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How to Impress Your Boss With Your Presentation

Last Updated: May 20, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by Chloe Carmichael, PhD . Chloe Carmichael, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who runs a private practice in New York City. With over 12 years of psychological consulting experience, Dr. Chloe specializes in relationship issues, stress management, self-esteem, and career coaching. She has also instructed undergraduate courses at Long Island University and has served as adjunct faculty at the City University of New York. Dr. Chloe completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York, and her clinical training at Lenox Hill Hospital and Kings County Hospital. She is accredited by the American Psychological Association and is the author of “Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety” and “Dr. Chloe's 10 Commandments of Dating.” There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 36,576 times.

Giving a presentation in front of your boss can be a very nerve-wracking experience. Sometimes a raise or promotion might even depend on how well your presentation goes. Using music or sound in your PowerPoint presentation is a good way of livening up your talk. However, this may not be enough or as easy as it sounds. For a truly impressive presentation, you’ll need to take it a step further and consider things like how to dress, how to speak, and how your audience will interpret the content of your presentation. With a little work and planning, you can impress your boss with your presentation.

Creating an Effective Presentation

• This can affect many aspects of your presentation – from the kind of music you choose to the type of clothes you wear.
• A more formal presentation in front of your boss or other executives from your company would require formal business attire (suit for men, business suit or nice dress for women) and more formal sounding music accompaniment (like elevator music), while a presentation in front of students might warrant more casual attire (slacks and button-up shirt for men, slacks and a nice top for women) and even allow for more contemporary/fun music along with your presentation.

• Consider the venue. As it relates to the tips above, a formal setting (like a conference room or auditorium) will require a formal presentation whereas a presentation given more casually in your boss’s office might require fewer formalities. [3] X Research source

• Have your presentation flow in a logical and informative way. Have your notes lined up with you visuals – using clear cues for yourself so you don’t get mixed up.

• Put all of the data into a spreadsheet and make copies for everyone at the meeting. Or create a PowerPoint slide show to go along with your presentation.
• An effective PowerPoint presentation includes high quality visual images instead of cheesy clip-art, works to limit the amount of text that appears on each slide, and presents data in a logical sequence that is easy to follow along with. [6] X Research source

Delivering a Great Presentation

• For men, wear slacks, a suit jacket, and a tie. For women, wear a nice dress or a business suit.
• And remember that you are representing your company, by extension, when you are presenting – so you want to dress accordingly.

• This means that you should use confident body language like not crossing your arms, making eye contact, and standing up straight.
• You can try practicing at home ahead of time and asking a friend to tell you if they think you are speaking with confidence.
• If you make a mistake, just keep going. You can correct yourself, but don’t draw more attention to your mistake by dwelling on it or by being obviously embarrassed. Everyone makes mistakes, but the way you recover from yours will be what your boss remembers the most.

• Speak with a steady pace. Talking quickly can be perceived as a sign of nervousness, so slow your words down during your presentation. If you speak too quickly, you may stumble over your words more frequently as well, so make a conscious effort to slow it down.
• It may also be harder for your audience to grasp and digest the ideas you’re discussing if you say everything too quickly.

• Try to think ahead to what questions people might have about the topic – maybe what questions you had when you first started working on the project – and explain it to your audience from that perspective.
• Try saying things like, “This may seem like an overwhelming amount of information, but I’ll walk you through it.” Or, “Let me take you through the process step-by-step.”

Impressing Your Boss With Your Dedication

• If someone asks a question you don’t know the answer to, give a positive response about how you are going to look into that further – something like, “What a great suggestion. I haven’t fully developed that aspect of the project yet, but I will absolutely consider this as I move forward.”

• This kind of follow through after the presentation will impress your boss with your dedication to the work and doing a good job for the company.

• Take the feedback to heart and implement any helpful changes that you might receive as constructive criticism.

Chloe Carmichael, PhD

Look at criticism as a learning opportunity instead of a negative comment. If your boss gives you constructive criticism, that's a good sign! It means they want you to be better at your job. Reframing what you perceive as negative feedback as a chance to learn will allow you to develop personally and professionally.

• Try saying something like, “I would really love to continue growing and developing my role within the company. If you are open to it, I would like to take on some additional responsibilities around the office.”

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• ↑ https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/how-to-keep-your-audience-focused-on-your-presentation/
• ↑ http://www.skillsyouneed.com/present/presentation-method.html
• ↑ http://www.duarte.com/know-the-presentation-venue/
• ↑ https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-dazzle-your-boss-and-everyone-else-in-an-important-meeting
• ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/two-genius-ways-impress-your-boss-tracey-harrington-mccoy
• ↑ http://www.garrreynolds.com/preso-tips/design/
• ↑ https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/06/20/10-smart-tips-to-impress-the-boss-your-first-day
• ↑ http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-a-presentation-that-will-impress-your-boss-2015-7

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How to Successfully Present to a Higher-up at Work (Without Freaking Out)

A business idea pops into your head. It’s a good one—solid enough for you to summarize and run up the chain of command. A few weeks go by, and you nearly forgot about it—that is, until your manager informs you that you’re on the agenda to present your idea — to the CEO .

Minutes later, you’re having a mini-meltdown, imagining the worst-case scenario in which you humiliate yourself in front of the company head during the one face-time opportunity you’ve had since you got the job.

Presenting to a C-suite executive or senior manager, especially when you’re entry-level or somewhere in the middle, requires a different set of skills compared to run-of-the-mill speaking presentations. Because the roles of these high-level staff are quite different than the mid-level managers you may be used to working with, their objectives, communication styles, and decision-making methods are going to be distinct as well.

But whether you’re pitching an idea for a new product, process, or other special initiative, you’ve got this. All you need is some solid preparation and a few adjustments to your usual delivery style.

I turned to two C-suite executives for guidance on how to pull off this next-level career move like a rockstar. Here are their top seven lessons:

1. Know What You’re Asking For

What’s your goal? Is it to get the executive’s support? Will you need her advice, expertise, resources, or influence to make your idea a reality? Whatever the case, Anne Cooney, President of Process Industries and Drives at Siemens, advises being specific about how the leader can support your success. Cooney explains, “If you’re just providing [her] with information or an update,” says Cooney, make that clear.

But if you have a bigger ask, don’t shy away from explaining what’s involved. Whatever your goal is, be direct on whether you need her to take action or simply give her approval.

2. Make it Relevant

Before you begin preparing slides, recommends Cooney, take time to understand the executive’s role, interests, and level. For example, it may be relevant to understand that while your CEO can greenlight your project, the COO approves new equipment investments, the CFO advises on whether the purchase should take place this quarter, and then the VP signs the purchase order, which indicates there’re often a lot of wheels that need to be in motion for something to happen.

Research each executive’s role and responsibilities before preparing your pitch. Says Cooney, “Make sure the information you share has an impact on the leader’s scope of responsibility.”

3. Inform But Don’t Overwhelm

So what is the best method for being informative without overwhelming a high-level exec? I asked Ann Finkner, Senior Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer with Farm Credit Services of America, this very question. “Executives have varying needs for information,” she told me. “You may have one executive who wants more detail,” while maybe another “prefers a different way of receiving updates.”

Find out what you can expect by speaking with people who know the person well. Ask the assistant and direct reports about the boss’ preferred presentation format, methods of communication, and decision-making style . Does he prefer a detailed plan or executive summary? Will he ask questions throughout or wait until the end? Craft your approach with knowledge you glean about the leader’s management style before you go in.

4. Cut Your Time in Half

“Time is so precious to all of us,” says Finkner, emphasizing the importance of communicating your idea concisely. Executives, who are accustomed to people vying for their attention, tend to lead highly scheduled lives. Your meeting, though your most important priority, is undoubtedly just one of many things going on in the higher-up’s day.

Which brings to me to my next point: If he or she is running late, roll with it—there’s probably a good reason. Even if the meeting starts on time, it’s highly likely that you’ll get cut short, so be prepared to deal with an abbreviated agenda. Your goal should be to pitch the idea and leave time for discussion and questions.

5. Be Mindful of the Idea’s Impact

Being aware of how your idea might affect the company at large is essential. It’s also an often-forgotten element of a thorough presentation. As part of your preparation, consider what will change as a result of what you’re proposing. If it’s going to require significant changes in how your organization does business, be sure to address this head on. Will a colleague feel snubbed if it’s your innovative plan that’s accepted and not hers? Will forming a new team require recruiting employees from an existing one? Will a certain department be slapped with a ton more responsibilities?

Explains Finkner, “Don’t leave ‘human casualties’ behind that the executive then has to address on your behalf.” Include your plan for incorporating team members and dividing the workload. Demonstrate that you’ve done your homework.

6. Include Recommendations and Options

When it comes to the crux of what you’re saying—asking an exec to give your idea his blessing or help your team implement it, you should be ready with recommendations on how he can help you get it done. Present options, suggests Cooney. Articulate what will happen if your proposal gets approved, and be prepared to compromise.

“If you give a recommendation or you have a specific conclusion that you'd like to reach, be passionate about it but also be open to modifications or clarification,” Cooney encourages. Always be willing to negotiate.

