In the complex and demanding arena of the technical presentation, each of these areas requires special skills. In contrast to general business and management speaking, the technical presenter needs to understand, at a very sophisticated level, who is in the audience and what they want. This is what Steve failed to do. He wanted to let his peers know the details of the project, but didn t know how to present the project's business potential to management. This error cost him dearly.
Audience analysis takes a little more time, but pays back big dividends.
Here are some things you can do. Make a point of talking with people as they enter the room, and explore with them briefly what their goals are for the meeting. Let me see a show of hands. Show of hands. This survey will help you decide which direction to take to give them what they want.