The biggest presenting mistake people make

Admin
March 25, 2026

I’ve made a lot of mistakes when presenting.

I’ve delivered workshops for over ten years. I’d estimate around 1,000 workshops in that time. Nearly 200,000 people have heard me speak.

I shudder to think how many mistakes I’ve made in that time.

You might think I’ve managed to stop making them. You’d be wrong.

Whilst good at correcting them, I’m equally good at finding new ones.

Ultimately, I’ve become much better at accepting they’re going to happen and learning to learn from them.

In that time, I’ve seen a lot of other presentations and (thankfully for me) can see other people make mistakes too.

Are you ready for the biggest mistake of the lot, in my opinion?

Biggest presenting mistake people make, Presenting with confidence, TED Talk training London, pitching for business course, A trainer delivering a speech during a Talk Like Ted training course, gesturing confidently against a blue background.

Squeezing in too much information

When we have an opportunity to pitch or present for a certain amount of time, we can fall into the trap of feeling the need to say every single thing we know about that topic.

This often leads to more confusion than clarity.

Here are three things you can do to avoid this mistake.

Start with a story or get to the point

How many times have you heard a presentation that begins with a CV-like introduction to the speaker? Their name, job role, how long they’ve been there, the background to the project, and lots of context.

Eventually, following paragraph after paragraph of context and background information, we get the most important information for the audience buried in there.

Unfortunately, we’ve lost most of our audience by this point.

Imagine I’d start this blog by telling you about how and when Pink Elephant Communications was formed. (1989, originally as The Broadcasting Business if you’re wondering.)

Or telling you all about my background, possibly even my childhood. (1988, Edinburgh, in case you’re wondering.)

Or even the history of blogs, who wrote the first one and when. (1994, a student called Justin Hall. Apparently.)

Instead, I started with a story about my relationship with mistakes. It was brief and linked to the content.

I prefer stories in blogs.

The alternative is to start with the most important thing for the audience. Basically, how are you going to make their life better?

Both techniques grab your audience’s attention. They want to hear more.

The story can entertain; the most important point can enlighten.

From there, we can educate. We have them listening or reading intently.

That’s the first part done. How do we avoid losing them after this?

Simple and visual

It feels great when you leave a presentation with a clear understanding of what was said, and confidence that you know what you’re meant to be doing next.

But… how often does that happen?

In my experience, I’ve left asking:

What was that actually about?
Was I even meant to be there?
What on earth does that acronym stand for?

(I should say to any of my colleagues reading, this is only sometimes.)

This is often because we can be guilty of using vague language or throwing jargon around like confetti.

I often hear things like stakeholders or assets mentioned.

When I hear stakeholders, I usually think of customers. But what if they mean investors?

When I hear assets, I usually think of buildings and properties. But what if they mean money?

It’s much easier (and warmer) to give examples to help your audience visualise what you’re talking about.

All it takes is an additional line; ‘what I mean by that is’, or ‘for example.’

And what about jargon?

Words and phrases that anyone outside of your team would struggle to understand.

In fact, I wonder how often people inside the team are struggling to understand and perhaps feel too scared to ask.

I’ve heard cash referred to as CapEx, customers referred to as footfall, and emails referred to as internal communication processes.

In most cases, we can, and should, sacrifice some accuracy for wider understanding.

I worry we do this in an attempt to sound smarter. Or possibly to impress senior management.

Research has shown that the higher up you go in an organisation, the more they appreciate this simple language.

Audiences want to understand things quickly. It’s our job to make sure they do.