7. Don’t Be Intimidated

Whatever you do, don’t let your nerves get in the way of this opportunity. The level and tenure of a senior person shouldn’t make you feel like an imposter . “Differentiate between the title and the person,” says Cooney, adding that company founders and leaders “are not better people.” The job they’re doing is different, but, Cooney reiterates, that doesn’t make them “better people. Don’t let anybody convince you otherwise.”

Finkner’s parting advice closely follows Cooney’s: “Have faith in yourself. Take care of yourself and foster genuine relationships while you keep learning.” It’s normal to feel some trepidation about giving a high-stakes presentation to an influential audience—heck, or any presentation to any audience—but know that just being brave enough to do it is an accomplishment . Even a failed pitch is a win when you look at it this way, so go for it!

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8 Tips for Making a Presentation That Dazzles the Boss With Your Creativity It's not unusual to have stage jitters. When the audience is your boss, it's unusual not to.

By John Boitnott Edited by Dan Bova Jun 21, 2016

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

As if the pressure to develop and deliver a presentation that excites your audience weren't enough, trying to impress your boss with that presentation is a whole other set of concerns. In most cases, if you plan with your organization's goals in mind, you shouldn't have a problem delivering a presentation that your boss will respond positively to.

However, if you really want to impress your boss and your team, and keep them from yawning, give these eight tactics a try.

1. Use metaphors.

Including metaphors in your presentation can be useful since metaphors paint a picture in the minds of audience members. The idea can tap into previous experience to introduce new ideas.

For example, an Internet entrepreneur used a pair of scissors, knife, bottle opener, and nail filer as examples of various tools that companies use when selling products online. He then pulled out a Swiss Army Knife to illustrate that his idea would consolidate all of these tools.

When finding the right metaphor for your presentation, Nancy Duarte suggests in the Harvard Business Review that you dig "into your own prior knowledge for connections that make the idea brighter in your mind. The brighter that idea shines for you, the more likely it is to resonate with your audience."

2. Be humorous.

Just because this might be a serious presentation with consequences for your career and the business doesn't mean that you have to be stiff. By adding a little bit of humor to your presentation you're not only breaking-up the monotony, you're demonstrating your own charisma and helping make your point more persuasive.

More importantly, adding a little humor to your presentation can make it more impactful. According to Michelle Gielan, cofounder of the Institute for Applied Positive Research, "laughter stimulates the release of the feel-good chemical dopamine which activates the learning centers in the brain."

Related: Use Humor to Get Your Marketing Message Noticed

3. Play music.

This may appear to be a little counterproductive. After all, won't music be a distraction? Not according to Ronald A. Berk's study Research on PowerPoint: From Basic Features to Multimedia .

Berk found that playing music during a presentation "can increase attention levels, improve retention and memory, extend focused learning time, and expand thinking skills." Keep in mind, however, that in most cases playing music throughout the presentation is probably too much. Consider using music during your introduction or during key parts of your presentation.

4. Use activities.

Sometimes a simple activity is enough to drive your point home. It could be something as simple as having your boss or team write down their goals and then having brainstorming session on how to accomplish those goals. You could also hand out quizzes and ask your audience to guess what your next slide is going to be. You can even split the group up by having 20 percent of them move to one side of the room to demonstrate what your goal of 20 percent growth will look like, instead of using a slide with a graph.

Related: The Do's and Don'ts of Giving a Killer Presentation

5. Prove your point.

Stats are a powerful way to prove your point. But, presenting too much data can be overwhelming - no matter how well it is presented. Instead, use other ways to prove your point. One way to do this is by showing your boss how your competitors are succeeding, which could be why your new ideas might be so important to implement. Or, if you have a physical product, provide a demonstration of how superior a product it is - like pouring water over your new waterproof phone case during the presentation.

6. Pose questions.

Skip the monologue and get your boss and entire team involved by asking them relevant questions such as their insights and experiences. This not only gets your boss involved, it gives them the opportunity to talk about themselves and discover for themselves the real value in your presentation.

If you anticipate more complex questions, consider bringing in an expert to assist you in answering these questions. If you were pushing for a new corporate website you could bring in a web designer to answer any of the technical questions that your boss may ask. The web designer might even bring in a few ideas or visuals.

7. Go beyond PowerPoint.

PowerPoint presentations and slides can be spiced up through simple steps like being consistent and limiting font sizes and colors that also reflect the theme or design of your organization. But, there are also a number of helpful tools that can make your presentation stand out more than just the standard slideshow or Powerpoint.

Powtoon could be used to create an animated video to accompany your presentation, Ease.ly generates infographics, and Prezi gives you the opportunity to adapt your presentation in real-time depending on your audience's response.

By using tools like videos, you can increase everything from comprehension, understanding, memory, and even deep learning of your audience.

Related: Avoid the PowerPoint Trap by Having Less Wordy Slides

8. Make your presentation public.

Chances are that your boss isn't going to make an executive decision immediately after you've given your presentation. That's why you should provide them with materials they can review following the presentation like brochures or marketing kits.

But, wouldn't it be more effective to place your presentation on a site like Slideshare.net so that your slides are available to your boss and team whenever they want to review them? This practice will not only save you time from printing out materials, it also prevents the possibility of your boss misplacing the handouts.

Even more importantly, having your presentation public (when appropriate) shows your clients and customers that you're an industry thought leader and it also allows them to share their insights. Companies like Apple have done this and it's become an important part of their brand and marketing message.

With a little thought and effort you can make your presentation more creative and what you've always hoped it would be. As a bonus, you will have more fun getting your presentation ready.

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How To Introduce Yourself To New Boss Confidently: 12 Guidelines

Feeling nervous to meet your new boss? This guide will help you how to Introduce yourself to new boss smoothly and confidently!

There are two possibilities, however:

– You started a new job and need to meet your new boss.

Key Takeaways:

How to introduce yourself to new boss – 12 perfect guidelines.

I understand you’re looking forward to meeting your new boss, but it’s important to make a good impression.

Since your boss doesn’t know you yet, you want to make sure they get a good idea of what your contribution to the company is.

This guide will help you do that!

1. Take Appointment From New Boss:

This helps avoid any awkwardness and shows you’re professional. Instead of walking in and saying

2. Research Your New Boss:

Talk to your other bosses to see what they know about your new boss. This can give you a good idea of what to expect in your meeting.

3. Prepare For The Meeting:

About your previous job:

4. How To Introduce Yourself To New Boss- Prepare A Short Bio:

– Your name

– Work experience, and

It will give your new boss an overview of who you are.

Ensure that you highlight your strengths and dedication. Your boss will be likely to rely on you in the future.

5. How To Introduce Yourself To New Boss- Be On Time:

If no one shows you the meeting room, ask someone politely where it is. If you’re still stuck, and only if you have their number, call your new boss for help.

6. How To Introduce Yourself To New Boss- Dress Professionally:

Dress professionally for the meeting. Even if your new boss dresses casually, do not dress down as it will reflect poorly on you.

7. Arrive Early If Possible:

It’s a good idea to get to the meeting early.

8. How To Introduce Yourself To New Boss- Prepare Questions:

– “What are some of the exciting things happening at the company right now?”

– “What do you see as the most important things for me to focus on in my first few months?”

To show your interest:

– “Is there anything you’d like me to start working on right away?”

9. Remember The Name:

If you forget their name, don’t worry. Just apologize, shake their hand, and reintroduce yourself.

Say “It’s nice meeting you” again.

Being mindful of details like this shows your boss you care and pay attention.

10. Leave A Good Impression:

Always leave a good impression after the meeting. Thank your boss for his time and shake his hand.

This is a polite way to show you appreciate their meeting with you and are professional.

11. How To Introduce Yourself To New Boss- Avoid Talking About Politics:

This could cause problems in your working relationship. Just wait a bit until you know him better before talking about things that might cause arguments.

12. Discuss Insights Of The Company:

It shows that you are thinking strategically. It will ensure you want to contribute to the company’s growth.

13. Note Your New Boss’s Communication Style:

14. follow up after the meeting:.

Follow up with your new boss after the meeting by sending him a thank you email.

“Subject: Thank You for meeting with me

I hope you had a good day and it was nice meeting you.

(Your Name)”

5 Things To Avoid When Introducing Yourself To New Boss

1. how to introduce yourself to new boss- do not arrive late:, 2. do not brag about your achievements:.

Although it is good to highlight your strengths and achievements, do not brag.

Don’t show off too much at first. Your new boss might think you’re arrogant. Be friendly and wait to brag until you know them better.

3. Do Not Come Empty-Handed:

4. do not criticize your previous boss:.

It will make you look unprofessional and difficult. Save the criticism for later when your boss knows and likes you better.

5. Do Not Talk About Salary And Benefits:

Don’t say bad things about your old boss to your new boss. It makes you seem like a complainer and hard to work with.

How To Introduce Yourself To New Boss- Sample Script

1. meeting new boss at a new job:.

My name is ____________ and I am your new employee starting from _____________.

I am grateful for this opportunity to work for the company and will do my best to meet all expectations.

2. Meeting New Boss When Old Boss Left:

When introducing yourself to a new boss after the old one left:

I would like to know more about your plans for the company and your expectations of me.

