Just realized I messed up a client presentation by skipping the practice run

I had a big video call with a new client in Chicago last Tuesday, and it totally fell apart. I was showing them a project plan I'd worked on for weeks, but I got nervous and started jumping around the slides out of order. I forgot to mention our $500 setup fee, and I mixed up two of the main deadlines. The client got really quiet, and then just said 'I think we need to revisit this.' I felt awful. After the call, I went back and timed myself going through the deck alone, and I was way over the 30 minutes they asked for. I'm going to do a full practice run with a coworker before any meeting like that from now on. Has anyone else had a presentation go sideways and found a good way to prep?

3 comments

3 Comments

willow_ellis16d ago

Record yourself presenting to catch weird verbal tics you don't notice live.

the_julia16d ago

Oh totally, I had to do that for a class presentation last year. I cringed so hard hearing myself say "like" every other sentence. It felt super awkward listening back, but it made me slow down and pick better words. I ended up doing a few practice runs just to fix that one habit.

matthewh287d ago

Yeah, @the_julia, it's wild how we don't hear our own filler words until they're played back. Makes you wonder what other little speech habits we all have that drive people nuts.