Episode #295: The Presenter's Dilemma

Why do so many executives prepare presentations the wrong way?

A speaking opportunity appears, the date and time are fixed, and the first reaction is to raid old slide decks. You copy-and-paste, build new slides, debate endlessly what to include, and then spend more time cutting it down. The result is a Franken-presentation: a collage of slides rather than a coherent message.

This slide-first approach feels productive, but it ignores the real point of the presentation: changing what your audience knows, feels, and does as a result of hearing you.

Mini-summary: Starting with old slides leads to cluttered, unfocused presentations. Effective preparation begins with purpose and audience, not PowerPoint.

The central question is not, “Which slides should I use?” but “What should my audience know, believe, and do after I speak?” A deck is just a tool; your message is the product. Until you can express that message in one sharp, memorable sentence, you are not ready to build any visuals.

A powerful executive presentation has a single, crystal-clear message, not a shopping list of points. When you boil everything down to one core idea, decisions about structure, stories, and data become much easier.

Mini-summary: Define one clear, pungent core message before creating any slides. The slides then serve your message, not the other way around.

How do you choose a single, powerful core message?

Often there are many attractive angles you could take. To choose the right one, you must step back and ask, “Who will be in the room, and what matters most to them right now?” Different stakeholders need different emphasis:

• Senior executives may care most about risk, ROI, and strategic fit.

• Operational leaders may focus on implementation, resources, and timelines.

• Frontline managers may want clarity on expectations and support.

Once you understand who is actually listening, you can select the message that hits the bullseye for this audience, on this day, in this context.

Mini-summary: Your “right” core message is the one that best matches the priorities, risks, and motivations of the specific audience you will face.

In Japan, you may be speaking to a mix of 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (foreign-owned multinational companies) in 東京 (Tokyo) and across Japan. Decision-making styles, expectations for formality, and tolerance for risk will vary.

Practical steps for audience analysis:

• Ask organizers who usually attends this kind of event.

• Request the registration list or at least the list of participating companies.

• Clarify the seniority level and functions (e.g., HR, sales, operations, finance).

• Consider cross-cultural expectations for hierarchy, directness, and data.

By understanding whether your listeners are primarily from traditional 日本企業 (Japanese companies), dynamic 外資系企業 (multinational companies operating in Japan), or a blend, you can adjust your tone, examples, and level of explicitness.

Mini-summary: Deep audience analysis—especially in a Japan and global context—helps you tailor your message so it feels relevant, respectful, and compelling to both Japanese and multinational stakeholders.

Data and slides are often raw and inert; they lack context and emotion. Stories turn information into meaning. When you tell a story:

• The audience can see the situation in their minds.

• They understand what is at stake for real people.

• They remember the point long after the meeting ends.

Simple analogies (e.g., “the area is the size of 50 football fields”) or lived experiences (e.g., measuring distance in “six bottles of beer” on an old road trip) make abstract ideas tangible. People relate to people, not percentages.

Mini-summary: Stories convert dry information into human impact, making your message clearer, more emotional, and more memorable than a slide-only approach.

Statistics by themselves can cause eyes to glaze over. When you wrap data in a story—who was affected, what changed, what almost went wrong—it becomes vivid and actionable.

For example, instead of saying, “Engagement increased by 18%,” you might say:

“Three years ago, during a heavy snowstorm in New York, we launched a pilot. One manager completely changed how she spoke with her team… and that shift is why we saw an 18% engagement jump.”

The numbers are now anchored to a person, a place, and a moment in time. Your audience not only understands the result, they feel it.

Mini-summary: Convert numbers into narratives by tying data to specific people, places, and moments. This makes complex information easy to understand and hard to forget.

In video conferences, slides can easily dominate the screen while you shrink into a tiny box in the corner. If your goal is to build your personal leadership brand, that is the opposite of what you want.

Consider:

• Using no slides, or very few, in a short, high-stakes executive update.

• Turning off “screen share” to speak directly into the camera, so decision-makers see your face, your conviction, and your composure.

• Painting pictures with words—time, place, people, tension—so your stories replace the need for heavy visuals.

By reducing slide dependence, you move the center of attention back to you as the leader and communicator.

Mini-summary: In virtual settings, fewer slides and more direct eye contact with the camera can dramatically increase your perceived presence and strengthen your executive brand.

Slides are not the enemy; misuse is. Visuals are powerful when they:

• Show a simple photograph that supports your story.

• Clarify a complex concept with one clean diagram.

• Summarize key numbers in a way that is easy to grasp at a glance.

A photo-only slide with no text can be processed in a second, freeing the audience to focus on your explanation and story. In contrast, text-heavy slides, detailed spreadsheets, and crowded tables split their attention and weaken your impact.

Mini-summary: Use slides as a visual amplifier—especially photos and simple visuals—not as a script or a document. Let the audience listen to you, not just read the screen.

Strong presentation skills underpin many core development areas:

• リーダーシップ研修 (leadership training): Leaders must inspire, align, and influence diverse stakeholders through compelling messages and stories.

• 営業研修 (sales training): Sales professionals need to move beyond feature-heavy decks and build trust through needs-based storytelling and clear recommendations.

• プレゼンテーション研修 (presentation training): Presenters learn to design message-first, story-rich talks that work in both Japanese and global contexts.

• エグゼクティブ・コーチング (executive coaching): Senior leaders benefit from tailored feedback on their narrative, presence, and slide strategy.

• DEI研修 (DEI training): Inclusive storytelling helps make every voice heard and communicates diversity, equity, and inclusion with authenticity.

At Dale Carnegie Tokyo, we integrate these principles into programs specifically designed for 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies) operating in 東京 (Tokyo) and across Japan, drawing on Dale Carnegie’s global methodology refined for the local business culture.

Mini-summary: Story-driven, slide-smart communication sits at the heart of leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI initiatives, especially for Japanese and multinational organizations in Japan.

• Start with your audience and a single, sharp core message—then decide whether you even need slides.

• Replace a collage of recycled slides with a clear storyline and a few high-impact visuals, if any.

• Use stories and analogies to make data meaningful and memorable, especially for mixed Japanese and global audiences.

• In virtual and in-person settings, design your delivery so that you—not your slides—carry the message and build your personal and professional brand.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.