The 3x3 presentation method

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You’ve been there. It’s the night before the big presentation and you can’t sleep. Should you change a slide? Will the message resonate? Could this be your big break...or worse the nail in the coffin?

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Presentations take most people out of their comfort zone. All the eyes watching whether in person or over zoom, it doesn’t matter. There’s no doubt it’s a nerve wracking experience. Even for the very best communicators because at the end of the day you’re being judged. 

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But there’s a way to limit that fear and sense of dread. There’s a way to feel prepared and ready to step into the limelight. 

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There’s a way to nail the presentation...every time. 

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I call it the 3x3 method for presentation perfection. 

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The 3x3 method gives you the right framework to understand your audience, craft your content, and deliver a compelling presentation. 

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As you can imagine there are 3 phases and each phase has 3 parts to it. 

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Quick fun fact, the rule of 3 is one of the most powerful rhetorical devices you can use. 

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So let’s dive into it. 

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Phase I

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Starting here requires you to answer 3 core questions. You want to get out of your head and into your audience’s mind. If you can think like them, you can reach them. 

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This brings up the biggest mistake people make when presenting. 

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They focus on themselves. 

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The presentation isn’t about you. The sooner you embrace this, the better your results will be. 

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But don’t worry because these 3 core questions will help you shift your mindset into the one you need to succeed. 

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Question 1: Where is the audience currently?

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At this point you need to identify who will be in the room. How many people? Are you speaking up to your superiors? Are you speaking out at the same level as yourself? Or are you speaking down to get buy in from the people that report to you?

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The makeup of the room informs your entire approach. This includes language choices, stories, metaphors, and so many other factors. 

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Once you identify who will be in the room, you need to go deep into their mind. How will they be feeling in the presentation? What are their current beliefs? What are their current desires? What are their hold ups and insecurities? What are their objections? 

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The more you know about where they are, the easier it will be to think like them and as a result, connect with them. 

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Question 2: Where do you want them to end up?

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The answer most people would give to this question is something like “I want them to say yes to my idea.”

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Don’t do that.

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You can’t reverse engineer from there because people are complicated and you never know what’s going on behind the scenes. 

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Instead this needs to focus on how you want them to feel at the end of the presentation. That could be excited about a new opportunity that has the ability to grow revenue or it could be that they need to dig deeper to see if they can validate your ideas. 

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It’s actually the step before the yes. 

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You need to think deeply about what feeling gives you the best chance that your audience will get to the yes on their own. It might be at the end of that meeting, the next day, or in 3 months. You’re planting the seed for it to take hold. 

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Basically you want to give them 1+1= and leave it there. They have to be the one to say 2.

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Question 3: How can you build the bridge from question 1 to question 2?

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There’s a canyon between question 1 and 2. It’s your job to build the bridge that makes it safe for them to cross it. 

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This is where you start to reverse engineer. If you know where you want them to end up just start working backwards. Step by step until you get to where they started. You may need to use stories, metaphors, data, analogies, or other content to help them cross it. 

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Remember, you’re the guide. Not the hero. 

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Make them the hero and think of yourself like Obi Wan helping Luke to fulfil his destiny. 

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With this in mind, you’re now ready to enter the next phase of the 3x3 method.

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Phase II

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Now that you’ve put yourself in the mind of your audience it’s time to start thinking about your narrative. And yes, I said narrative. 

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It doesn’t matter what kind of presentation you’re giving, storytelling matters. 

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You can tell a story with numbers and data. You can tell a story with case studies, social proof, and anything at all. 

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I get it...you’re going to say just stick to the numbers and facts. Let’s take a lesson from Jeff Bezos here when he said “the thing I have noticed is when the anecdotes and the data disagree, the anecdotes are usually right. There’s something wrong with the way you are measuring it.” 

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Enough on that because you want to know how to create your narrative. Here’s the 2nd set of 3.

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You design the content with what I call the 3 Ps. 

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Purpose

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Step one is identifying the purpose of your presentation. Oftentimes this means highlighting the problem that’s being faced and then identifying the solution. The whole point of this phase is to make it obvious why your presenting in the first place. 

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How many times have you been listening to a presentation and couldn’t even figure out the point? If you’re like me, its too many to count. 

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There should be no doubt in your audience’s mind what your presenting about and why it matters to them. 

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Passion

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Step two lets you drive home why you care about this presentation. In this portion you need to make it clear how this affects you, your team, and the company as a whole. This would be the chance to really make people lean in and say that you care. 

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You want the audience feeling like you will do anything to make the result your asking for happen. You want the audience feeling like your the person for the job. You want them feeling inspired when they listen to you talk.

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Now if you’re worried about how to make that happen, don’t worry as that comes in phase 3. But for now you need to find your why. Why do you care about this presentation? 

