Get a GRIP on your presentations

Mark Armstrong -

I just got done enjoying a LinkedIn Live by the talented Kacy Maxwell.

He came up with a brilliant framework for how to prepare for a presentation based on the memorable acronym GRIP.

GRIP stands for

  • Goal
  • Room
  • Itinerary
  • Practice

I won't go into all the detail of the presentation but it's definitely worth watching.

I walked away from the LinkedIn Live with lots of helpful insights and will use the framework to guide my preparation for presentations going forward.

One of the things that stood out to me was that the focus was on preparation in the first place.

Kacy called out that every presentation is made up of two parts: preparation and execution.

Most everyone focuses on execution (or giving the presentation) because that's the part we get nervous and worked up about.

But here's the thing, that's only half the equation... if that.

You could think of execution as the tip of the iceberg and preparation as all the ice beneath the surface that no one ever sees.

Putting in the work ahead of the presentation ensures that when it comes time to execute, the presentation practically takes care of itself.  

According to Maxwell, preparation should ensure these 4 things:

  1. You have a clear worthwhile desired outcome (Goal)
  2. You have the right audience and have considered the set-up and environment you'll be presenting in (Room)
  3. You have laid out the journey to help people arrive at your goal (Itinerary)
  4. You have practiced it all the way through at least 3 times (Practice)

He also goes into 6 elements that make up the itinerary, from providing background to clarifying the problem, doing the research, proposing a solution, coming to a decision, and identifying next steps.

This framework is well thought out and I have no doubt that it will have a significant impact on the effectiveness (and frankly enjoyability) of my future presentations.

Ok, really... just go watch it. It's great.

Then let's put it into practice!