The truth about presentations no one tells you

When I was launching my first book, I discovered something that stunned me.

My great-grandmother had written a book, too.

Her husband printed 100 copies, which must have earned him a lifetime of brownie points, surely? And then my great-grandmother did something I find either brilliant or unhinged.

She invited people to dinner and read aloud to them from her book. Sometimes a chapter. Sometimes, I’m told, the whole book. You could only hope it was a short book.

And yet I can’t help admiring her. To think, ‘I have something worth writing,’ and then to sit down and do it. That takes guts.

She understood something many presenters miss. Your words matter.

Most people think a presentation starts with slides. Open PowerPoint, pick a template and start filling boxes.

But that’s backwards.

Every great presentation starts with a written script.

Think about Hamlet. Every actor who has ever played that role, Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh and David Tennant, brought something different to it. But none of them started by rewriting Shakespeare in Calibri 12. The performance is only possible because Shakespeare’s script is brilliant.

Presentations are much the same. The stronger the script, the more freedom you have in the delivery.

And no, having a written script does not mean memorising every word like your life depends on it. It means thinking deeply and working the language enough that the ideas begin to live. So, when you speak, it feels natural, not nailed to the page.

As a professional speaker, I work and rework every word in my script. I even lose sleep over some of my words. I know, get a life. But each word is a small act of respect for the person sitting in that room.

Here’s the simple truth. Every great presentation starts with a written script.

PS. Before anyone writes in, I know. Calibri 12 on slides is a visual crime. Straight to jail.