Presenting can generally be a challenging and anxiety filled task if you make it, especially when it comes to communicating technical findings. 

Furthermore, if the presentation is to senior management, they probably have other things on their minds while you are presenting, and you will need to captivate them in the first few minutes or they might lose interest in what you have to say.

Even though the findings may be complex in nature, that does not rule out the ability to tell a good story and convey your results in an effective way that educates and moves the audience.

Here are some tips to help prepare for that next great technical presentation:

1. Simplify your approach

If you are not familiar with the audience you are presenting to, a general rule of thumb is to try presenting the findings as you would to an intelligent 8-year-old. If you are more familiar with the audience you are presenting to, tweak the technical stuff accordingly to the consensus in the room. Also, when using acronyms and presentations, be careful to assume that everyone knows those acronyms. It may be good practice to initially give the full wording, and then use the acronym accordingly for the rest of the presentation.

 2. Get to the point

Presenting is not like a movie where its builds up until the final stages. Although the assumptions, approach and data are all just as important and most time for the work put in, remember what the point of the presentation is. Constantly challenge each of the key points by asking “so what?” to ensure it relates to the listeners and help them understand how it will assist them to do their jobs better and easier.

 3. Put the complexity in perspective

This requires a deep understanding of the subject, a well-rounded background, and perhaps some frustration from having to explain the same thing over again to people over time. Think of the bigger picture on what you are presenting and how it may relate to some of your hobbies, so the listener potentially gets the concept drilled down further and follow along with the rest of the presentation. Metaphors and analogies are great to communicate complex ideas. For example, back in 1984 when computers were not mainstream yet, Steve Jobs once described it as “the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”    

 4. Toastmasters

Try checking out Toastmasters clubs close to your proximity. You can check it our for free as a guest to get a feel for that specific club and also check out other clubs to see how they fit to your liking. It is a platform to practice within the public speaking domain. Not only does the club embrace public speaking, but it is also an effective tool to collect your thoughts on the fly. This is not a natural skill to have especially for a technical person and will eventually create a more genuine feel to your presentations, along with being aware of all the ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ used as fillers.    

5. Use awesome data visualizations

Great data visualizations can make or break the point in clearly communicating the results. It is worth while to go through effective storytelling of the data, and properly formatting the visuals of the presentation. A great point of reference for this that I recommend is Storytelling with Data. This goes through some general rules and recommendations for presenting the data in a robust way.   

Hopefully these tips help for that next great technical presentation!