I recently had the privledge of giving a one-hour motivating lunch ‘n learn seminar to 55 engineers at Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a United Technologies Company based in Stratford, CT. The topic was “Don’t Bore Your Audience: learn to avoid the most common presentation pitfalls.”

My goal was to help them become more aware and intentional about how they plan, design and deliver their presentations. The first step was learning what and how to avoid the most common presentation pitfalls. So far, I have accumulated 17 common pitfalls that can trip up competent subject matter experts when they present their stuff.

As a “PowerPoint-FREE speaker, I designed and delivered this presentation without the use of PowerPoint. They responded well to this and the overall  level of audience engagement was high.  One of the feedback sheets that I received after the presentation stated

“I don’t believe you defined the 3 phases clearly. There is a very fine line between planning and design. This should be made clear.”

I think this is very fair feedback and I’m grateful for it. It gave me cause to really think more deeply about the three phases of presentation: planning, design and delivery. I am motivated to share my deeper thinking on the subject.

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