It’s the weekend: are non-business hours presentations different?

Yes. Presentations on Saturdays are different.

There now, that was simple, wasn’t it!

Essentially they’re different because they tend to have a more informal feel to them: people are giving up their down-time to see you though so the stakes are higher. No one is there because the boss makes them go… which means that presentations can have an odd feel to them…

…relaxed, informal, positive… and yet at the same time more nerve-wracking because it matters more.

So how do you accommodate those differences? I strongly recommend that you be extra vigilant and on your guard. It’s frighteningly easy to get seduced by the relaxed atmosphere and now concentrate as much as you would normally do. Make a point of being on your toes – write a note to yourself in your slidenotes if you’re using slides or on your prompt cards… or whatever you’re using, so that it brings you up short.

Daft as it sounds it’s also worth remembering that if something goes wrong on the technical level you’re less likely to have back-up. The company IT guru is probably out playing football in the park and the spare cables are hidden… so take a bit of extra time to get their early and check everything out, just in case. If in any doubt at all, take spares :)

But at the same time, remember that if you’re as formal on a Saturday as you’d be on, say, a Wednesday, you might jar your audience a bit. Personally I make a point of wearing something that I can ‘dress down’ pretty quickly if my audience are less formal than I am. For example, I’d arrive in a tie, on the basis that I can take it off (and become less formal) in just a matter of seconds.

Oh, and one more thing…

… if you can, take the day off! ;)