In June, I had the pleasure of speaking at the world’s largest conference dedicated to presentation skills. Let’s be honest—the stakes were high. The lineup of speakers consisted of seasoned pros, all veterans in the art of presenting. Facing an audience of 900 people—it was a challenge.
To make things even more interesting, right as I stepped on stage, I noticed a minor technical glitch: the timer on the monitor was counting down, but instead of starting from 25 minutes, it began at 17. Within seconds of starting my talk, I realized things wouldn’t go entirely as planned.
As if that weren’t enough, halfway through my presentation, I discovered that the version being displayed wasn’t the latest one I had submitted to the tech team. In that moment, it felt like there was one hurdle too many.
But that’s the essence of giving presentations—rarely do we get to deliver them under perfect conditions. There’s almost always some unexpected twist, big or small. True mastery in presenting is about staying composed despite these surprises. It’s about pushing forward, maintaining energy, and focusing on the message and connection with the audience. That’s when the craft of presenting transforms into the art of presenting. And that’s when the magic can happen.
The full recording of my presentation isn’t publicly available—you can purchase access on the conference’s official website. However, here’s a sneak peek: check out three clips from my talk in the video below.
Did the audience enjoy the presentation? Judging by the applause, the post-session feedback, and the bursts of laughter throughout, I’d say yes.
Could the presentation have been even better? Absolutely. And I’m already planning improvements for my future talks.
P.S. If you’d like me to speak at your conference, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m passionate about topics like presentations, business communication, data visualization, data storytelling, and storytelling in general.