Thank you for taking the time to meet me, _________. Have a great day.”

– Professional

Conclusion:

It’s always easier to start things off on the right foot. So make sure to follow company rules and procedures when meeting your boss for the first time.

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Presentation Training Institute

A division of bold new directions training, how to give a presentation that will impress your boss.

Giving a presentation to anyone can be nerve-wracking, but the stakes are even greater when you have to present to a higher-up. After all, a lot can be riding on this presentation such as a raise, a promotion, or simply status in the workplace. While it may be the most nerve-wracking experience, it’s also a crucial time to stand out as an employee. Here are a few tips for beating the anxiety and delivering a presentation that is sure to impress your boss. 

Clarify Your Goals

What is the purpose of your presentation? What kind of results does your boss expect to see? If you don’t know the answers to these basic questions, you need to find out. There is nothing as deflating as working tirelessly on a presentation that brings no value to anyone. Not only will you be wasting your own time, but you will be wasting your boss’s time as well. Therefore, find out and determine your main goals right away, as this will aid you in the planning process. 

Know Your Topic

This doesn’t mean skimming things over, but rather you have to really know your topic. If you are presenting to your boss, it’s safe to assume they will be pretty well versed on the topic themselves. Therefore, you need to be one step ahead by researching and learning as much as you can. Avoid presenting too much data, but present enough that your boss knows you are well-informed. Be prepared to back up any claims with evidence and quantifiable metrics. If you are proposing new ideas, be ready to have research and accurate data to back up these ideas. 

Go Beyond the PowerPoint

There’s certainly a time and place for PowerPoint and there’s nothing wrong with using one in your presentation. That said, don’t let this be your only channel of communication. Consider using other techniques and visual aids such as videos, props, polls, demonstrations, stories, and questions to engage your audience and make your presentation more interesting. As for your PowerPoint, try sprucing it up a bit with photographs, images, videos, charts, and graphics that reflect the theme of your presentation. These tips and tricks can make your PowerPoint stand out more than just a standard slideshow. 

Engage Your Audience

As with any presentation, you need to find ways to bring it to life for your audience…especially your boss! Tell an interesting story, include a demonstration, infuse some humor into your talk, or interact with your audience through questions or polls. Your presentation is more likely to make a lasting impression if you find ways to engage with your audience rather than just speaking to them. 

Keep it Concise

Your boss has a busy schedule so be respectful of their time by keeping your presentation concise. Don’t bore them with text-heavy slides, lengthy explanations, and graph after graph of information. Instead, know your goals and stick to your main points. Keep the content clear and straightforward and stay on track. 

Exude a Professional Presence

Now is your chance to stand out and get noticed. Command the room with an executive presence that sets you apart from the rest. Try to remain calm, comfortable, and relaxed, and present with poise and confidence. Dress professionally, maintain good eye contact, be mindful of your posture, and don’t forget to smile. 

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8 Tips for Presenting to Your Boss

Updated Over a Week Ago

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Have you ever felt the dread that comes along with making a presentation to your boss? Do you remember the heights of anxiety you reached while preparing for it?

Making a proposition can be stressful. Your job may be on the line, and any misstep might have adverse consequences.

Here are a few tips to successfully present to your boss and beat the anxiety:

1. Know Your Audience

When you’re presenting, you’re sharing your ideas, thoughts, and vision with a group of people. These are all people from varied backgrounds and with different worldviews.

As a result, one size doesn’t fit all, and you have to understand who they are to communicate effectively with them.

Presenting to your boss is no different. The same approach applies. For example, if you know that your boss loves data-oriented presentations, you will fail to communicate if you adopt a storytelling approach for most of your presentations.

Understand how your boss best perceives and interprets information to most effectively get through to them.

2. Summarize, Then Expand

For many executives, time is a scarce resource. A million things are demanding their attention, and spending an inordinate amount of time in a meeting is one critical area most senior managers look to cut down on.

As you design your presentation, you need to be aware of this bias so that you can get in there and communicate swiftly and efficiently.

When presenting to your boss, begin with an executive summary of what you will cover.

Make it very concise and easy to understand at a glance so that they can immediately gauge what the presentation is about and how to best approach it.

3. Do Your Research

Presenting to your boss calls for insightful research to back up your idea with quantifiable metrics. What has led you to the assumptions you’ve made in coming up with the idea? Your boss wants to see that.

If you are proposing going after a new target market, have you carried out any research on the segment?

Do you have research to back your reasons for pursuing this audience? Do you possess a keen understanding of their needs based on accurate data?

A well-researched presentation will impress your boss and be useful to them.

4. Offer Different Perspectives

A presentation to your superiors is never complete without a form of benchmarking. As your boss analyzes your proposals, they want to compare them to best practices in that area to gauge their potential.

You need to carry out quality research on past case studies relating to your presentation and also look at others who have done something similar for comparison.

A staff member pitching for a new product line might compare and contrast the potential product against comparable competitor releases.

In doing this, they demonstrate their ability to do market research and offer an alternative view to the executive to help them decide on the proposal.

5. Highlight the Benefit

When presenting to your superior, you need to demonstrate the what and the why. Your boss has a core mandate to deliver quantifiable value to the firm.

With every employee presentation, they want to find out how the organization will benefit. Chart a clear path between the topic of your presentation and how the organization will benefit.

For example, suppose you’re presenting on a digital marketing approach. In that case, you need to articulate how the company will receive value, given that digital initiatives are hard to quantify regarding ROI compared to traditional media.

How will the firm know if it is making traction with the target audience? When your boss can see a clear benefit, then your presentation leaves an impression.

6. Engage Your Audience

As with any presentation, you need to find ways to bring it to life for your boss to make your point and leave a lasting impression. Use a story or a demonstration that brings the idea to life tangibly and memorably.

If you are making a case for a food product, employ a blind taste test to demonstrate how good the potential product tastes compared to its competition.

Your presentation is more likely to leave a lasting impression if you find some way to engage your audience rather than just speaking to them without interaction.

7. Analyze Costs

Your presentation should factor in the need for your boss to immediately ascertain what the costs associated with your proposal are and how they will impact the firm.

They need to understand it at a glance. Use graphics that communicate statistics in a visually appealing way, e.g., multi-colored trend analysis charts instead of a dreary table of figures.

8. Create Supporting Materials

Once you finish presenting to your boss, provide them with material concerning your proposal that they can take with them.

Your boss will most likely need to consult or deliberate further before making a decision. Putting together a package on your pitch gives them a reference resource when they need it.

Presenting to your superior can induce a lot of anxiety. Preparation is the key. Even if your boss does not go with your pitch, if you can demonstrate that you put the work behind it, they will more likely still be impressed with your work ethic.

With adequate preparation, you can be able to make a positive impression on your boss while successfully making your case as well.

Related Articles

• The Fear of Public Speaking: 8 Tips to Overcome It
• 7 Presentation Tips for Building Confidence
• 8 Mistakes to Avoid For a Presentation
• 5 Lessons on Presentation Skills from TED Talks
• Presentation Skills Training in One day

How Do You Prepare for Presenting to Your Boss?

If you have ideas presenting presentations that might be helpful to readers, share them in the comments section below. Thanks!

 Would you like to  contribute a post ?

Very helpful article

This is an excellent article for all people who are newbies in the corporate world. It will be a great help to us to be ready and impress our boss. Thank you for this!

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How to Onboard Your New Boss

• Rose Hollister
• Michael D. Watkins

Reducing their learning curve about your organization, team, and culture will help set all of you up for success.

Many companies still give too little time and focus to helping new leaders succeed. If you have a new manager coming soon, the best way to offer your support is to guide them up the learning curve. In this piece, the authors offer practical recommendations for how to help your new manager learn about the organization, the team, and the culture.

You’ve just learned that you will soon have a new manager. What can you do to help your new leader launch successfully? You can help your new leader (and yourself) by actively onboarding them.

• Rose Hollister is a leadership consultant at Genesis Advisers specializing in coaching, onboarding, leadership, and team facilitation. For over a decade, she taught graduate courses in strategic change at Northwestern University. From 2010 to 2017, she led the Leadership Institute for McDonald’s.
• Michael D. Watkins is a professor of leadership and organizational change at IMD , a cofounder of Genesis Advisers , and the author of The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking .

Partner Center

The 3 keys to making a presentation that will impress your boss

Presenting to one of your higher-ups may be a nerve racking experience, but it can be a crucial time to stand out as an employee.

A great way to learn how to impress your bosses is to familiarize yourself with the traits other leaders look for in their employees.

Darlene Price, president of Well Said, Inc. , and  author of " Well Said! ," has interviewed more than 200 senior leaders in Fortune 100 companies. She asked them, "What qualities do you value most in speakers who present to you?"

There were three common responses:

1. Be clear.

"Create a structured message with lucid logic that is easy to follow and understand," Price says. A well-structured and ordered speech "shows the decision maker that you are prepared and organized," she says.

It starts with having an effective framework, meaning clear opening, body, and closing sections. Additionally, it's better to use quantifiable language, such as "25% growth," as opposed to generalizations like "significant increase," Price says.

2. Be concise.

"Don't make executives wait for the punch-line, which tests their patience," Price says. "Deliver the gist right away." 

