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“In my library are about a thousand volumes of biography–a rough calculation indicates that more of these deal with men and women who have talked themselves upward than with all scientists, writers, saints, and doers combined.

Talkers have always ruled.

They will continue to rule.

The smart thing is to join them.”

Bruce Barton (1886-1967)
Scholar, editor, author, Congressman, and founder of the advertising agency
Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborne

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If you have a role of any importance in the corporate world, you will be asked to make a presentation from time to time. I’d suggest you make the following versions:

• The full monty version. This is the version you will deliver in a perfect world, under perfect circumstances. The more senior you are, the higher the stakes, the more likely this will be the case. Keynote addresses, town hall meetings, and deep dives fall in this category.
• The one page version. What if you were told a few minutes before your presentation that you could only present one slide? To most of you this will come as a deep shock, but it can be done.
• The condensed version. This is a more realistic scenario. In a management offsite, the earlier speakers will take more time than allotted, random questions will waste time, and poor time management by the facilitator will rip the schedule to shreds. Be prepared with the top 3 to 5 slides to make your point. Ask for follow up meetings to review and take decisions that were not taken due to a truncated schedule.

This is not as hard as it sounds. If you know what you want to say, and who needs to hear the message, it is actually fun. Film makers do this all the time. They make the full movie, then they make a trailer, and then the film may be chopped up further to show on network television.

Giving up what you wanted to say is the hardest part. Knowing what to say so that the right message gets to the right person at the right time is the most important part of the preparation.