pyramid, or even just a simple numbered list.

NOTE - AIs are great at helping your produce acronyms once you’ve got your steps defined.

6. Rehearse

Practice doesn't make perfect - perfect practice makes perfect.

Here’s what I did.

• Wrote my entire script word for word and read it a dozen times
• I then read the first section, turned away and recited it from memory, before moving onto the next section. I then did this with section 1 and 2, and then 1,2 and 3 until I got to the end (ChatGPT gave me this tip)
• I think recorded myself with the PowerPoint presentation coach which gave me pointers on speed, filler words (like ums and ahs) and warned me when I was reading from the slides
• I then finished rehearsing 2 days before the presentation by walking around my local woods 3 times (about 2 hours) with my phone for backup in the tricky sections
• I then tried to forget about it the day before and relax, to help my subconscious let it sync in and commit it to deeper memory.
  
  

By the time I’d done this. I was chomping at the bit to get on stage.

The goal isn't to memorise a script, but to internalize your message so you can deliver it naturally.

7. Deliver

This is where it all comes together.

• Arrive early to set up and calm your nerves
• Do some last minute reading of your notes if you must
• Walk on stage (or into your virtual room) slowly and take a few moments. 5 seconds of silence grounds you and improves your authority
• Open stance, chest out, shoulders back, hands facing forward.
• Find happy faces in the audience to connect with
• Use your voice and body language to emphasise key points (the tonality and melody of your voice is key)
• Embrace pauses - they add impact and give you time to think. If your structure is nailed, these should come naturally.
• Don’t overthink it
  
  

It will NEVER go perfectly.

But confidence and impact trump perfection any day of the week!

To help you get started, here are a couple of AI prompts you can experiment with:

Prompt 1:

"I'm preparing a presentation on [your topic] for [your audience]. Can you suggest 3 engaging hooks / shocking ideas I could use to start my presentation, wake people up in the middle, and create massive impact at the end?"

Prompt 2:

"I'm struggling to define the theme for my presentation on [your topic]. Here’s what I want to include [enter summary content], and this is what I want people to do as a result [enter your desired outcome] Can you suggest 3 potential themes that would resonate with [your audience], and explain why each might be effective?”

Prompt 3:

"I'm preparing a presentation on [your topic] for [your audience]. Can you suggest a step-by-step framework based on [enter your presentation content] that encapsulates the key actions they should take?”

Important: You’re using AI to stuff WITH you, not FOR you. Place yourself and your skills at the centre of every conversation.

The key to bossing your presentations isn't just about what you say - it's about how you make your audience feel.

By mastering these skills, you'll not only survive your next presentation - you'll smash it.

You'll be the speaker everyone remembers, the one whose ideas stick, the one who makes massive impact.

In no time you’ll be the superstar nobody can replace.

Here’s to your irreplaceable journey.

Until next time,

Adam

P.S - There’s 2 ways I can help you:

1. I’m now available for 1:1 coaching.
   
   Build Irreplaceable, Future-Proof Skills with me in 60 minutes. $50 off for newsletter subscribers here
   
   

2. I’m also available to speak.
   
   If you’d like me to speak for you, or know anyone who’d like to book me, please e-mail [email protected]
   
   

P.P.S - I’ll share the TEDx link to my talk as soon as it’s live!