Including a preview in your opening is important, but it shouldn't drag on. Introduce your purpose and key points, and then jump into your main idea, Price says. "Provide supporting material ideally using no more than three key points," Price says. And finally, close out your discussion with a brief recap and a suggestion of future action.

The goal is to provide an exciting proposition without offering too much information. Deliver the need-to-know facts rather than the nice-to-know details, Price says.

3. Be credible.

Credibility is key in any field, but lacking it will be detrimental to your presentation. There are three main areas where speakers can improve their credibility, Price says:

• Know your audience: Prove that you've done your homework and tailor your message around the specific audience.
• Look and sound the part: Use confident body language, dress professionally, and speak with a steady pace.
• Embrace the Q&A: Expect questions and objections, and approach them calmly and confidently. Be honest if you don't know the answer.

Each of the three traits to high impact communication, if done correctly, work well together. "You will inspire trust in the minds of your key stakeholders and deliver a confident, convincing message that gets results," Price says.

Watch: How 'The Price Is Right' is made

• Main content

20+ Self Introduction PowerPoint Templates: Download for free!

Think about the image you want to portray during your presentation pitch. Creativity? Soberness? Reliability? A professional PowerPoint design can help you deliver a powerful introduction to your stakeholders . 

Here, you'll find some creative Self-Introduction PowerPoint Templates that are going to elevate your slides to the next level. Our expert team has designed different layouts that you will surely love and save you a lot of time. 

And if you want to present your company and highlight your team's experience, you'll also find some fantastic Team Presentation Templates . Keep reading to get them all for free!

Introducing Yourself PowerPoint Templates

Introducing yourself is vital to generate a connection with your audience . In fact, it showcases your background and abilities, making sure you are the person they seek. 

That being said, let's have a look at the Self-Introduction PowerPoint Templates that we prepared for you and will optimize your creative process:

1. About Me PowerPoint Template

These self-introduction PowerPoint templates are perfect for anyone trying to convey sobriety and professionalism. 

The pack offers different layouts, which you can use to engage your audience and showcase your work experience. 

2. Personal Resume PowerPoint Template

This template is another great option for introducing yourself through a PowerPoint presentation. 

You'll find different types of diagrams and graphs that will display all your skills and work experience in a more eye-catching way. 

3. Colorful Resume PowerPoint Template

With this colorful template, you'll be able to create more impactful slides and add your desired background. 

It also includes a map that will help you showcase your experience abroad! 

4. Creative Resume PowerPoint Template

If you are not sure of the color palette of your presentation, try this blue template. It's the perfect color to convey professionalism!

This self-introduction PowerPoint template will definitely catch your audience's attention from the beginning. 

5. Personal Branding PowerPoint Template

This template is focused on Personal Branding, but you can use the graphics to organize your "About me" presentation in PowerPoint.

As always, we invite you to customize each element however you like!

6. Women Leadership Powerpoint Template

Want to be concise in your pitch? This template will inspire you!

As you can see in the image, you'll find a minimalist design of pink and purple tones.

7. Timeline Infographic PowerPoint Template

This template package has timelines and graphics that will be useful for organizing your personal information.

If you were looking for a modern and creative self-introduction template, this design may be for you!

8. User Persona PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template was initially designed to present Buyer Personas but can be adapted for an "About Me" section.

9. Photography Portfolio PowerPoint Template

Want to improve your portfolio? We've designed portfolio templates in PowerPoint, too!

This resource was created for photographers, but you can adjust it to your needs.

10. Career Portfolio PowerPoint Template

Here is another portfolio design in PowerPoint! 

When you download this template, you'll find a sober self-introduction design with blue tones.

We're not done yet!

In the following section, you'll discover more PowerPoint templates for introducing your work team to an audience.

Team Introduction PowerPoint Templates

Introducing your team becomes crucial when you want to attract new clients or investors to your business. It will spotlight your team's capabilities, convincing your audience that you can solve their problems. 

As always, all the slides in our templates are easily editable , so you can add any image you like and customize the aesthetics according to your color scheme .

Let's check the Team Introduction PowerPoint Templates we have for you: 

1. Team Slides PowerPoint Template

This team introduction PowerPoint template offers 8 different designs that will impress your audience. 

Pick the layout you like the most and add it to your presentation deck! 

2 . Roles and Responsibilities PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template is all about the roles and responsibilities of each team member.  

If you’re working on a new project, this team intro PowerPoint template will be perfect! 

3. Meet The Team PowerPoint Template

If you're seeking to introduce your company to a potential investor or client, check out these team introduction slides! 

This template pack will help you to present a complete overview of your business and the people involved in it.

4. Project Management PowerPoint Template

Do you have a project running and need to design the final presentation? This template is made for you!

As in the previous designs, you will find a project team slide template and more graphics that will make your presentation dazzle.

5. Strategic Action Plan PowerPoint Template

Here is another of our corporate templates to introduce your work team to an audience.

If you want designs with green and blue tones, this resource is for you!

6. Finance Team PowerPoint Template

This presentation contains animated slides with a fresh design.

When you download this PowerPoint template, you'll find a "mission and vision" section, a description of services, a customer profile, and more!

7. Light Corporate PowerPoint Template

Want to present a creative self-introduction but need more time to think about the design? If so, this template will be perfect for you.

You'll find a "meet the team" section, 3D graphics, infographics, and more. Download it for free now!

8. Creative Business PowerPoint Template

If you prefer a one-page self-introduction, take a look at this template.

It contains icons, timelines, statistical graphs, and more resources. Like the previous designs, the download is completely free!

9. Creative Pitchbook PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template and its unique designs will immediately catch your audience's attention.

If you want to convey professionalism and detail-oriented, this template pack is for you.

10. Film Pitch PowerPoint Template

These designs were created for film teams but can be adapted to any field!

We are confident its aesthetics will inspire you.

11. Storyboard Artist PowerPoint Template

Looking for more creative self-introduction slides? You'll love this one! 

Initially, this template is black and white, but you can edit the colors freely.

12. Team Introduction PowerPoint Template

This team introduction PowerPoint template has a unique format.

You'll be able to highlight your team's skills visually. And the best thing is that it's easy to understand at first glance!

13. Science Organization PowerPoint Template

A team introduction is always a great idea, but it's even better when you can showcase the relationship between different members and roles! 

With this template pack, you can make that possible.

Looking for Custom PowerPoint Presentations? We got you! 

If you liked our free template designs, you'll love 24Slides custom presentations ! 

A PowerPoint presentation is a great place to start making an excellent first impression. It will show your audience how committed you are to a project and how much effort you will put into it. 

But making a good PowerPoint presentation takes a lot of time and effort. Why not call upon professionals to handle it efficiently?

24Slides offers a pro-level design service that will elevate all your presentation decks. Our Designers have worked with some of the biggest companies worldwide, so we can offer the expertise you need. 

Still not sure? While working alongside us, you will: 

• Own high-impact presentations aligned with your brand – We help you communicate the message you want to convey!
• Choose between different services: Regular Service , Dedicated Design Teams , and Credit Packages – We adapt to your needs!
• Manage fast turnarounds – Go rest and get your presentation the following morning!
• Enjoy the process since we guarantee the confidentiality of your data – Your information is in good hands!
• Have the option to create a platform for connecting your Internal Team with our Designers – The integration will be seamless!

The best part is that you can try our expertise and style for just $1 . Our Designers will be happy to show you the true potential of your slides!

Found this content interesting? You'll love what's next: 

• Learn How to Start a Sales Presentation
• 36 Fun Icebreakers for Your Next Presentation
• Why is Brand Identity Important in Presentations? Experts answered!  
• The Cost of PowerPoint Presentations: Discover the hidden expenses you might overlook!

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Make a positive first impression and set the tone for your leadership team by mastering your introduction.

Moving into a new role is one of the biggest challenges you can face as a manager. In fact, nearly half of all new managers fail at their assigned objectives. The good news is that being strategic about how you start your new role can have a big impact on your effectiveness as a leader.

The first step to a successful transition is to think about how you want to introduce yourself to your new team. According to Michael Watkins, your introduction is an opportunity to hit the ground running and set your team up for success.

“Step back and ask yourself questions like, what new relationships do I need to build to be effective? What things do I need to learn about that I don’t understand today but are necessary? How am I going to get early wins in this situation?” — Michael Watkins, author of The First 90 Days, on the Supermanagers podcast

Much more than just a “hello,” your introduction is a key time to build trust and credibility, set expectations, and build a foundation for your team’s collaboration. Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to manage your introduction with helpful tools and examples to get started.

How to introduce yourself to a new team

How fellow can help you introduce yourself to a new team, examples of how to introduce yourself to a new team, first team meeting agenda template.

• Send a positive message or email introducing yourself
• Schedule a team meeting
• Start with an icebreaker or by sharing a fun fact
• Talk about your professional background and experience
• Open the floor for questions from the team
• Write an “about me” or “read me” page
• Schedule one-on-one meetings to connect with each individual
• Set expectations about team meetings and communication cadence

1 Send a positive message or email introducing yourself

As soon as you start, send a brief email or message to introduce yourself and express your enthusiasm for working with your new team. Use a friendly subject line like “A Quick Hello” and share a brief description of yourself and your experience. Make sure to learn about the company culture before sending your introduction. For example, if the culture is more relaxed, you can include a few fun facts about yourself; if it’s more formal, stick to a summary of your professional background. Let people know you’ll be scheduling a team meeting followed by one-on-ones and encourage them to reach out with any questions in the meantime.

