Spread that smirk right across your face.
 
When a presentation goes well, I’m in my smirky place. This requires scripting and memorization. If you don’t find those tasks particularly joyful, here’s my system for writing and memorizing presentations that will keep you smiling.
 
The good news is you don’t need to memorize lengthy documents. Refer to, and even read your notes, and, instead, memorize the overall blocks of your presentation. This will give you confidence because you’ll always know where you’re going, even if you forget something specific. The better news is that memorizing the blocks may trigger your memory when you momentarily lose your thought.

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To start, script the structure of your presentation with a narrative. Telling a story makes memorizing content easier and way more fun.
 

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Write out the main points of your presentation and organize them into “blocks” that represent the story arc you want to share.You’re not writing a novel or a movie script. But it’s crucial that you have an introduction, a key idea that you want to communicate, proof points, and a conclusion or call-to-action at the end. These elements inform the structure of your narrative, like any novel, movie script, or essay you ever wrote in school.
 
A general script outline I coach executives with is: Trust (why should people listen to you?); Idea (what’s the main thing you want to communicate?); Proof (why does your idea make sense?); Action (what do you want people to do?). Use this to map out the blocks of your presentation.
 
While you don’t need to memorize everything word-for-word, you should commit to memory the “Tops and Tails” of each block; how each starts and how each will end.
 
Then, for the key idea you want to convey and short sections that would be best to communicate with precise language and without losing eye contact, memorize those word-for-word. That involves rote memory work.

I make this tedious task fun by impromptu “boot camp”moments leading up to the presentation. When I’m in line at the grocery store, in my head I’ll run my key idea script, or the overall blocks of my presentation, to see if I can nail them down before paying.
 
This system is worth the effort even if, on occasion, the cashier catches you smirking to yourself as you bag your groceries.

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BTW: the photos from this event were from an awards gala for a repeat client, the Moneris President’s Club Awards, and it was just as fun the second time around.

I can tell you from experience that the positive energy of an audience is a genuine reflection of the kind of corporate culture that is created by an organization for its management and staff.

This event was a gem.

Photo credit: Eclipse Photography
Set design: CG CREATIVE STUDIOS

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