How to Deliver an Impactful Presentation
- product management
- 5 min read
By Pinkesh Shah – Chief Product Officer, Qualys
In product management, effective presentations are not just useful for conveying information to your audience, they are important for professional communication, creating movement, resonating with your audience and eventually leaving a lasting impression on them. Good presentation skills are crucial for various aspects like pitching an idea or selling a product.
Key Takeaways:
- The bigger the movement between the before and after of your presentation, the more awesome your presentation was.
- You should tailor your message to cater to different personas, addressing their specific concerns and interests.
- There is a 60-20-20 rule that you should follow while structuring your presentation. 60% of your presentation should be dedicated to the main story, 20% to supporting details, and 20% to conclusion and call to action.
- It is necessary to have a basic understanding of the psychological effects of different colors and use them strategically to evoke specific emotions or associations.
- 70% of your communication in product management is dependent on body language.
1. Movement
The art of selling or sales means exchanging something of value with another person. Sales is all about movement. What is the before and after situation is what we are measuring at the end of the presentation. The bigger the delta between the before and after, the more awesome your presentation was.
Don’t think that sales means that someone has to agree to buy the product you are selling at a particular amount. But that might still be an effective presentation even though you did not succeed in the goal. Why? This is because the before and after have still changed. Before, that person was at least open to listening to you and seeing if wants to agree, but now he has changed his mind and he disagrees with you, which is also a movement. It is good for you because now you know what the objections are with this person. This means that now you are more equipped to handle the objections. So movement is very important for you to decide what is your before and after state that i want to induce.
2. Personas
Understanding your audience is crucial for delivering a presentation that resonates well. There are 4 things about the persona- knowledge level, belief level, maturity level, attitude level. So you have to analyze every single person in the room in 4 dimensions. As product managers, you should tailor your message to cater to different personas, addressing their specific concerns and interests.
3. Story
As product managers, designing the structure of the story is very important. There is a 60-20-20 rule you should follow. Allocate 60% of your presentation to the main story, 20% to supporting details, and 20% to conclusion and call to action. Choose a storytelling approach (type A or type B) that aligns with your audience’s preferences and objectives.
4. Visual appeal
Fonts, colors and understanding which colors induce what mood is very important. It is necessary to have a basic understanding of the psychological effects of different colors and use them strategically to evoke specific emotions or associations. A visually appealing presentation not only enhances comprehension but also reinforces the credibility and professionalism of your message.
5. Delivery
70% of your communication in product management is dependent on body language. This means that while you can do a great job on data, facts and statistics, colors, fonts, grids, layouts, etc., if you don’t deliver this in an engaging way, with your voice, body language, overall executive presence, you are going to fail to create that impact. You may still get it done, if it’s a technical presentation and all the audience wanted to see was your excel table. But not all presentations are going to be like that. As you grow into leadership roles, you will have to perform much more than showing a table and making a decision. You have to move people.
Hence, delivering an impactful presentation involves utilization of skills like movement, personas, story, visual appeal, and delivery. By mastering these five key pillars, you’ll be better equipped to create presentations that inform, inspire, and drive meaningful change.
About the Author:
Pinkesh Shah – Chief Product Officer, Qualys
Frequently Asked Questions
You can deliver an effective presentation by utilization of skills like movement, personas, story, visual appeal, and delivery.
The 60-20-20 rule you should follow while structuring your presentation means allocating 60% of your presentation to the main story, 20% to supporting details, and 20% to conclusion and call to action.
There are 4 dimensions about the persona- knowledge level, belief level, maturity level, attitude level, in which you should analyze your audience while giving a presentation.
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