Presentation Pitfalls

10 Traps Business Professionals Fall Into and How to Avoid Them

John Polk, Justin Hunsaker

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781394345991
• eBook ISBN: 9781394346011
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Communication
• Index: Business

Great presentations get ideas approved, secure funding, and drive action. But even experienced professionals fall into common traps that weaken their message and lose their audience.

In Presentation Pitfalls, executive communication experts John Polk and Justin Hunsaker reveal the ten traps that cause presentations to fail—and, more importantly, the techniques to avoid them. You'll learn how to craft a compelling narrative, design slides that engage rather than distract, and deliver your message with confidence.

Presenters fall into "the Frankenstein Trap" when they cobble slides together without a clear storyline, leaving audiences confused. Or they stumble into "the Lipstick on a Pig Trap," dressing up a weak message with flashy design instead of strengthening the content. Or they trip over "The Just the Facts Trap," believing that data alone is enough to persuade. These missteps—and seven others—can be the difference between winning buy-in and losing your audience.

Inside, you'll discover how to:

• Tell a clear story
• Leverage graphics
• Reduce the noise
• Present with confidence

Estimates put the corporate waste from ineffective presentations at over $1 billion daily. Don't let your ideas get lost in the shuffle. Whether you're leading a key meeting, presenting to senior leadership, or pitching a new idea, this book gives you the tools you need to get results.

John Polk and Justin Hunsaker are on a mission to rid the world of bad presentations and the bad decisions that come with them. Presentation Pitfalls will teach you how to craft compelling presentations that engage to influence and influence to drive action.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents at a Glance
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 The Frankenstein Trap
• Chapter 2 The Bury the Lede Trap
• Chapter 3 The Black Hole Trap
• Chapter 4 The Just the Facts Trap
• Chapter 5 The Expert Trap
• Chapter 6 The Peice of Cake Trap
• Chapter 7 The Lipstick on a Pig Trap
• Chapter 8 The Under (or Over) Confidence Trap
• Chapter 9 The Virtual Fatigue Trap
• Chapter 10 The First and Last Impression Trap
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Further Reading
• Index
• About the Authors
• EULA