Chapter 5. Don't Ruin Their Day!
Amid the countless variables that occupy your thoughts in the weeks leading up to a presentation—hairstyles, clothing, what to eat for breakfast, the subject matter—you can be certain of two things. And no, they're not death and taxes. Cryogenics and modern medicine have advanced to the point that humankind can at least begin to delude itself with the notion of immortality, even if it is at the expense of a freezer-burned nose and, if you're still paying taxes, maybe it's time to start sending Uncle Sam postcards from the Caribbean.
No, the certainties in the presentation world are simple: (1) your presentation is vital to the advancement of your career, your business, and/or humanity; and (2) your audience would rather you show up with an inflatable ball pit than a projector and laser pointer. Your human audience is like a car with golf cart tires on one side and monster truck tires on the other: It's going to take a significant steering effort to keep it on the road.
These two realities arm the presenter with a unique capability: to completely ruin hundreds, even thousands of days, all at once. An audience arrives for a presentation with a certain amount of knowledge; if you spend an hour repeating that knowledge to them, you've effectively wasted their time. They come to you with a desire to learn something; give them unorganized and indecipherable information and you've ruined their day. They show up at the expense of other items on to-do lists ...
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