2 Schedule a team meeting

You can make a good impression by running a well-organized introductory meeting with your new team. The objective of this meeting is to establish rapport, learn about your team, and set the tone as a new leader. Creating an agenda and sharing it ahead of time will help you stay on track—we’ve even included a template below! Make sure to read up on your team members before the meeting so you know their names, roles, and some details about their professional skills and accomplishments to begin fostering positive working relationships.

With Fellow , you can easily schedule meetings, automatically share agendas with attendees, and add actions in real time to run a successful first meeting.

Run efficient meetings, come to a decision, and get back to work

Level up your meeting habits to boost engagement and productivity with a collaborative meeting agenda. Try a tool like Fellow!

3 Start with an icebreaker or by sharing a fun fact

Kick off your meeting with an icebreaker to get to know your new team and help people relax. You can ask a question like, “What’s a bucket list item you want to complete this year?” or “What movie or TV show character do you relate to the most, and why?” or even ask team members to pitch their favorite vacation spot to the group in 30 seconds. Sharing some fun personal facts will help you bond with your new team and allow people to express their personalities. For more ideas, check out our list of the best icebreaker questions .

4 Talk about your professional background and experience 

Research shows that when forming a first impression, people evaluate two main factors: competence and trustworthiness. Sharing your professional highlights is a good way to demonstrate the former; you can mention companies you’ve worked for, notable projects, and areas of expertise. Be mindful of your tone and body language so you come across as relaxed and confident instead of boastful. If you have previous experience as a manager, you’ve also developed an important set of skills. You can share your managerial experience with your team and briefly describe your management philosophy to demonstrate credibility.

5 Open the floor for questions from the team

An effective way to build trust with your team is to invite them to ask questions and to answer openly and honestly. By including a section for questions in the meeting agenda and sharing it ahead of time, you’ll give everyone the chance to come up with any questions. People may have some anxiety or uncertainty about having a new manager , so it’s important to show empathy and support your team members during the transition. Be an active listener when they share questions and concerns, and remember that it’s okay not to have all the answers. In fact, sometimes it’s even preferable; you’ll gain more respect by listening and learning than by coming up with answers immediately.

6 Write an “about me” or “read me” page

A best practice in management is to create a ‘user guide’ to help your team members get to know you and explain how you like to work. For example, PatientPing CEO Jay Desai credits his personal user guide as an important part of improving his team’s collaboration. When writing your user guide, include information about your values, expectations, communication styles, and personality traits. You can also add a few interests and hobbies to help people connect with you on a personal level.

If there’s a company wiki, you can add your user guide there; otherwise, share it as a document with your team. User guides aren’t just for managers, either! Encourage your team members to create their own user guides for a fun way to learn more about them.

7 Schedule one-on-one meetings to connect with each individual

Schedule a one-on-one with each of your new team members to meet them and address any questions or concerns they may have. Ask them about their communication style, their preferred method for receiving feedback, and how they perceive their strengths and weaknesses. It’s also a good time to find out about their professional goals and how you can support them. These one-on-ones are an important opportunity to build trust on an individual level and lay the foundation for effective collaboration. Sharing an agenda ahead of time will allow people to reflect on their answers before the meeting for a thoughtful discussion.

8 Set expectations about team meetings and communication cadence

Establish clear expectations around communication from the start to prevent misunderstandings that could erode trust with your new team. As a group, discuss details like communication channels and frequency, meeting cadence , and response times. Specifically relating to meetings, you can cover how agendas will work, who will take notes, your method for assigning action items, and how you’ll collect feedback to optimize meeting effectiveness.

When setting communication guidelines, make sure to honor company culture and uphold values like trust, open communication, and accountability. To foster mutual respect, don’t forget to ask your team members what communication they need from you to do their best work.

Make a good impression with your introduction using Fellow ! In your first team meeting, there’s a lot to cover—use our ready-to-go templates to make sure you’ve got all the essentials on your agenda. The agenda will be automatically sent ahead of time to help everyone feel prepared and alleviate any first-meeting nerves for you and your team. You can also use Fellow to manage your one-on-ones and record action items, feedback, and notes. Following your initial meetings, Fellow can help you manage effective meetings on an ongoing basis and ensure your team follows best practices before, during, and after every meeting.

Plus, Fellow’s AI-generated agendas help you generate headings and talking points for your meeting based off of the title of the meeting and the calendar description.

Here are some example templates you can use for your introductions.

Sending an introductory email

In-person or via video call.

Use this template to send an email introduction on your first day.

Subject: A Quick Hello

It’s my first day here at [company name]. I’m joining the team as the new [job title].

I’ve worked as a [what you do] for [X] years. I recently worked at [company name], where I was the [job title]. You can learn more about me and my experience on my LinkedIn profile. [LinkedIn link]. Outside of work, I enjoy [a few short things you like to do].

I’m really looking forward to working with all of you. I’ll be scheduling a team meeting and one-on-ones to get to know everyone.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions before then. I’m happy to share more about what I’ll be doing here, and I’m excited to find out how I can best support you.

[Your name]

Use this template to introduce yourself at your first team meeting in person or on a video call.

Hello everyone! Thank you for being here today. My name is [your name], and I’ll be your new manager going forward. Before we get started, I’d like to briefly share a little bit about myself.

[Two quick personal facts that are relatable for your team]. [Your relevant experience–namely, how many years of experience you have and what you’ve done in the past]. Together I’m confident we can all [a few quick goals]. I’m looking forward to working with all of you.

Use this template for your first meeting to establish rapport and set the tone for your team’s success.

Parting advice

Your actions in the first few weeks and months can have a big impact on whether your team ultimately delivers results. While a change in leadership always requires team members to adjust, being intentional about your introduction will help make the transition as smooth as possible. However, there’s a lot to remember when getting started—following these steps will make sure you don’t miss any key practices. While trust is built over time and through mutual respect, you’ll be able to start building rapport and good communication from the start. Check out the Fellow blog for more tips and advice for managers to help you lead your new team to success.

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Home Blog Presentation Ideas About Me Slides: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

About Me Slides: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

From conference talks to client demos, it’s always essential to include an About Me slide in any presentation you are giving. Introducing yourself early into the presentation helps build a better rapport with the audience.

You can start with several fun facts about me slide to break the ice or go for a more formal professional bio to explain your background and what makes you qualified to talk about the topic at hand. At any rate, your goal is to get the audience on your side by revealing some of your personality. 

How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation: 4 Approaches 

It’s a good practice to include self-introduction slides at the beginning of your presentation. If you are looking to answer how to introduce yourself professionally, typically somewhere after the title, opening slide , and the main agenda. However, the presentation structure will be somewhat different depending on whether you are presenting to a new audience or a group of people familiar with (e.g., your team, clients, or business partners). 

Here are four about me slide ideas you can try out, plus an About me template you can use to present yourself in a presentation. 

1. Mention Your Name and Affiliations

Start with the introduction basics. State your name, company, title/position, and several quick facts about who you are and what you do. Even if you present to a familiar audience, a brief recap is always welcome. 

To keep things a bit more engaging, consider adding some lesser-known facts about yourself. For example:

• Your interests 
• Recent accomplishments
• Testimonial/quote from a team member 
• Fun nicknames you got 

The above can be nice ice breakers for less formal team presentations, project updates, or catch-ups with clients. 

Here are several unique About Me examples you can try out:

For a client case study presentation : 

“Hi, I’m Lynda, Chief Customer Success Specialist with Acme Corp. (Also, someone you thought was a chatbot for the first few encounters)

47 NPS | 15% Churn Rate | 40% repeat purchase rate”

For a team after-action review presentation :

Mike, Project Manager at Cool Project

(aka Maximizer)

Personal Project stats:

387 Slack messages answered

56 cups of coffee consumed

Project profit gross margin: $1.2 million 

2. Work On Your Elevator Pitch 

One of the best ways to introduce yourself in a presentation is to share a punchy elevator pitch. This works extra well if you are presenting to a new audience. 

An elevator pitch is a concise statement (1-2 sentences) that summarizes your unique strengths, skills, and abilities and explains how these can benefit your listener. 

It’s nice to have one ready for your presentations and networking in general since it helps you immediately connect with new people and communicate your value. 

Writing a solid elevator pitch may require several attempts and iterations. But the sooner you start — the faster you’ll arrive at the best formula! 

To get your creative juices flowing, here are several elevator pitch ideas you can incorporate in an introduction slide about yourself. 

For professionals: 

“Certified Salesforce Administrator, data visualization specialist, and analytics for top SaaS brands. I help businesses make more sense of their data to drive better outcomes”.

For a mentor :

“Adjunct professor of creative writing at Columbia University, published author, former lifestyle editor at Esquire, the New York Times. I can teach you how to find, shape, pitch, and publish stories for web & print.”

