It’s probably no longer a shocking secret that you have just 7 seconds in which to make an impression and this applies to any scenario in which you are in front of someone new. Whether you’ve just walked into a room for an interview, been introduced to a prospective client or just taken centre stage to give your stunning presentation, the 7 seconds still applies.

No doubt we can all think of an example where we did change our mind for the better about someone who didn’t do so well in that 7 second test but in my experience, but why take the risk?

Why not make every effort to prepare that stunning preparation so that it’s stunningly good rather than stunningly poor?

Plan, prepare, practise are the well known alliterative maxims for a good presentation and I would add poise, presence and being pithy.

There are many more but let’s focus on those for now.

Plan

Plan what you want to say ahead of time. Choosing to wing it or letting the words come to...