Top Tips to Delivering a Technical Presentation

The more complicated your topic is, the more you have to prepare for your presentation.  If you’re presenting on a technical topic, it’s likely your audience will already have a basic background in the information.  However, you will need to keep a few things in mind to ensure you’re delivering the best presentation you can.

• Know the topic – As you’re preparing the speech, you will want to get to know the topic inside and out.  If you’re not already an expert, it can help to speak to someone who is.  Find out as much as you can so you are ready for any audience.
• Guess the questions – Once you have the basics of the topic in your mind, consider the possible questions you’ll be asked. To prepare ahead of time to answer even the toughest of questions get in touch with your peers, colleagues, others who you know have presented to this audience, personal and executive assistants, anyone who likely will have an idea on the types of questions that may be asked. Take note of their suggestions and document answers to these questions.  While you can’t prepare for everything, the more you think ahead, the less you’ll be surprised in the moment.
• Break it down piece-by-piece – Take the topic and break it into steps and clear pieces.  Then describe each of the pieces so you can cover the topic in the most comprehensive way.  Consider putting yourself in the shoes of the audience to see what they would need to know after each piece.  This will create a logical flow and it will help you stay on track too.
• If you are presenting a recommendation for change ensure you present 2 options PLUS a recommendation. This gives the audience choice rather than you potentially putting them offside by telling them what to do.
• Have one single defined outcome that your presentation will drive towards and make this the last thing you say before you close. This should encompass what it is you want them to think or say or do and why that is in their best interests. Ideally you would be able to deliver this in 25 words or less. Being concise is a gift to the audience.
• Close with two words only; thank you. This lets the audience know you have finished.
• Offer handouts/resources – Though you might speak and explain the main topics, it can help to offer additional information to the audience to review later on. Please do the audience a favour and advise at the beginning of your presentation that notes are to be made available. This will ensure your audience does not scribble wildly for the ensuing hour or however long your presentation is.

When you’re preparing to deliver a technical presentation, you need to prepare as you might for any speech.  You will need to learn as much as you can, so your expertise is clear and your audience can be confident in the information you share.

If you’re not the expert, you can still learn enough to figure out how to manage the speech for the audience.  This might look like starting off with some basic points and then asking the audience to contribute their thoughts or add to what you have shared thus far. People love to talk about what they know well so leverage this to your best advantage.  When you engage the audience in the presentation you ensure everyone learns something, and you don’t have to know everything before you get up to talk. The truly smart presenters ask the right questions and are open to learning from those who might potentially be smarter than them.