How to Use Psychology to Be a Better Presenter

“There are always three speeches for every one you actually gave: the one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”

—Dale Carnegie

Which of the following is true of you:

A. After you give a presentation, you usually feel that it was quite successful.

B. After you give a presentation, you are usually tormented by all the things you should have done or said differently.

If your answer was A, then this book might not be for you. Not because you are already a great presenter, but because you might not be motivated enough to learn what you need to know about people to be a better presenter.

I’ve given hundreds of presentations in my career, and I’m a popular speaker. People say things like, “That was the best presentation I’ve ever attended.” And I’m grateful for these kind words. But I’m never satisfied. Although I usually think that there were several aspects of the just-completed presentation that were quite good, I am my own worst critic. Maybe I’m too hard on myself. All I know is that practically before the presentation is done, I’ve already identified what to change.

Sometimes when I’m coaching people on presentation skills they will say something like, “I’m not a great presenter. I don’t know if I’ll ever be a great presenter. I’m never satisfied with the presentations I give.” “That’s good,” I respond, “now I know that you have the capability of being a great presenter.” Like any great artist or performer, great presenters are constantly striving to improve their performance and their craft.

In his book Drive, Daniel Pink talks about the research on motivation and mastery. People are motivated to master a topic or skill. The drive for mastery keeps us working at a task. But, according to Pink, mastery can never be reached—it can really only be approached.

Every day around the world millions of presentations are delivered. Some are great, some are mediocre, and some are just downright boring. How much better would the world be, how much more inspired would your audiences be, and how much change could you make in the world if you improved the quality of your presentations?

There are two sides to every presentation. You are speaking, but an audience is listening. If you want to give a great presentation, you need to know a lot about people. The more you understand how people think, learn, hear, see, react, and decide, the better able you will be to put together a presentation that informs, inspires, and motivates. When you learn about others, you’ll know how to craft and deliver a powerful presentation.