Presentation Trainer

Your presentation skills training is run by Joern Steinz, founder and CEO of SkillDay. With his background as a consultant at Accenture and a manager in corporate development at XING AG, he has years of experience living in PowerPoint, creating management and customer presentations on an almost daily basis. In 2012, he established SkillDay, an agency dedicated to inspiring and effective business training. Mr. Steinz is a lecturer at the International School of Management (ISM) and a graduate of the EADA Business School in Barcelona. His workshops on Google+ have an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars.

References

Excerpts from over 600 references to SkillDay training include prestigious clients such as Allianz, Audi, Bayer, Capgemini, DEG, Deutsche Bahn, Discovery Channel, Ebay, E.ON, Ferrero, Horváth & Partner, James Hardie, State Bank, Link11, Lufthansa, McKinsey & Company, Navvis, Personio, Porsche, PWC, Robert Koch Institute, Ravensburger, RWE, Sanofi, Saubermacher, SC Johnson, Siemens, S-Kreditpartner, Telefonica, Vincotec, Volkswagen, Vienna Stock Exchange, along with a wide range of agencies, trainers, coaches, and consultants.

My Executive Presentation Coaching Process

Every presentation is different, but the coaching process follows a proven framework that has helped hundreds of professionals prepare successful board presentations, customer pitches, conference talks and leadership presentations.

Rather than teaching generic presentation theory, we work directly on your presentation. Every session produces tangible improvements that you can immediately apply.

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Step 1 – Define the Objective

Before opening PowerPoint, we clarify one simple question:

What should your audience think, feel or do after your presentation?

Many presentations contain excellent information but no clear objective. Without a clear destination, even the best slides fail to persuade.

Together we define:

• The purpose of your presentation
• The audience’s expectations
• The key decision to be made
• Potential objections
• Your core message

This becomes the foundation for everything that follows.

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Step 2 – Build a Clear Storyline

Structure is the single biggest difference between average and outstanding presentations.

Most professionals organise presentations around topics.

Successful presenters organise presentations around decisions.

Depending on your presentation, we use proven communication frameworks such as:

• Pyramid Principle
• McKinsey Five-Sentence Structure
• Recommendation Tree
• Hero’s Journey
• Problem – Solution – Benefit
• Situation – Complication – Resolution

Your audience should never wonder:

“Why are you telling me this?”

Every slide should move the audience one step closer to your recommendation.

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Step 3 – Simplify Complex Information

One of the most common mistakes is trying to say everything.

Great presentations don’t include more information.

They include the right information.

Together we remove unnecessary content, simplify complex explanations and sharpen your key messages.

Typical improvements include:

• Reducing the number of slides
• Removing unnecessary detail
• Clarifying recommendations
• Improving logical flow
• Making technical information easier to understand

Clients are often surprised that their presentations become significantly shorter while becoming far more persuasive.

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Step 4 – Improve Slide Design

Slides should support your message—not compete with it.

During coaching we review every slide from the perspective of your audience.

We improve:

• Visual hierarchy
• Typography
• Charts and graphs
• Colour usage
• Icons and diagrams
• Executive summaries
• Consistency
• Readability

The objective isn’t to create beautiful slides.

The objective is to create slides that help your audience understand your message within seconds.

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Step 5 – Strengthen Your Delivery

Even an outstanding presentation can lose impact if it isn’t delivered confidently.

During rehearsal we work on:

• Opening with confidence
• Speaking naturally
• Reducing filler words
• Voice and pacing
• Body language
• Eye contact
• Transitions between topics
• Closing with impact

The objective isn’t to sound scripted.

It’s to sound authentic, confident and convincing.

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Step 6 – Prepare for Difficult Questions

Many professionals spend hours preparing their presentation but very little time preparing for the discussion afterwards.

Yet this is often where credibility is won or lost.

We prepare for:

• Critical management questions
• Customer objections
• Technical questions
• Unexpected interruptions
• Difficult stakeholders
• Time pressure

By rehearsing realistic scenarios, you’ll feel much more confident during the actual presentation.

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A Typical Coaching Engagement

Every client is different, but a typical coaching project looks like this.

Session 1 – Strategy & Storyline

• Clarify objectives
• Understand the audience
• Develop the storyline
• Define key recommendations

Session 2 – Slides & Visual Communication

• Review every slide
• Simplify content
• Improve charts and diagrams
• Create stronger visual communication

Session 3 – Rehearsal

• Deliver the presentation
• Receive detailed feedback
• Practise transitions
• Prepare for difficult questions
• Final improvements

For urgent presentations, all three stages can often be completed within a few days.

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Before & After: A Realistic Example

Before Coaching

• 42 PowerPoint slides
• No clear storyline
• Several competing messages
• Dense text on almost every slide
• No clear recommendation
• 45-minute presentation
• Presenter lacked confidence

After Coaching

• 19 focused slides
• Executive summary on slide one
• One clear storyline
• Visual communication instead of text
• Strong recommendation
• 25-minute presentation
• Confident delivery and discussion

The information hardly changed.

The impact changed completely.

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The Frameworks I Use

Over the past two decades, I have combined consulting frameworks, storytelling techniques and communication principles into a practical coaching approach.

Depending on your presentation, we may work with:

• Pyramid Principle
• McKinsey communication structures
• Hero’s Journey
• Executive summaries
• Storytelling techniques
• Gestalt principles for slide design
• Memory principles
• Recommendation Tree
• Audience analysis
• Decision-focused communication

The goal is never to force your presentation into a framework.

The goal is to choose the right framework for your audience, your message and your objectives.