For a student: 

“Third-year Marine Biology student at Denver State Uni. Volunteer at Lake Life Protection NGO, climate change activist, looking to expand my research about water conservation”.

3. Answer Popular Questions or Assumptions 

If you are a frequent presenter , chances are you get asked a lot of the same “About Me questions” after your speeches and during the networking bits. So why not address a roaster of these in your About Me slide? Select 4-5 most common questions and list them as quick FAQs on your slide deck. 

4. Focus on Telling a Story 

Strong introductions are personable. They are meant to offer a sneak-peak into your personality and the passion behind your work. That’s why for less formal presentations, you can (and should!) start with a short personal story. 

Remember: reliability is important to “click” with your audience. 

For instance, neuroscience research of political ads recently found that ads featuring real people performed better than those with genetic stock footage. Among viewers, emotional engagement and memory encoding (recall) increased dramatically when political ads showed relatable people. 

The same holds true for commerce. In 2015, GE launched a viral “What’s the Matter With Owen?” video ad series to attract more young talent to the company. The clips featured a relatable protagonist, struggling to explain what his work at GE entails e.g. that the company isn’t building railroads, but actually does some very innovative pilots. Many engineers related to the promo and work applications to GE shoot up by 800% ! 

As the above examples show, a good relatable story can go a long way. So think about how you can make a PowerPoint presentation about yourself more representative of who you really are as a person. 

How to Give a Presentation About Yourself: 4 Fool-Proof Tips

On other occasions, you may be asked to give a full-length “about me” presentation. Typically, this is the case during a second interview, onboarding , or if you are in attending a training program or workshop where everyone needs to present themselves and their work. 

Obviously, you’ll need more than one good about me slide in this case. So here’s how to prepare a superb presentation about me. 

What to Put in a Presentation About Yourself?

The audience will expect to learn a mix of personal and professional facts about you. Thus, it’s a good idea to include the following information: 

• Your name, contact info, website , social media handles, digital portfolio .
• Short bio or some interesting snippets. 
• Career timeline (if applicable).
• Main achievements (preferably quantifiable).
• Education, special training.
• Digital badging awards , accolades, and other types of recognition.
• Something more personal — an interest, hobby, aspiration. 

The above mix of items will change a bit, depending on whether you are giving an interview presentation about yourself or introduce yourself post-hiring. For example, in some cases a dedicated bio slide may be useful, but other times focusing on main achievements and goals can be better.

That being said, let’s take a closer look at how to organize the above information in a memorable presentation. 

P.S. Grab an about me slide template to make the design process easier! 

1. Create a List of “Facts About Me”

The easiest way to answer the “tell me about yourself” question is by having an array of facts you can easily fetch from your brain. 

When it comes to a full-length about me presentation , it’s best to have a longer list ready. To keep your brainstorming process productive, organize all your ideas in the following buckets: 

• Key skills (soft and hard)
• Educational accolades, training
• Accomplishments and other “bragging rights”
• Personal tidbits (a.k.a. fun facts ) 

Once you have a list, it gets easier to build a series of slides around it. 

2. Think Like Your Audience 

Most likely you’d be asked to make a presentation about yourself by a recruiter. There’s a good reason why many ask this — they want to determine if you are a good “cultural fit” for their organization. 

After all, 33% of people quit within the first 3 months of accepting a new job. Among these:

• 43% of employees quit because their day-to-day role was different than what they were told it would be during the hiring process.
• 32% cite company culture as a factor for leaving within the first three months. 

About me presentations often serve as an extra “filter” helping both parties ensure that they are on the same page expectations- and work style-wise. Thus, when you prepare your slide deck, do some background company research. Then try to align the presentation with it by matching the company tone, communication style, and cultural values. 

3. Include Testimonials and Recommendations

Use the voice of others to back up the claims you are making in your presentation. After all, trumping your own horn is what you are expected to do in such a presentation. But the voices of others can strengthen the claims you are personally making. 

Depending on your role and industry, try to sprinkle some of the following testimonials: 

• LinkedIn recommendations
• Quotes from personal or professional references
• Social media comments 
• Data metrics of your performance
• Funny assessments from your colleagues/friends 

The above not just strengthen your narrative, but also help the audience learn some extras about you and your background. Testimonial slides can be of help for this purpose.

4. Include a Case Study 

One of the best ways to illustrate who you are is to show what you are best in. Remember, an about me presentation often needs to “soft sell” your qualifications, experience, and personality. 

One of the best ways to do that is to showcase how you can feel in a specific need and solve issues the business is facing. 

So if you have the timeframe, use some of the ending slides to deliver a quick case study. You can present: 

• Short retrospective of a past successful project
• Before-after transformations you’ve achieved 
• Spotlight of the main accomplishments within the previous role 
• Main customer results obtained
• Specific solution delivered by you (or the team you’ve worked with) 

Ending your presentation on such a high note will leave the audience positively impressed and wondering what results you could achieve for them.

To Conclude 

It’s easy to feel stumped when you are asked to talk about yourself. Because there are so many things you could mention (but not necessarily should). At the same time, you don’t want to make your introduction sound like a bragging context. So always think from the position of your audience. Do the facts you choose to share benefit them in any way? If yes, place them confidently on your About Me slides! 

1. Personal Self Introduction PowerPoint Template

Use This Template

2. Self Introduction PowerPoint Template

3. Meet the Team PowerPoint Template Slides

4. Introduce Company Profile PowerPoint Template

5. Modern 1-Page Resume Template for PowerPoint

6. Modern Resume Presentation Template

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13 Tips on How To Nail a Presentation To the Board of Directors

Published: January 13, 2021

In college, I always made it a point to listen intently to presentations. I knew how stressful and nerve-racking it was to present in a room of peers and authority figures.

I would nod feverishly to let presenters know I was invested in their presentation. And they knew it too. They often zeroed in on me as I became their focus point and silent motivator. The fixation felt awkward at times, but that felt like one of my small contributions to society. That, and an endless supply of cat videos.

Back then, the stakes were relatively low. But when you’re tasked with putting together a presentation to a board of directors, the pressure’s on.

But with a few tricks in your arsenal, you won’t need a sympathetic audience member to gauge how well you’re doing.

Let’s walk through some tips to prepare for your presentation and review some things to avoid.

How To Make a Presentation To the Board

• Know your audience.
• Plan ahead.
• Structure your presentation.
• Keep it concise.
• Set up early.
• Incorporate visuals into your presentation.
• Focus on results.
• Send materials beforehand.
• Build confidence with your power outfit.
• Rehearse your script.
• Don't fall into the PowerPoint Trap.
• Read the room.
• Include time for questions.

1. Know your audience.

Knowing your listeners is as important as the content of your presentation. When you understand their priorities, you can put together a presentation that speaks directly to them.

If you don't know the board well, do some research and get answers to these questions:

What does the board care about?

This will help you see from what lens they look at things. For instance, a board keen on community impact may not be drawn to a presentation focused on return on investment (ROI).

There are a few ways to find this out. You can start by looking into each board member’s professional background. If most members have a finance background, for instance, you’ll want to make sure you cover any financials as it relates to your presentation. This could be cost, expected ROI, or operating margins.

You can also get some insight into what the board cares about by looking back at your interactions with its members. Think about the conversations you’ve had: What comes up most often? Is it company culture, profit, philanthropy, innovation, or something else?

What are their main concerns?

A board of directors is responsible for making decisions that will ensure the growth and sustainability of a company. So naturally, they will be looking out for anything that may impede that process.

Common concerns a board may have are:

• Costs: How much time and money will it require?
• Timeline: How long will this project take and is that timeline feasible?
• Risks: How risky is your proposal and what is the risk-to-return ratio?

You may find that each board member has a different focus, which means your presentation should be well-rounded to tackle these issues.

Once you know this answer, you can subtly handle each concern throughout your presentation. Getting those answers will help you create a presentation that not only interests your audience but also aligns with their goals. This, in turn, will bring you much closer to accomplishing the plans laid out in your presentation.

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2. Plan ahead.

The next step in delivering a great presentation is making a plan. This means figuring out the focus of your presentation, what you’ll cover, and what you’ll leave out.

A presentation should follow the structure of any good movie, with a beginning, middle, and an end. Here’s an example outline for a presentation where the head of the marketing team is proposing course offerings as a new lead generation channel.

The middle is the meat and potatoes of your presentation. You'll likely spend time providing data, contextualizing it, and explaining your approach.

Your ending should bring together your key points and leave your audience with actionable steps. Because what good is providing the information if you have no plan for what to do moving forward?

3. Structure your presentation based on the board’s process.

Not every board of directors operates in the same way. Sure, there are standard guidelines for every meeting. However, the approach may vary for presentations.

Some may operate more like a town hall, pausing periodically to discuss the points as they come up. In this case, leave room after each section of your presentation to discuss what was covered.

Others may follow the more standard approach: presentation followed by a discussion. Studies show that humans remember best the beginning and end of what they read, hear, and see. What’s in the middle tends to get lost. With that in mind, consider sharing your most pertinent information toward the beginning and end of your presentation.

4. Keep it concise.

One thing board members aren’t known for is open availability. That said, you want to make the most of your time with them. How do you do that? Stick to the scope of the presentation.

