Let's face it – you can't hit every presentation out of the ballpark. What do you do if your presentation sucked?

I don't mean in your mind sucked. I mean it unquestionably without a doubt, and you've got the feedback forms to prove it SUCKED.

How do you recover from a bad presentation?

Stop beating yourself up

A bad presentation traumatizes. My clients tell me stories of bad speaking experiences that happened 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years ago.

From that time, they started avoiding presentations like Adam Sandler movies (which historically traumatize moviegoers everywhere). That's far too long to be hanging on to a bad experience.

Speaking is like falling off a bicycle – you've got to get right back on. When you've screwed up a presentation, it does no good to ruminate about how much you suck.

Get back on that bike and start figuring out how you can rock it out next time.

When you are asked to speak, say a resounding, “YES!” instead of slinking off resolved never to speak again. If Adam Sandler can keep making craptastic movies, surely you can give another speech.

Realize Your Message Matters Most

The vast majority of the time a presentation flops not because of your delivery but because of your message.

While it's easy to say “I'm just not a good speaker,” realize that a mediocre speaker with an amazing message can still make an impact.

As I've been pivoting my business more and more to work with coaches, consultants, and service-based business owners on the way their business communicates, they realize that their message does so much for their business.

Having one core message (or as I like to call it a 3 Word Rebellion) is key for the success of a business or for the success of your presentation.

Ask yourself was the message clear? Did it focus on one core message?

Message clarity = presentation success.

Presentation autopsy

Grim, dark, and time for a bit of brutal honesty. The upside of giving a presentation that sucked is – it's a great learning opportunity.

Now ask yourself, “Did I do everything in my power to prepare for this presentation”? Did the words, “I can totally wing this,” ever fall from your lips? Here are several digging in the dirt questions to ask yourself:

   * Did I really understand my audience? Did I know what they believed about my topic? Did I meet their expectations? Did I answer these three questions about the audience?

*  Did I know my stuff?

* Did I practice my presentation? If you need help with practicing, download my guide to practicing your presentation – TODAY – I mean right now – immediately!

Get No Sweat Speech Prep

* Did you know how you were going to close the presentation?

* Was I prepared for the audience's questions?

* How was my delivery? Polished or rough or somewhere in between?

Be honest.  Giving yourself feedback can show you how you can improve your next presentation to ensure success.

Bad Presentations Happen To Good People

Realize that bad presentations do happen to good speakers and amazing people.

Sometimes you can do all your homework, be clear on your message, practice, know your material backward and forwards and the presentation just misses the mark.

Once I was invited to give a presentation on cultural trends. I worked closely with the meeting planner. In fact, she approved every slide I was going to present. This was an executive-level audience and she wanted the content to be perfect. I researched, I prepped, I practiced, I had great examples.

Five minutes into my presentation, one executive raised his hand and asked “Are these trends based on quantitative research?” My reply was, “No, they are qualitative cultural trends.” He and half the room tuned out. The presentation flopped. My mistake was basing my whole speech on information from one person. That question killed me and there was no way to save the presentation at the moment.

Looking back, I now see that I could have reached out to some of the executives as part of my preparation instead of leaning on the meeting planner. Great lesson. Now it's time to move on.

I recovered. You can too when your presentation sucks. The most important point is: Keep Speaking. Learn from your mistakes and don't let them hold you back.