Giving presentations

Giving Presentations

Scope

Covers

• Turning a goal + audience into a clear talk objective and ask
• Building a persuasive narrative using contrast (“what is” vs “what could be”)
• Producing a slide/talk-track plan that is easy to deliver under time pressure
• De-risking high-stakes talks via role-play, Q&A prep, and pre-briefs
• Rehearsing for confidence (including visualization + record/review)
• Delivery mechanics for in-person and Zoom (presence, pauses, looking up to think)

When to use

• “Create an outline and talk track for my all-hands update.”
• “Help me turn this doc into a 10-minute exec presentation with a clear ask.”
• “I need a deck structure for a keynote / conference talk.”
• “Prep me for Q&A and objections for a high-stakes review.”
• “Build a rehearsal plan so I can deliver confidently.”

When NOT to use

• You only need visual/brand design polish (use a design system or a designer; this skill focuses on narrative + delivery).
• You need a long-form written memo, email, or doc (use written-communication; then convert to a talk if needed).
• You need deep stakeholder alignment on strategy from scratch (use stakeholder-alignment first; this skill assumes you already have a direction/ask).
• You need to plan a meeting agenda and facilitation (use running-effective-meetings; this skill builds a talk, not a discussion).
• You need to design a multi-day offsite or retreat (use running-offsites; presentations may be one session, not the whole event).
• You’re presenting on regulated/high-risk topics (medical/legal/financial advice) without expert review.

Inputs

Minimum required

• Presentation type + setting (all-hands, keynote, exec review, customer demo; in-person vs Zoom)
• Audience (roles/seniority) + what they care about
• Desired outcome (inform / align / decide / persuade) and the ask (decision, approval, next step)
• Time limit and Q&A format (minutes; live Q&A vs async)
• Core content (bullets, doc, notes, or an existing deck) + any must-include points
• Constraints (deadline, level of polish, sensitive details to avoid)

Missing-info strategy

• Ask up to 5 questions from references/INTAKE.md (3–5 at a time).
• If details are missing, proceed with explicit assumptions and label unknowns.

Outputs (deliverables)

Produce a Presentation Pack in Markdown (in-chat; or as files if requested):

1. Presentation brief (goal, audience, ask, constraints)
2. Narrative outline (core message + “what is vs what could be” contrast)
3. Slide-by-slide outline + talk track (each slide: takeaway, key points, evidence, speaker notes)
4. Q&A / objection bank (top questions + crisp responses)
5. Stakeholder pre-brief plan (who to pre-meet, what to align, how to de-risk)
6. Rehearsal + delivery plan (visualization, record/review, timing, logistics, Zoom/in-person cues)
7. Risks / Open questions / Next steps (always)

Templates: references/TEMPLATES.md
Expanded guidance: references/WORKFLOW.md

Workflow (8 steps)

1) Intake: lock the objective, ask, and constraints

• Inputs: user context + references/INTAKE.md.
• Actions: Clarify audience, outcome, and the single most important ask. Confirm time limit and what is in/out of scope.
• Outputs: Presentation brief (draft) + assumptions/unknowns list.
• Checks: You can answer in one sentence: “After this talk, the audience will _____.”

2) Build the narrative spine using contrast

• Inputs: brief + source content (doc/bullets/deck).
• Actions: Define the “what is” current reality and the “what could be” future. Choose 2–4 supporting points and the call-to-action.
• Outputs: Narrative outline (contrast table + story beats).
• Checks: The contrast is concrete (not vague) and matches what the audience values.

3) Map the narrative to a slide/story structure

• Inputs: narrative outline + time limit.
• Actions: Select a structure (e.g., Context → Tension → Proposal → Proof → Ask). Create a slide list with 1 takeaway per slide and a rough time budget.
• Outputs: Slide-by-slide outline (titles + takeaways + time plan).
• Checks: The talk fits time with buffer; no slide has multiple competing takeaways.

4) Draft talk track and evidence (make it sayable)

• Inputs: slide outline + evidence sources.
• Actions: Write speaker notes (bullet talk track), add proof (metrics, examples, demos), and trim anything “nice to know.”
• Outputs: Slide outline with speaker notes + evidence plan.
• Checks: Each slide can be spoken without reading; jargon is translated for the audience.

5) Prepare for Q&A: role-play objections

• Inputs: draft pack + stakeholder context.
• Actions: Generate a Q&A / objection bank. Role-play the hardest audience member(s) and refine responses. Identify unanswered questions.
• Outputs: Q&A bank + “unknowns to resolve” list.
• Checks: Top 10 likely questions have concise answers and a fallback (“I’ll follow up by DATE”).

6) De-risk with stakeholder pre-briefs (no surprises)

• Inputs: draft pack + stakeholder map.
• Actions: Plan and run pre-meetings with key decision-makers/influencers. Capture objections early and update the narrative/ask.
• Outputs: Pre-brief plan + change log (what changed and why).
• Checks: No major stakeholder is seeing the core ask for the first time in the live meeting.

7) Rehearse for confidence (visualize + record + iterate)

• Inputs: near-final outline/talk track.
• Actions: Do a mental dress rehearsal (visualization), then a timed run. Record yourself, review, and iterate. Add delivery cues (pause, look up to think, avoid reading).
• Outputs: Rehearsal plan + timing notes + delivery cues.
• Checks: You can deliver within time twice in a row without major stumbles.

8) Finalize and run the quality gate

• Inputs: final draft pack + logistics.
• Actions: Run references/CHECKLISTS.md and score with references/RUBRIC.md. Confirm logistics (room/Zoom, backups). Produce the final pack.
• Outputs: Final Presentation Pack + Risks/Open questions/Next steps.
• Checks: A teammate can read the brief + slide outline and correctly predict the ask and flow.

Quality gate (required)

• Use references/CHECKLISTS.md and references/RUBRIC.md.
• Always include: Risks, Open questions, Next steps.

Examples

Example 1 (all-hands update): “Create a 7-minute all-hands presentation: what we shipped this quarter, what’s next, and what help we need from other teams.”
Expected: brief, narrative contrast (current vs next), slide outline + talk track, Q&A, rehearsal + delivery plan.

Example 2 (exec review with decision): “I need a 12-minute exec review proposing a new onboarding flow. The ask is approval to run a 4-week experiment. Prep me for objections.”
Expected: clear ask, proof points, objection bank, pre-brief plan for key execs, and a rehearsal plan.

Boundary example (redirect): “I need to get the VP of Eng and the CFO aligned on our infra investment before the board meeting.” Response: This is a stakeholder alignment problem, not a presentation problem. Redirect to stakeholder-alignment for the alignment brief, stakeholder map, and pre-brief loop. Once alignment is secured, return here to build the board presentation.

Boundary example (reframe): “Make my slides prettier.” Response: clarify whether the problem is narrative/structure vs visual design; if it’s purely aesthetics, recommend design-system alignment or a designer and do not invent business content.

Anti-patterns (common failure modes)

1. ”Death by slides” -- Creating 40+ dense slides instead of a tight narrative with 1 takeaway per slide. Audiences tune out; the talk runs over time.
2. No clear ask -- Presenting information without stating what the audience should do, decide, or approve. Leads to “interesting talk, but now what?”
3. Skipping rehearsal -- Trusting that the slides will carry the talk. Result: rambling, reading slides verbatim, or freezing on tough questions.
4. Audience-blind content -- Using the same deck for execs and ICs. Execs want the ask + tradeoffs up front; ICs want detail and context. Mismatched content loses the room.
5. Ignoring Q&A prep -- Hoping tough questions won’t come up. Unprepared answers undermine credibility even when the core content is strong.