Presentation Preparation: A Stress-Less Approach

I haven’t known too many leaders who truly look forward to presenting. More often, an upcoming public speaking moment triggers one of three familiar stress responses in executives. Sometimes all three at once:

• Stress from time pressure: “When am I going to have time to prepare for this?”

• Stress from content: “What do I actually want to say?”

• Stress from the very human anxiety around public speaking: “When can this be over?

Even the most successful leaders are, after all, human, and not everyone relishes a big stage.

When helping an executive prepare for a speaking event, whether a keynote, an all-hands, or another high-stakes presentation, I follow a single, streamlined approach designed to neutralize all three sources of stress while producing content that lands for the audience.

In practice, this approach tends to cut preparation time significantly and eliminate last-minute scrambles without lowering the bar for quality or impact.

What follows is the step-by-step process, along with a realistic sense of how much time to allot for each stage.

1. Remember what the moment is for

It’s basic, but vital, to keep you from a rinse-and-repeat way of speaking. What is the purpose of this speaking moment? Who is the audience exactly? What are they expecting to hear from you? And most importantly, what is the one thing they must walk away with, whether that’s a feeling, a piece of information, or a mandate for action?

Anchor on the outcome your words are meant to create, and develop everything in service of that outcome. Once you’re clear, write a 2–3 sentence summary of the talk. This strong foundation accelerates everything that follows.
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Time allotment: 15 minutes
Spend enough time to get clear, but no more.

2. Get the story down, roughly, in any form

Longhand in a notebook. Bullets scrawled on a napkin. Stream-of-consciousness captured in a solo Zoom recording. The format doesn’t matter—and at this stage, neither does polish. The goal is simply to capture the beats you can build from. Momentum matters more than elegance here.
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Time allotment: 15-30 minutes
This should be an intuitive exercise, not a wordsmithing moment or self-critique.

3. Share the story with one sounding board

Choose a single presentation development partner, someone who can listen, ask clarifying questions, and help you sense-make while stripping away unneeded complexity.

After that initial conversation, which you should record if possible, hand them the baton. Ask them to outline the presentation’s key beats and draft language you can react to, refine, and shape together. Working against something concrete is almost always faster than working from a blank page.

If you don’t have access to a human development partner, AI can fill this role. It won’t hand you a finished script (and shouldn’t). In fact, it’s often most useful for helping you see what you don’t want to say. Words that don’t sound like you. Or ideas that miss the mark. Used that way, AI can be an effective editing partner, helping you clarify your perspective to draft the deck. It’s just not always the time-saving silver bullet some people expect.

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Time allotment: 30-60 minutes
To run through your story end-to-end, question for clarity, and refine based on answers

4. Review the draft deck

At this point, you should be working in form. Have your presentation partner (or AI) return a simple, undesigned deck with content roughly blocked out. Go through it together refining language and flow.

Seeing the material in slides helps you assess how much content you actually have and whether the pacing works. Ideas that feel strong in a Word document don’t always survive the transition to deck format. This step will create a clear distinction between what belongs on the slides and what belongs in your voiceover.

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Time allotment: 15-45 minutes
Run through the story for gaps and initial language refinement

5. Get a designer involved

As soon as you have a rudimentary draft, bring a designer in for a consult, not after the story is locked. Early design input sharpens the thinking rather than just decorating it after the fact.

The designer’s first job isn’t aesthetics; it’s helping you shape the story flow. Together, you can finalize the major beats, decide which ideas benefit most from visualization, and determine where images or evidence will strengthen the narrative.
Strong design ultimately allows you to say less—which means your audience absorbs more. Then while design is happening, if needed you or your content partner can refine headlines, supporting language, and voiceover.
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Time allotment: 15-30 minutes
A baton pass moment where you clarify the audience, purpose, and story to the designer

6. Start practicing early

Begin practicing slide by slide using your rough draft while design is underway. Repetition builds confidence by creating muscle memory and will help you see what phrasings feel most natural to you.

Start in your head, but then quickly move to speaking out loud—alone in a room, on Zoom self-recording, or with a small “beta” audience of trusted insiders. Rehearsal isn’t about perfection or “Great job!” reassurance. It’s diagnostic. You’re checking for pacing issues and listening for moments that need more clarity so you can course-correct before you step on stage.

Once the designed deck is ready, shift your practice to that final version so the visuals become cues rather than distractions.
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Time allotment: Variable, just don’t shortchange it.
You’re the best gauge of what will ensure you feel confident.

7. Show up the way you want your audience to feel

When you do present, people likely won’t remember everything you said. In fact, they definitely won’t. They’ll remember a few key points that you drive home. They’ll also remember how it felt to be in the room with you.

Don’t mistake this moment for a performance. It’s an opportunity to connect. The old adage is true: if you’re comfortable, they’re comfortable. So if you’re at ease teaching, teach and grow their curiosity. If you prefer to keep things loose, take a conversational tone and lean into it to build rapport. If you’re energized by a vision, let that enthusiasm carry your storytelling. People will follow your passion. 

To help you show up well, be intentional about your first 30 seconds and your close. If those are grounded and clear, the rest will flow.

A final note

If this approach is useful but you don’t have the bandwidth to apply it alone, WhiteLabel can support you in clarifying the story, shaping the structure, and, when helpful, even designing the slideware. It’s all about ensuring you feel the most ready for every presentation opportunity. Whenever you need us, reach out.