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Let’s go back to Star Wars. When the Rebel Alliance is sitting in the presentation about to take on the Death Star, you can feel the passion in the presentation. They make the fighters feel like they are the last hope. As a result they go running to their X-Wings facing almost certain death. 

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Bring that why and your passion will shine through. Maybe your presentation is on why your team should be paid more. Maybe you believe there needs to be a re-organization or re-distribution of resources. If you don’t have a deep passion for the talk, neither will your audience. 

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Potential

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Here’s where you sell the ideal future state. Make it come to life with the biggest picture possible. 

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Now obviously if your presenting a new idea with a target that you need to meet, keep that in mind by making it the biggest picture possible that you can achieve. 

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But this is where you let your audience’s mind do the work for you. You paint the picture of the future and they start nodding along. They want that future to happen so they are ready to say yes to your idea. 

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The beautiful thing about potential is it’s just that...potential. You might not hit it but even if you get close that’s better than the before. 

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Here’s an example that’s easy to picture. A weightloss program says that in 3 months the person can lose 50 pounds. Sounds great right? Let’s say it doesnt happen and the person only loses 25 pounds.

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Think that person is still happy? Of course they are. The big ideal future state let them take the necessary steps to get closer. If they set the ideal state as 25 pounds lost they may have only lost 10 pounds. 

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That’s why you want to aim big here. Everybody understands you might miss the target. After all, Elon still hasn’t putting anybody on Mars but by setting that goal just look at everything SpaceX has done.

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Now that you have your 3 P’s outlined, you have your narrative coming to life. It’s time to actually deliver the thing. This brings us to our final phase.

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Phase III

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3 things make or break your delivery. Tonality, body language, and conviction. So let’s dive into these three.

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Tonality

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The way your voice sounds matters. And I don’t mind how much bass but I mean if you sound sarcastic, confident, curious, excited, enthusiastic, or nervous. Yes there are others to be aware of but you don’t need them all listed here. 

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Basically you need your tone to say a few things. You need it to let people know that you’re an expert, energized to be there, and trustworthy. That tone will change depending on your audience. 

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Your tone will also change during the presentation depending on how you want your audience to feel. Here’s the thing though, most people only focus on one very specific part of tonality. 

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Nervousness.

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Instead you should feel well prepared from the first two phases so that you can embrace the energy you’re feeling as a force for good. 

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Once again, let’s go back to Star Wars. The energy you feel can be used for good or evil. Anakin let his fear turn him to the dark side. Luke let the energy wash over him and use it to better connect with his father. 

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Body Language

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“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” It’s a nice sentiment but it’s just a lie. Humans evolved in a way to stay safe and that means making snap judgments. People aren’t trying to be mean or rude but it’s just built into their dna. 

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So the way you carry yourself matters. This means take up space, stand or sit in a confident manner that demonstrates you belong and feel comfortable. 

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It’s not only important for your start but also throughout your presentation. If your body language doesn’t match what you say it triggers “danger Will Robinson” vibes in the audience. The brain will imediately pick up on the incongruence and seek out an answer. The answer never ends in your favor. 

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So if your presenting that your answer is the only way to move forward with the project but your body language looks timid…

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Your audience won’t buy your words. Your body language just destroyed your close. 

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So focus on controlling your body language. Sit up or stand tall. Don’t look disinterested. Don’t appear nervous. 

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Yes this is all easier said than done but awareness is the first step. If you know what needs to be done, you at least have a chance. 

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Conviction

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You have to believe what you say. If you don’t believe it, neither will your audience. Not only do you need to believe it but you need to REALLY believe it. 

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Let’s go back to Star Wars one last time. Remember how Yoda didn’t want to train Luke originally? 

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The reason he finally said yes was because of the conviction of Obi Wan. You need to have that level of conviction in your message. 

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Too many presentations are lukewarm and as a result they don’t get a result. 

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Study the way politicians sell their positions. They take conviction to a whole different level and that’s why there are such diehards behind them. 

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Or let’s go tech. Elon says something about Tesla or SpaceX. It sounds crazy. He has absolute conviction behind the statement. People believe him. 

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If you have conviction that your audience can feel, you can deliver the presentation of your dreams. 

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And that’s it. The 3x3 method to presentation perfection. 

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3 questions to get in the mind of your audience. 

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3 Ps to design your perfect presentation.

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3 must haves for the perfect delivery to sell your position. 

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It may sound like a lot now but over time it gets easier and easier. You will start to do things naturally and look forward to your next presentation. 

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You’ll have your boss asking you to do more and teach others how you always wow in the room. That’s what I want for you. That’s what I know you have inside of you. 

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Now go out and deliver. 

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May the 3x3 be with you.

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