While it’s great to incorporate storytelling, avoid getting sidetracked and wasting time. Be clear and keep it simple.

If you’re showing data, only share one highlight per data graph. There are several reasons for this:

• Data itself doesn’t tell a story. You, as the presenter, do. As such, you have to explain what it means and why it matters. Let’s say lead generation at your company has plateaued in the past year across all channels. That’s all the data says. But during your research, you realize it’s due to a shift in how your audience is consuming information. Your role is to present the data and explain the "why" behind the plateau along with a solution.
• You want to prevent information overload. Share the piece of data that best supports your points and has the most impact. For instance, if a new lead generation channel is the focus of your presentation, diving into the specifics of another channel may not be worth your time.

If you leave it to your audience to make sense of the data, they might reach a conclusion that doesn’t align with your message.

5. Set up early.

There’s nothing more awkward than silence during a technical difficulty.

Everyone’s looking at you while you’re figuring out why technology has forsaken you. The more time the issue takes to resolve, the more panicked you get. We’ve all been there.

To avoid this, set up early and do a run-through before your scheduled presentation time. It’ll give you time to get familiar with the space and any technology you’ll need to run during your presentation.

6. Incorporate visuals into your presentation.

When choosing between words and media, pick the latter.

Visuals help us make sense of information at a much quicker pace than words do. We’re also better at remembering what we see versus what we hear by 55% – it’s called pictorial superiority .

It’s also beneficial to keep your visuals simple. If you have too much going on, your audience will be confused. But if it’s too bare, it will take too many visuals to paint the picture. So, pull your most significant data and use data visualization tools to design intuitive graphics.

7. Focus on results.

A board of directors typically focuses on big-picture decisions that will have a long-term impact on the company.

In this vein, every piece of your presentation should get you closer to answering these questions:

• " Why does this matter? "
• " What is the long-term impact? "
• " How does this bring the company closer to its goals? "
• " Any potential roadblocks? How will you address them? "

Incorporating these answers into your presentation will set you up for a smoother Q&A session.

8. Send materials beforehand.

Depending on what you’ll be covering in your presentation, it may be helpful to send the board materials to review in advance. This should only be supplemental information that would be too time-consuming or distracting to cover in a presentation, like reports and demos. This way, the focus during the presentation will be on the "why" and not the "how."

The one material you don’t want to send is your presentation, as you want to be the one to contextualize it. Otherwise, the board might form an opinion based on limited information.

A week before the meeting is a good rule of thumb, leaving room for you to respond to initial comments or feedback.

Think of this process as an advantage. You get insight into what the board members may bring up during the meeting and more context to prep. Secondly, it ensures everyone is on the same page ahead of the meeting. That way, you can dive straight into key points during your presentation without covering minute details.

9. Build confidence with your power outfit.

Building confidence is one of the less concrete tips on the list to implement. But the good news is, there are research-backed techniques you can use to achieve it. One of them is right within your reach: clothing.

Many of us can relate to the feeling of trying on clothes in a fitting room and feeling like a million bucks. It tends to put us in a better mood and shift our perspective.

Well, turns out there’s a reason for this. In 2012, two researchers coined the term " enclothed cognition " to refer to the impact clothes can have on the psyche. They found that the clothes we wear can shift our perspective.

In that spirit, put on your best blazer or suit the day of your presentation. That outfit may be just the boost you need.

10. Rehearse your script.

During a presentation with a board of directors, you want to avoid the Michael Scott approach at all costs.

Instead, go the exact opposite route: practice. Practice is the cure to presentation jitters and the formula for seamless delivery. The more familiar you become with your content, the better the presentation will be.

If it’s been a while since your last presentation, start by practicing in the mirror. You’ll immediately notice any mannerisms that may be distracting to your audience. Recording yourself also works great.

Then, practice in front of an audience. And, unfortunately, your dog won’t cut it for this one. Practice with family or friends who can give you feedback on how to improve.

And remember: You’re the only one who knows your speech and presentation. So, if you mess up or forget to mention something, you’re likely the only one who noticed.

11. Don’t fall into the PowerPoint trap.

You’ll likely use a tool like PowerPoint to guide you during your presentation. Yet, it’s important that you don’t overly depend on it.

For instance, packing your slides with heavy text or bullet points is a surefire way to lose your audience. In fact, 40% of respondents in a 2018 study by Prezi said it caused disengagement and made it harder to retain information.

So, stick to one key point on each slide. It’s easier for your audience to remember and prevents information overload.

12. Read the room.

Even if you follow every tip listed above, you might hit a point in your presentation where there’s a disconnect between you and your audience. You might notice confused looks or a shift in body language. If that happens, that’s your cue to pivot.

If your audience seems confused, dive in a little bit deeper on your point. If you sense disagreement, tackle those concerns head-on.

Let’s say you’re proposing a new initiative for the company, and you sense some pushback on the timeline.

You can address it by saying something along the lines of, " You may have some concern regarding the timeline and whether it’s feasible given our current projects. While the timeline may seem tight, we have factored in X, Y, and Z, and, given our past initiatives, we believe this timeline will account for A, B, and C ."

A response like this can mitigate the situation while still keeping you on track.

13. Include time for questions.

As a foodie, dinner for me isn’t complete without a good piece of chocolate. Whether it’s a KitKat or a chocolate cake, having chocolate after dinner feels like the perfect ending. Q&A sessions are kind of like that. It’s the audience’s chance to ask questions and discuss the presentation.

Be ready for questions regarding the data and solutions you presented. The length of the Q&A session will vary depending on the length of your presentation, the size of the board, and other factors.

Additionally, it’s your opportunity to address any looming concerns and re-emphasize your key points. Not sure what to do if you don’t have an answer to something? Here are a few responses:

• "That’s a great question. I don’t have an answer for you at the moment, but I will follow up over email by end of day."
• "I don’t have much experience in that X [topic/department/]. However, I will reach out to X and get back to you within a week."
• "We haven’t explored that yet, but what I can tell you is …"
• "That’s a great point we hadn’t considered before. My team and I will reconvene and strategize on the best way to approach this."

When the stakes are so high, a presentation to the board can seem daunting. By incorporating these tips into your strategy, you can remove the stress and focus instead on your delivery.

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How to win a presentation in front of your top executive

It’s easy to think members of the C-suite will be highly critical. However, they respond to great presentation skills just like any other team member.

[Photo: jacoblund/Getty Images]

BY  Melody Wilding 5 minute read

For one moment, imagine you’ve been assigned to present your team’s quarterly earnings to the executives. And leading up to the big day, you rehearse and prepare. You sign into the conference software early. You test your audio and visual.

When the meeting starts however—you feel the nerves take hold. Your heart starts pounding. Your hands begin to shake, too.

You control your jitters enough to make it through your first few points, but then your company’s chief financial officer chimes in with a question that catches you off guard. That leads to the CEO to interject, and before you know it, you haven’t said a word in fifteen minutes. The executives carry on a high-level conversation without your involvement, and you never have the chance to get your presentation back on track.

This is a very common scenario professionals face. Many of my coaching clients feel intimidated by speaking to the C-Suite, who tend to be a critical, demanding audience. Presenting to executives can be challenging because it requires a slightly different skill set and approach versus presenting to your colleagues or boss. Here’s how to be more effective, persuasive, and commanding when speaking to C-Suite, and how to keep your nerves at bay.

Common mistakes to avoid when presenting to executives

Leading with context

Most professionals begin their presentations by sharing background information, details surrounding the circumstances for you being there, or explaining the journey of a product or service. While context is important, it inadvertently obscures your purpose. Starting off with too much context up-front can mean you risk executives disengaging quickly.

Talking too much or rambling

Similarly, you may fall into the trap of believing a longer presentation equates to greater value. In other words, you may assume that the more data and justification you present, the stronger your case will be. This isn’t true. Executives value brevity. It signals your mastery over a subject.

Being too attached to your script

It’s crucial to prepare in advance of meeting with executives, but there is also such a thing as over-preparation. Namely, I see clients rehearse their talk word-for-word. This backfires when your time slot is cut short or an executive throws an unexpected question your way, like in the scenario described earlier.

How to present to executives with confidence

Plan a preemptive meeting

A “pre-wire” is the meeting before the meeting. Pre-wiring is a form of doing your homework, and serves as few purposes:

• You can surface concerns and defuse objections, making negotiation easier
• You can gain valuable insight about what executives already know and potential gaps in knowledge so you can tailor your content
• You can uncover new details or consideration that lead you to adjust your presentation
• You can research their biggest pain points and criteria for making decisions

For instance, it may be important to share the agenda of a session in advance, so that executives are not surprised or blindsided by topics on the docket. Presenting your findings to the C-suite beforehand can also ensure they are supportive and in agreement, making your time go much more smoothly.

Having conversations in advance also allows you to build consensus and gain buy-in from stakeholders who are needed to execute your project. You may also consider speaking to colleagues who have presented to this group before to understand what worked and didn’t work.

Focus on “B.L.U.F.”

“B.L.U.F.” is an acronym that comes from the military and stands for “bottom line up front.” Instead of making the mistake of leading with context, you instead get to the point quickly. You begin

your presentation with the most important information first – whether that’s your request, call-to-action, solution, recommendation, or key conclusion – which helps you be perceived as a crisp, concise communicator.

