Present

If you have completed all the steps described in this training, you are so well-prepared that you should have absolutely nothing to worry about, and nothing left to do except give the presentation. The following lesson presents a few strategies for turning game-day into a solid win.

Dress the Part

Designer Coco Chanel once said, "Dress shabbily, they notice the dress. Dress impeccably, they notice the woman." Understanding what constitutes impeccable and shabby clothing has become a bit more complicated than it was in Chanel's day, but there are still some basic rules that apply. First, you don't want anything you wear on presentation day to be more interesting than what you have to say. Nothing should compete with your message and your visuals. Unless you are speaking at a Luau, something like a Hawaiian shirt or brightly-patterned dress offers too much visual distraction. You don't have to wear a suit, but consider going neutral--wearing subdued patterns and muted colors.

Fifteen years ago, college professors trained students always to wear a suit for any presentation or job interview. Blindly following that rule today could make you look out-of-place, and might also make you feel constricted and false if this is not your normal "uniform." As with all other aspects of presentations, consider the situation. Who are you presenting to? Is this an audience of your peers, subordinates, management, potential clients, law enforcement, or a judge? How do they dress on the job? In general, you want to shoot for just a slightly-more-formal level of attire than your audience, but not so much more formal that you look out of place. If it's an all-jeans office, khakis would work and a sport coat might be okay, but a suit would be overkill.

Your subject matter is another clue to appropriate attire: Are you discussing investment banking, quantum physics, or why your department lost $30 million? The image you need to convey in each of these situations is very different. If it helps, consider your presentation as a play and you are the lead character. Dress that character to illustrate what your audience needs to see: stability, creativity, reliability, intelligence or trustworthiness.

Other factors that determine appropriate dress:

• The tone of your presentation: is it formal, humorous, relaxed, authoritative?


• The purpose of the presentation: Are you trying to convince them to give you millions of dollars? Are you trying to teach them how to use Windows? Do you want them to donate to your charity?
  
  
• In general, when money is involved, your character needs to be perceived as stable and reliable. This is where that suit comes in.


• For charity solicitations, dress down a little. Wearing a $500 suit only makes it look like your institution can afford to pay you very well.