Stop making these 10 mistakes.

It’s called the 90% rule. Whenever you present, you need to get 90% of the audience on your side in 5min.

If you fail, you probably look at a room of people staring at their phones.

Here are 9 presentation mistakes I see all the time in my work with CEOs and founders – and how to avoid them:

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #1: 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 “𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.”

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Grab attention immediately. Begin with a striking fact, a powerful visual, or a question they have to answer.

👉 “Every day, your company bleeds time and money — and you don’t even know where.”

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #2: 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Great communicators master the pause. Think in beats, not blurts. Pausing after key ideas gives your audience a chance to absorb and react.

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #3: 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Simplify your visuals. Ditch the text blocks. Your slides should amplify your message, not compete with it.

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #4: 𝐔𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Replace hesitation with intention. Words like “actually,” “I guess,” or “kind of” dilute your authority. Use deliberate silence instead.

👉 Try this: Instead of “I think we could try this,” say “Let’s try this.”

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #5: 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐃𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Numbers don’t move hearts. Stories do. Use a real example to make your data unforgettable.

👉 We are 20x more likely to remember a fact when it is embedded in a story.

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #6: 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: You’re not there to recite. You’re there to connect. Know your message well enough to speak directly to the room — not your screen.

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #7: 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Stop downplaying your expertise. Phrases like “I might be wrong but…” or “in my humble opinion” erode credibility. Say what you mean with conviction.

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #8: 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Inject energy. Use inflection. Gesture with purpose. People don’t just listen with their ears – they respond to your energy.

💡 Think of it as a performance: be expressive, not robotic.

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #9: 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Always end with clarity. Leave people with a next step – something they can do immediately.

👉 “Want better meetings? Pick one of these fixes. Try it tomorrow. Then watch what happens.”

BONUS:

❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #10: 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

✔️ 𝐅𝐢𝐱: A great presentation doesn’t just inform – that’s what emails are for. Instead, it moves people to action.

👉 Instead of “good to know” make people go “let’s do it!”