Working on a presentation? Ask yourself these 5 questions first.

I have worked on 400+ presentations - client pitches, board meetings, team meetings, leadership review, investors, etc. Not all of them were success. But the ones those were (~65-70%), I began the process by asking these five questions and spent more time on them, than putting the content together or designing the presentation. Five questions you should ask and should answer to BEFORE you start working on the presentation - 1️⃣ What’s the purpose? 🔑 Always begin with one. If you are not clear about the 'real' purpose of the presentation, it is a non-starter. TIP - The first answer/thought that comes to your mind, is often NOT the right one. 2️⃣ What are you selling? 📦 You may say, "i am presenting a new product feature/idea to leadership, not selling anything!", well you are wrong. You are always selling! An idea, a product, a service, a solution, yourself, your company...you are always selling. Be very clear and specific of what are you selling with this presentation. TIP - You have to keep your biases and ego at bay. 3️⃣ How are you going to sell it? 🧮 Selling in and of itself is hard. But, if you can weave a compelling story which has a plot (your market), a villain (competitor/bug/low NPS), a hero (your solution, idea, product), a playground/battlefield (category, addressable market), a friend (market trends, consumer behavioral shifts), and a promise of great journey (product adoption, growth) - then you should be good! TIP - Detail out various scenarios - positive and negative, to better prepare for objections/questions. 4️⃣ Whom are you speaking to? 🦸 Are you speaking to a decision maker or an influencer? Your employees or board? Your prospective customer or an existing one? How well versed are they with your industry/category/or the topic on which you are going to give presentation? Would it help to send them a pre-read before exposing them to presentation? Answer these (and more), and you will have a clear idea and roadmap on how to weave your purpose, ask, and story in a well-crafted manner and words. TIPS - It is always a good idea to share some pre-read with your audience before they see your presentation. No one likes surprises. 5️⃣ What is the success metric? 🎉 This is different than purpose. This is the action/result you want to achieve by the end of your presentation. What is the one action you want your audience want to take, which if they do - you will consider this presentation a success. Is it an approval to your idea or build consensus across multiple teams? TIP - Great presentations do not have more than 2 success metrics. What would you add to the list? Let me know your thoughts.