How to present your work by Sally Hogshead

How to present your work
October 19th, 2007 Posted by: Sally Hogshead
Or: The difference between a great career and “I coulda been a contendah”
Sitting in LA morning traffic, I felt like an antelope being digested by a python. The painfully slow constriction finally deposited me at my client’s doorstep approximately ten seconds before the start of the new business presentation. It was still early in my career, but we’d worked for weeks on the work, so I felt confident about the outcome. At least I felt confident until I reached into the back seat for the portfolio

Wait. The portfolio case. …Where’s the frikkin’ portfolio case?!! As the ice water flushed through my blood, I realized exactly where the portfolio case was: on the kitchen counter. Um, yeah.

Lesson #1: Don’t forget the stuff you’re there to present. (Okay, let’s move on now, shall we?)

Most of us spend a lot of time on the material in the presentation, and very little on the presentation itself. But dumping your notes into PowerPoint slides is akin to serving Bobby Flay cuisine on dirty paper plates.

For anyone working in an idea-based business (such as you and me), coming up with ideas doesn’t mean squat if you can’t sell them. We sell ideas in presentations — whether those presentations take place in a boardroom or a co-worker’s cubicle — which means that presentations form the very building blocks of our careers.

In today’s marketing environment of chaos and insecurity, you have to fortify your ideas to face the most hairy decision-making moments. Below, a few tips for turning between great hypothetical ideas and great produced ideas.

Think of the client’s concerns before they do.
Ahead of the meeting, be brutally honest with yourself and your team in pinpointing the weak spots in your ideas. That way, you can address those if the client brings them up. Consider all aspects of your client needs, concerns, insecurities, politics, and biases that you’ll have to overcome in order to earn their genuine consideration. The point isn’t to defensively fight for your work, but rather, to avoid being caught flat-footed by a tough question.

Be able to articulate every element of your recommendations.
Don’t send your ideas out alone and defenseless into the meeting. Be able to clearly explain every element of your work, why you did things the way you did, and the reasoning for it. Odds are that you didn’t develop your recommendations by randomly shooting darts at a spreadsheet; make sure the client knows that too.

Have “Plan B” ready if your work isn’t approved.
Decide what elements of the work you’re willing to compromise, and what you’re not, so that you can pick your battles.

Help your audience support your ideas.
Give your client all the tools he or she needs to then turn around and sell the ideas internally, even when you’re not present. Whether or not you have a “leave-behind,” make sure they can articulate and defend in your absence.

Remember that no presentation is more important than the relationship.
When you’re passionate about what you’re working on, that passion can be a fantastic selling tool because it shows you believe in the work. However, there is no single idea that’s good enough to trash the overall relationship over it. The reality is that there are more good ideas at your disposal these days than there are clients.

If the presentation starts sucking wind, don’t wait to find out what’s going wrong.
Instead of nervously pushing forward to make it out alive, try to rustle the pink elephant out of the bushes. Acknowledge the situation with a little diplomatic honesty: “I could be wrong, but by those veins throbbing in your temples, I’m sensing that this isn’t working for you.” Only once they express their concerns can you then redirect attention to solving them.

Finally, check the kitchen counter before you walk out the door