Nobody wants your presentation. They want an easy YES.

Let’s start with a classic marketing truth.

Nobody wants a drill. They want a hole.
It’s not about the tool. It’s about what the tool does.
A nice, clean hole in the wall to hang the family photo.
And that’s it.

Now think about your next presentation.

Your audience doesn’t care about the nice slides, stats, or a detailed backstory of your internal planning process. What they really want is to be able to make an easy decision.

They want clarity.

They want to feel confident saying YES to you. Or NO if that’s the right call. They want a shortcut to a good decision.


Nobody wants your presentation. Per se.

So what’s going wrong?

Many presentations are designed in the wrong way. We obsess over what we want to say. Goodness knows how many times I’ve fallen into this trap myself.

We cram in everything we know, add some animations and builds, and hope the audience is impressed with how we’ve created our story.

Too much information can, in some cases, even make you look insecure.

And the audience doesn’t care how much you know. They care about how much easier you make their life.

If you want your presentation to land. Really land. Then shift your mindset from, ‘How do I get all my information across?’

to:

’How do I make it easy for them to say YES?’

Here’s how.

1. Lead with the outcome.

Start with the hole, not the drill.

What’s the change you’re offering, what decision are you making easier, how much money will this make, how much time will it save, what problem will it fix?

Get to it fast … Within the first 60 seconds.

Put it right up front in the Executive Summary, if you’re using slides.

2. Cut the clutter.

Every extra slide, every extra bullet point, even every word … Ask youself: Does this help them say YES?

If not, it’s just noise. Ruthless editing will make you look more confident.

3. Anticipate the ‘but’.

Every audience has objections.

Have you considered this?
What about that?
Do we have the resource?

Quite simply, this is scenario planning.

Address the objections positively. Strategically, not defensively. Show that you’ve thought it through.

4. End with a clear next step.

Not only are you presenting a no-brainer decision, you’ve already planned out how to move things forward.

Another helping hand to get to the easy YES.


To sum up

Presentations aren’t about dazzling people. It’s not all about the theatre.

They’re about removing the friction in a decision. Making decisions easier.

If your presentation gets a fast, confident YES you’ve done your job.

No drama. No bells and whistles. Just results.

Hate public speaking? Let’s fix that.
Start the journey to banish your fear of public speaking and presenting, improve your confidence, and boost your career prospects. Check out the online masterclass here at Better Public Speaking.