Top leaders prefer B.L.U.F. because it demonstrates respect for their time and that you understand their needs and thought process. Having any answer—rather than no answer—is better than hedging because it leads to meaningful dialogue and shows you know how to make decisions.

Make your material memorable

Utilizing frameworks helps executives grasp onto concepts more easily. You may decide to number the steps in your approach, for example, or to categorize the phases of a project plan into pillars.

Another useful model is the SCQA format. After presenting your BLUF, your define the following:

• Situation. What is the context? Who are the players involved?
• Complication. What is the problem? What are the risks and opportunities?
• Question. What is your hypothesis? How can you overcome hurdles or capitalize on opportunities?
• Answer. What is your proposed solution? What data or insights back up your conclusion?

Hit all the areas of concern

The job of an executive is to focus on the bigger picture of an organization. They deal in vision and strategy, not implementation and execution. That’s why your presentation needs to focus on the what and why , not the how .

For example, if you’re presenting numbers of statistics, provide an interpretation and explain what the data means and the broader implications behind it. As you prepare your slides, continually assess how your content connects to the bigger picture. Some questions to ask yourself are:

• How will this help our customers?
• What will this do to position us in our industry?
• How will this help us beat our competitors?
• What are the underlying risks?
• How may our board, investors, or the market react to this decision?
• What can we do to bring down costs or optimize profit?

Keep it flexible 

Executives are notorious for interrupting. They will have questions, and they won’t wait until the formal Q&A time to ask them. These leaders also have many demands on their plate, and your meeting time may get cut in half unexpectedly if they are running late or need to end early. All of this means you need to be prepared to pivot.

One strategy I suggest to my coaching clients is structuring your presentation like an accordion. In other words, design it so that you can expand or shorten it as needed.

Lastly, leave ample time for discussion. Follow the 10/30 rule: if you have 30 minutes on the agenda, plan for 10 minutes of content and earmark the rest for interaction. Anticipate questions seniors leaders may have, so that you’re ready to answer them on the spot.

Inevitably, presenting to executives can be nerve-wracking, but you can adapt your approach to show up prepared and deliver a talk that’s compelling and persuasive.

Melody Wilding, LMSW is an executive coach and author of Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work .

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How to Present a Proposal to Management

By the way, if you are presenting a proposal to a customer or potential client , see this post. The technique below is mainly for elevator speech types of presentations (short and to the point.) If you are presenting a proposal to someone outside of your own company, you want to be more detailed.

How to Present a Proposal to Management in Three Simple Steps

(1) clearly state the problem/opportunity in your title along with your solution..

The average attention span of people today is about eight seconds. (See report done by Microsoft about human attention spans .) In reality, our attention spans haven’t changed. It’s just that we are bombarded with so much data on a daily basis, we are just more difficult to entertain.

For instance, think about how often you have just hit the “Next Episode” button on Netflix without even thinking. You didn’t lose attention at all during that six-hour binge of Breaking Bad or Orange Is the New Black .

My point is that people are less inclined to allow you to waste their time. So, even if the big boss gets an important call one minute into the presentation, you want her to know the gist of your idea.

Bad Examples of Proposal Presentation Titles

Stay away from vague or uninteresting titles like…

Ideas for Fixing the Sales Funnel Problem

What exactly are the ideas? What sales funnel problem? Why do I care?

Effective Disciplinary Policies Can Help Our Company

What policies? How are they different from what we have now? Help us in what way?

Distribution Problems Can Be Fixed with a Capital Investment

What distribution problems? For that matter, what part of the distribution process? What problems? Can it be fixed how? What kind of investment? What do you want me to buy for you?

Better Examples of Proposal to Management Presentation Titles

While, maybe not perfect, titles like these will get you a more attentive audience.

• Automating the Repetitive Data Entry Part of the Sales Process will Allow Our Sales Team to Increase Efficiency and Revenue.
• Consistent and Fair Written Disciplinary Policies Will Help Us Avoid Wrongful Termination Lawsuits.
• If We Buy a Box Truck with a Lift-Gate, We Can Save Over $35,000/Year in Local Freight Charges.

See how these updated titles actually inform the audience much better? To create a good title, first, create a clear statement of what the problem is. Second, create a simple statement about what your solution is. Also, make sure that your solution has a built-in benefit to the audience. Finally, just combine the two statements into a single sentence for your title.

(2) Start with a Detailed Story of Why the Problem is So Bad.

This is the line of thinking that leads to the biggest challenges with these types of presentations. Remember earlier when I referenced the Microsoft study about attention span? That study didn’t say that people are dumber or less attentive than previous generations. The conclusion was the opposite. Our attention span is actually more developed. So, it takes more interesting content to break through our guard. That is why stories are so important. Stories transport the listeners to another place and time. These stories creatively engage the listener.

Example of Stating the Problem Without a Story

“The repetitive manual data entry that our sales reps have to do is wasting a lot of quality sales time.”

The positive about this statement is that it is very specific about what the problem is. However, this statement doesn’t create an emotional impact on the audience. The problem doesn’t seem that big. So, when you get to your solution, and that solution is going to cost money, the audience isn’t compelled. There is no emotional draw.

However, When You Start With a Story, You Capture and Hold the Attention of the Audience.

“Last week, I spent the morning just watching a couple of our best sales reps. Early on Tuesday morning, Jan got a call from a prospective customer who wanted a price quote. She spent about 20 minutes consulting with the client on the phone. During this call, she made quick notes in the customer relationship management software (CRM). However, at times, she made notes on a notepad at her desk as well. I assume that this was to make sure that she didn’t miss any important details. “When she finished the call, she added all of the written notes into the CRM. Next, she manually moved the contact in the CRM to the proposal stage of the sales funnel. After that, she began working on the written proposal to this contact. She summarized the content that she had put into the CRM and inserted that new text into the opening of the proposal. Next, she went to the price list and inserted the same data again to pull a quote. She copied and pasted the quote into the proposal. Just as she was about to save the proposal as a PDF to send to the contact, she got another phone call. “On the new call, she had to do the same process to where she had finished putting all of the data into the CRM and moving the prospect in the sales funnel. Once she did this, she went back to finish the work with the first contact. It took us almost an hour and a half to get a quote out to the first contact. It took over two hours for the second contact to get a quote.”

Finally, Summarize the Story with Your Problem Statement

As you can see, the compelling story with lots of details gets you to picture in your mind what the actual problem is. The analogy is that you are giving your audience a shovel that they use to dig their own hole. Once the hole is deep enough, then you drop down a ladder to help them get out. To magnify the size of this hole, though, summarize the problem in a single statement. For the earlier example, a summary might sound like the following:

“The big problem here is that we post on our website, ‘Call for an Instant Quote.’ However, our manual processes are causing these potential customers to have to wait hours for the quote. In many cases, the prospective customer is only looking for two or three quotes. So, if three of our competitors are giving this information sooner, we are likely not even being considered for their projects. (Especially if we are the third or fourth company that they call.) I have a solution, though. I think that we can make our ‘Instant Quote’ more ‘Instant’.”

(3) Now that You Have Their Attention, Give Them a Powerful Solution.

If the Solution is Simple, Just Give them the Solution.

“We can invest $249 in a plugin that will allow the different pieces of software to share information.”

If the Solution is Complex, Break the Solution Down into No More than Five Steps

For example…

• First, We Need to Get IT to Create a Single Input Portal to Reduce Errors and Speed Up the Process.
• Second, We Need to Retrain the Sales Reps on the New Process, So that We Don’t Meet with Resistance from Them.
• Finally, We Will Need to Analyze the Data as We Implement to Determine When We Can Transition Current Sales Reps into Different Positions.

If you notice that in the step-by-step approach, I added the benefit to the company of that step. For instance, IF we create a single input portal THEN we reduce the errors and speed up the process. IF we retrain the sales team, THEN we won’t get as much resistance. Finally, IF we analyze the data THEN we can save money on payroll. By inserting the benefits into the bullet points (or statements), we make a compelling pitch right away.

It is also a good idea to reinforce each point with a short example or “mini-story.” I will explain this process in the final step.

(4) [Bonus Step!] Paint the Picture of the Outcome that this Idea Will Create

“We can invest $249 in a plugin that will allow the different pieces of software to share information. Jan would still spend the 20 minutes consulting with the contact. However, this time, she would insert the data directly into the CRM. The CRM would then send that data to the price sheet to pull a quote. Jan would see this instantly. Finally, the CRM would automatically pull the data that Jan entered and insert it into a proposal. The customer would receive a PDF with the content while Jan is still on the phone with her. “Jan could serve three customers very well versus serving two customers inefficiently. We could reassign up to half of our current sales reps. So, this $249 investment will cut payroll almost in half.”

If the solution is more complex, just paint the solution picture a little at a time to reinforce each step.

For Additional Help on How to Present a Proposal to Management Contact Us

In our public Fearless Presentations ® presentation training classes , we take you through this process. So, if you’d like additional coaching or help to present your ideas to management, we invite you to attend one of our classes. For a list of upcoming presentation coaching sessions , click this link!

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