Not many people have crashed and burned on stage in front of thousands of people but I did a few years ago. 

My talk — in front of the biggest audience I’d ever had — got slammed in the ratings and the event organizers said “I looked like I didn’t want to be there.” It was a humiliating experience. 

What went wrong?

In short, I tried to give the presentation I thought they wanted me to give, in the style I thought they'd like. I also — for the first time — studied books on how to do great presentations and tried to incorporate the advice.

The result was a sort of paint-by-numbers effort. It felt wooden and contrived, and everything that previous audiences had enjoyed about my presentations — the tone, style and delivery — was missing. It was totally lacking authenticity.

Here is the vital lesson you can learn from my mistake: what makes your presentation special is you.

If you’re by nature casual, be casual. If you’re energetic, be energetic. If you’re funny, be funny. If you’re eccentric, be eccentric. Don’t try to be someone you’re not or present in a way that clashes with your personality to try and suit the audience or environment. You have to ignore them to give them what they really want. 

Above all, give the presentation you want to give, with the content, examples, and stories that you’re excited by. The audience can tell when you’re speaking your truth. That is what they will connect with. Everything else is secondary. 

Make your presentation a truthful expression of your personality, passion and life experience and you'll crush it.

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