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PRESENTATION KILLERS: Five of the Most Often-Encountered Obstacles and How to Avoid Them 

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Every presenter wants to connect with their audience—to inform, inspire, or persuade. But even skilled communicators sometimes fall into habits that quietly sabotage their message. Over years of coaching and observing professionals, I’ve noticed that the biggest presentation killers are rarely about lack of knowledge or preparation—they’re about focus. Specifically, focusing too much on yourself and not enough on your audience.

Here are five of the most common traps that derail presentations—and how to avoid them.

1. Mistaking “feels good” for “looks good” 

What feels comfortable to you doesn’t always look good to the audience. Putting your hands in your pockets might calm your nerves, but it often sends the message that you’re disengaged. Likewise, pacing around the stage might help burn energy, but it distracts your listeners. Every movement, gesture, and stance should serve the message—not your nerves.

2. Misguided dedication to perfection instead of “usefulness”

Many presenters obsess over flawless delivery. But perfectionism often backfires—it shifts your focus inward instead of toward the audience. A stumble or slip of the tongue doesn’t ruin your presentation; awkward over-apologizing or panic does. Handle mistakes with calm confidence and a genuine commitment to keeping your audience informed and comfortable.

3. Over-planning the script and visuals while under-planning the desired effect. 

Slides, data, and polished scripts are helpful tools—but they’re not the presentation. The real impact happens in how you deliver those ideas. Spend as much time thinking about your tone, pacing, and audience connection as you do perfecting your visuals. The best slides in the world can’t make up for flat delivery.

4. Confusing a sense of humor with joke-telling. 

Trying to win people over with jokes is risky territory. Humor is powerful, but it doesn’t have to come from punchlines. Instead, use wit: point out relatable truths, make surprising comparisons, or highlight absurdities in your topic. The goal isn’t to make them laugh—it’s to grab their attention and hold their interest..

5. Apologizing: Don’t do it.

Apologies in presentations are almost always self-serving: “Please forgive me, but…” It signals that your focus is on you, not them. Instead of apologizing, stay matter-of-fact. If you misspeak, correct it quickly and move on: “That should be billion, not million.” Plan ahead so you don’t have to say, “I know you can’t see this in the back…” And if something goes wrong, keep things moving forward. Your composure builds credibility faster than any apology ever could.

In the end, the best presenters think less like performers and more like explainers.
Focus your energy on helping your audience understand your message; if you can do that,  confidence, clarity, and connection fall into place naturally.

If you want to elevate your own presentations, start by removing these five obstacles. The result isn’t just a smoother talk—it’s a stronger impact.

Helping professionals become confident, engaging presenters is what we do. If you’ve got a talk coming up or want to sharpen your presentation skills, reach out—we’d love to connect. And if this article resonated, share it with someone who could use it too.

What Causes “Presentation Nerves” and How to Tame Them

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“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

― Jerry Seinfeld

Presentation nerves have two main causes:

  1. A logical concern: People are judging me! (Because they definitely are.)
  2. A visceral reaction: Why does this feel so weird? 

Let’s break these down and find ways to conquer them.

The LOGICAL Fear: Yes, They’re Judging You… But That’s a Good Thing!

It’s true—your audience is watching and forming opinions. But instead of assuming they’re picking apart your every syllable, shift your focus: they want to get something valuable from you. Your job isn’t to be perfect; it’s to give them what they need. Rather than thinking about why it’s important to you (and dreaming up consequences for failure, or possible rewards of success) think about why it’s important that your audience understands you. Prioritize helping your audience understand your message – they are there to hear what you have to say!

Another mental shift that is just as important – have a positive outlook on the presentation. It’s easy for the presenter to focus on the potential of being judged negatively. Concentrate on the certainty of being judged positively. I learned this mindset from the WWII generation. Whenever I asked them, “What was the plan if we lost?” the answer was always the same: Losing wasn’t an option. That mentality helped them push forward, and it can help you too. Commit to success, and don’t even entertain the idea of failure.

The VISCERAL challenge: Presenting FEELS different from what you’re used to. The difference is uncomfortable and can feel “wrong.”

The problem is, presenting is very different from everyday conversation. We’re used to talking one-on-one. But when you present, your voice needs to be bigger, your gestures need to be clearer (larger), and your presence needs to take up more space. That unfamiliarity feels unnatural—so your instinct is to shrink to what feels more “normal.” Unfortunately, the audience sees this as low confidence. 

It’s clear that you need preparation—but the right kind. One of my mentors, Zig Ziglar, used to say, “When you’ve set up your ladder to success and are striving to climb it, make sure it wasn’t leaned against the wrong building.” In other words, don’t just practice, practice with purpose.

The DEATH SPIRAL (or, More Accurately, the “Failure Spiral”)

Okay, the title is dramatic, but stay with me. Aviators use the term “death spiral” to describe the phenomenon of trying to fix a problem with control of the aircraft. The problem is, without knowing precisely what effect the “fix” will have, the fix makes the problem a little worse. The response to the fix-gone-wrong sets up even MORE problems and before long, the flight ends in a fatal spiral. 

Ever start a presentation, mess up a word, and suddenly your brain is a little upside down. It seems to say, “What now? I guess we’re doomed”. That’s the failure spiral. One mistake leads to overthinking, which leads to more mistakes, which leads to a full-blown mental meltdown. The good news? It’s totally avoidable. You just have to keep your hands on the controls, and know what to expect. 

The SOLUTION: Tame the Nerves; The Key is Control. 

Don’t play to your need to be liked, loved and accepted. Play to the audience’s need to benefit from what you’re offering them. 

  1. Accept the unexpected (even “awkward”) feeling — It won’t look awkward to the audience. Using your smartphone, record yourself from a few feet away, and you’ll see. What feels outsized and really too big,  looks just right to the audience.
  2. Breathe like a pro — Stop at every period. Short sentences = easy breathing. No more gasping for air mid-sentence.
  3. More self-recording — Practice the whole package – Don’t just memorize words. Rehearse your voice, gestures, and phrasing too. Recording your practice allows you to be objective about your performance, rather than depending on how it “feels.” How you feel you’re coming across to the audience can be misleading.
  4. Adopt a “service mindset” — Make it about the audience, not yourself. Practice enough so your physical skills can run in your mental background. The less you focus on yourself, the better you’ll perform your service for the folks who need you and your message.

The more you practice, the more natural this will feel. You’ll find yourself looking forward to your next presentation (No doubt about it… success is fun!) So go out there, look someone in the eye, and hold the audience in the palm of your hand. You’ve got this!