When I lived in Venezuela, I was impressed how my leader there could speak for hours without preparation. He explained that his life was preparation. When your life is preparation, you don’t need to specifically prepare for one-off presentations.
Speakers who speak from a life of preparation are often more interesting than those are only preparing for a one-off presentation.
I have spoken to many groups in the last few months. I speak about our startup, our products, and entrepreneurship. These are things I live. I don’t need to prepare because I’m always preparing.
My favorite way to present to a small group (<50 people) is to share something interesting, typically a story, for 5-10 mins and then ask questions and start a dialog with the audience. Then share another interesting story and repeat until the time is filled and the audience feels like time has passed quickly.
I just show up with my laptop and simply open the files, videos, slides, or websites that I need to open to facilitate my stories and our dialog.
What are your thoughts and tips on presenting to a small group?
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