Jennifer McClure`

Empowering Organizations and People Leaders to thrive in the ever-evolving world of work

  • About
  • Speaking
  • Schedule
  • Blog
  • Impact Makers Podcast
  • Contact

Written by Jennifer McClure

How to Deliver a Killer Presentation: Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes

I make my living as a professional communicator, which means I have the honor of speaking to audiences at conferences, association meetings, and corporate events all over the world.

One of the benefits that I truly enjoy when speaking at events is attending other keynotes, breakout sessions, or workshops whenever possible. I’m always interested in learning, and I also want to watch great speakers in action, so I can continue to grow and improve my speaking skills as well.

At a recent conference, I chose to attend a breakout session led by a speaker with an impressive title. His bio listed many professional accomplishments and years of experience in a topic that I was very interested in learning more about. Even though his session was scheduled a few hours before my closing keynote, I made a point to get to the convention center early in order to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from him.

Unfortunately, very quickly into the 75-minute session, it became clear that learning was going to be a challenge. Even though his professional experience and accomplishments related to the subject were impressive, the speaker conveyed zero excitement or passion for the findings of the case studies and research that he shared, and he didn’t seem to care at all about connecting with the audience.

Pretty soon, in an effort to salvage my time investment, my note taking shifted towards capturing quotes and actions from the speaker that affected my ability to learn from him.

10 Audience Engagement Killers

  1. “I’m not going to bore you with that…”
  2. “We don’t have time to talk about that today…”
  3. “What time is it?”
  4. “Here’s a picture of an article I wrote in 2008…”
  5. “I’m not going to go through each one of these…”
  6. “How much time do I have left?”
  7. “There are a variety of reasons for this, we just don’t have time to talk about them here…”
  8. “I’m not going to go into this, it’s too involved for this gig…”
  9. “Am I still okay on time?”
  10. “This slide shows a whole bunch of reports which focus on financial metrics. Blah, blah, blah, blah…”

The 10 statements above were exact quotes from the speaker during this session – even number ten.

Unfortunately, I left the session frustrated, because myself – and about 150 others – had wasted 75 minutes of our time. We had met the speaker’s expectations of not being able to understand or take action on the information presented, but he did not meet my expectations as an audience member – which is for the speaker to provide value.

I can guarantee you that no meeting planner plans for their audience to leave a session having learned nothing new or at least challenged to try something new – and no speaker should either.

As someone who has been speaking on stages for over 15 years, I know that speaking in front of any size of audience can be tough on the ego. Even when I feel that I’ve knocked it out of the park, there is always someone in the audience who didn’t connect with my material, or who didn’t care for my delivery.

But I also know that I can increase the odds that my message will connect with the majority of audience members if I can answer the following question:

“What do I want the audience to DO with this information following my presentation?”

Once I have the answer to that question, I then need to care enough to use the time that I’ve been given to help the audience to understand why and how it’s possible for them to do just that.

Successful speakers care about the audience and their learning experience.

If you’ve been selected or appointed to speak in front of an audience – you’ve been given the valuable gift of people’s time. Whether it’s a keynote in front of thousands, a DisruptHR Talk, or a presentation to your team in a conference room, you can show your audience respect and appreciation by never making the following mistakes as a speaker:

5 Mistakes Successful Speakers Never Make

1. Never show, mention, or refer to something the audience cannot see clearly on the screen.

Examples: “I know this is an eye chart, but…” or “You can’t see this, but let me tell you what it says…”

2. Never show a statistic, reference a study, or display a quote without also sharing the source.

Who said this? When was it? How can I follow up to learn more? <- What your audience is thinking.

3. Never include stats, studies, or reference material on a slide that is more than 2 years old.

If your idea or premise is based upon 10-year-old research, find (or create) new research to support it.

4. Never refer to your own presentation materials, content or speaking style as boring.

Don’t plant seeds that you don’t want to grow. If the audience wasn’t already thinking that – they surely are now.

5. Never ask how much time is left for your presentation.

Asking the audience about time remaining shows a lack of preparation – and implies that you plan to fill the allotted time – no matter what. Bring a clock, use a time app on your phone, or have a friend hold up a sign to keep track of time – but never ask the audience to do it for you!

Any presentation that you create and deliver should be with the goal of educating, informing, encouraging and inspiring your audience. They’ll love you for it – and maybe they’ll even say something nice about it afterwards!


Do you want to build your personal brand and share your expertise as a speaker?

Download my free guide today: 10 Tips to Build Your Brand and Land Gigs as a Speaker – to discover how!

The guide includes links and examples of how successful speakers are marketing themselves using online and offline tactics and strategies.

Categories: Blog, Effective Communication, Speaking
Posted on August 22, 2023

Written by Jennifer McClure

Creating High-Impact Presentations and Building a Profitable Speaking Business With Jennifer McClure and Dr. Daniel Crosby

photo of Jennifer McClure and Dr. Daniel Crosby

I’ve had the best job in the world for over 10 years now – where I have the privilege of speaking on stages and in training rooms to groups of leaders around the world about how to increase their influence, focus strategically, and make a positive impact at work and in life.

