Authenticity is sometimes better than an polished presentation.
I showed up two hours early to the meeting room where I was scheduled to speak in Las Vegas. I did that because I had so much stuff to unpack and set up for my presentation—it’s a big production.
The person who was speaking before me showed up with nothing (no slides, no props, no notes) about 20 minutes before his talk. I felt bad for the guy so I said, “Do you want me to make you a title slide, at least that way you’ll have something other than a blank screen behind you?”
He said, “Sure”. I quickly made him a title slide (see photo) and he proceeded to deliver a solid one-hour presentation. I was impressed. The key was he knew his stuff, he exuded confidence, and he was authentic.
My elaborate presentation was also a hit, but totally different. Two things come to mind. The first is sometimes less is more if you have a strong message and can deliver it in a compelling way. The other is, you do you. I think of myself as a wanna be rock star so I put on a show. He was more nuts and bolts. Both worked.