Nancy Duarte

Win High-Stakes Presentations by Prioritizing Audience Insight

Many presenters lose their audience within the first 30 seconds. If that happens, it’s as if you never even presented... Your brilliant idea or insights that could change their lives never reach their potential. That's why half the battle in a high-stakes presentation is keeping your audience engaged. Here’s a 6-step process I’ve used over the last few decades to win the room during my highest stakes presentations: 1. Know your audience’s values and decision-making style. The first mistake communicators make is presenting what they think is important. But persuasion doesn't start with you and your message. It starts with your audience. Before you build a single slide, understand how they think and what’s driving their decisions. What drives them to make decisions (are they analytical or intuitive)? Are they risk-averse or risk-tolerant? What are their biggest pain points? 2. Understand why your audience is coming to THIS presentation. Taking #1 a step further, think through what everyone in your audience is bringing with them into this meeting. What do they feel about the topic you’re presenting on? What pressures are they facing? What are they afraid of? Are they here because they have to be or because they want to be? 3. Identify how your message solves their problem (make them the hero). Take what you learned in Steps 1 and 2 to create your presentation’s story structure. Position your idea as the bridge that connects where your audience is and where they want to be. Your idea is the catalyst that allows them to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. 4. Determine the ONE thing you want them to do after the presentation. You know what outcome you need, so don’t leave it up to chance. Give them ONE action to take and make the stakes crystal clear. What happens if they say yes? But more importantly, what happens if they don't? People are more likely to act when they understand the cost of inaction. 5. Distill everything into The Big Idea(™). If your audience forgets everything else, what’s the one thing you want them to remember? That’s The Big Idea(™). When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, he said, “Today, Apple reinvents the phone.” That’s a message that moves people. The Big Idea(™) is your point of view plus what’s at stake. It should be a single sentence. 6. Make sure everything in your presentation supports The Big Idea(™). Once you have that sentence, test every element of your presentation against it. Your stories, your data, your slides…every piece should reinforce The Big Idea(™)  and make it impossible to ignore. Cut anything that doesn’t support The Big Idea™. It will only weaken your presentation. This 6-step process has worked wonders for me throughout my career, and I’m confident it can help you begin winning the room during your high-stakes presentations.