When I stepped out on my own in 2010 to start my business, I had a little bit of experience, a healthy dose of confidence, and a whole lot of hope that I could build the relationships, and create impactful presentations that would result in a successful speaking business.

But like a lot of things in my life where I tend to jump off the cliff first, and then think about my parachute later, I wasn’t fully prepared for what it would take to find my lane, to determine how to set my speaking fees, or how to become a recognized expert.

So, queue admission into the school of hard knocks, where I’ve gained quite an education along the way, and as a result, have ultimately managed to build a business and life that I truly love.

Last year, my friend Dr. Daniel Crosby – who is a great public speaker himself, and was a also my guest on episode 14 of the Impact Makers Podcast, where he talked about understanding human behavior to do well, do good and do you – asked if I would join him on his Standard Deviations podcast to talk about what it takes to create great presentations — and if you’re into that kind of thing, how to actually get paid to speak, which is one of the most frequently asked questions we both receive.

Over a year later, the content of our conversation is still accurate and timely, and I continue to hear from people in Dr. Crosby’s audience who have found it helpful. So I asked him if I could share it with you today, and if you’re interested in crafting great presentations, and/or getting paid to speak, I think you’ll find it helpful.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:​​

  • My path from HR executive to professional speaker, and why I felt like I needed at least 20 years of work experience before starting.
  • How giving away 10% of my time to help others helped me to get started as a speaker, and discover the work that I truly loved.
  • My personal recipe for crafting a great presentation.
  • What comedians and preachers can teach us about giving great presentations.
  • What adult learning theory tells us about what makes for a good speech.
  • Strategies for determining your speaking fee, what can happen if your price is too low, and how to get paid more.
  • Three books that I recommend for speakers to help with picking a lane, determining your pricing strategy, and building a memorable brand.
  • What Dr. Crosby did that 10x’d his speaking revenue.
  • 3 concrete steps to take to build a profitable speaking business.

IMPACT MAKERS PODCAST – EPISODE 46

(Email subscribers – click HERE to listen to the podcast.)

Key Quotes From This Episode:

“I always tell people who want to be a speaker – it’s a journey. I don’t know anybody who is a speaker – who is doing this for a living, or either a big component of their business – who just one day said, ‘I’m going to be a speaker’ – and hung their shingle up and people start clamoring to pay them.” ~ Jennifer McClure

“My advice to people who want to be a speaker? First – what do you know, and how can you give that knowledge away? And if you’re adding value to people while doing that, then they’re going to start asking you to do that more and more.” ~ Jennifer McClure

People & Resources Mentioned In This episode:

FREE RESOURCE: 10 Tips To BUILD YOUR BRAND and LAND Gigs as a Speaker!

Dr. Daniel Crosby LinkedIn

Dr. Daniel Crosby Twitter

Standard Deviations Podcast

Impact Makers Podcast Episode 014: Understanding Human Behavior to Do Well, Do Good and Do You with Dr. Daniel Crosby

Standard Deviations Podcast Episode 14: Jennifer McClure – On Becoming a Public Speaker

Centennial, Inc.

Mike Sipple, Sr.

Michelle Cushatt 

Million Dollar Speaking: The Professional’s Guide to Building Your Platform by Alan Weiss

Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional’s Guide to Growing a Practice by Alan Weiss

Ryan Estis

Jane Atkinson

The Wealthy Speaker 2.0: The Proven Formula for Building Your Successful Speaking Business by Jane Atkinson

Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt

Laurie Ruettimann

Jon Acuff

Toastmasters International

Connect with Jennifer:

Send her a message [https://jennifermcclure.net/contact/]

On LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermcclure

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferMcClure

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_mcclure/

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JenniferMcClureSpeaker

Categories: Blog, Podcast, Speaking
Posted on October 15, 2020

Recent Posts

  • Why HR Should Be the Chief Disruption Officer in Every Organization
  • Mastering the Art of Virtual Networking: 5 Steps to Build Powerful Connections Online
  • Networking for Introverts: Practical Strategies for Building Meaningful Connections with Greg Roche
  • Leading with Vulnerability: The Key to Future-Ready Leadership with Jacob Morgan
  • Future Fluidity and the Evolving Role of Leadership in the Age of Disruption With Dr. Tanvi Gautam

Categories

Archives

Need A Speaker?

I've delivered keynotes and led workshops at over 350 conferences and corporate events.

If you want to check my availability for your event, or if you have questions, click below.

Start the Conversation »

Recent Blog Posts

  • Why HR Should Be the Chief Disruption Officer in Every Organization
  • Mastering the Art of Virtual Networking: 5 Steps to Build Powerful Connections Online
  • Networking for Introverts: Practical Strategies for Building Meaningful Connections with Greg Roche
  • Leading with Vulnerability: The Key to Future-Ready Leadership with Jacob Morgan
  • Future Fluidity and the Evolving Role of Leadership in the Age of Disruption With Dr. Tanvi Gautam

Connect on Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Copyright © 2025 · Jennifer McClure · Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · McClure Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in