Why Understanding Your Communication Style Is the First Step to Better Presentations

Let’s face it. Presenting in front of a group, whether it’s a boardroom of colleagues or a classroom of students, can feel daunting. You might spend hours crafting your slides, rehearsing your timing, and trying to anticipate questions. But here’s the thing: real improvement doesn’t begin with your slides or your script. It begins with you. More specifically, with understanding what kind of communicator you are.

Think of it this way: would a professional athlete train without first knowing their strengths and weaknesses? Of course not. A sprinter doesn’t train the same way as a long-distance runner. It’s the same with communication. If you don’t know how you naturally express ideas, in other words, what comes easily to you and what doesn’t, then it’s nearly impossible to grow in a meaningful way.

Some people are natural storytellers. They can captivate an audience with a personal anecdote or a clever analogy. But ask them to explain a data chart clearly, and they may stumble. Others are calm and methodical, excellent at walking through complex processes step by step, but they might struggle to bring energy or passion to their delivery. Neither style is wrong or better than the other. But knowing where you fall on the spectrum gives you a head start on becoming a more effective presenter.

Self-awareness also helps you identify your needs and goals. Are you presenting to build trust with clients? To persuade an audience to take action? To establish yourself as a credible expert? Each of those goals calls for a slightly different approach, and the clearer you are on your purpose, the easier it becomes to tailor your message and your tone.

Let me give you an example. One client I worked with was a senior manager who felt frustrated every time he had to present to the executive team. His feedback was always the same: “I don’t feel like they’re really listening.” After a little digging, we discovered that he was a very detail-oriented communicator who valued completeness and accuracy, but his audience wanted clear summaries and quick insights. Once he understood his natural style and how it was clashing with his audience’s needs, he was able to make small adjustments. The result? Less stress, more impact.

Another client, a young entrepreneur, had the opposite problem. She was energetic, informal, and full of passion, but she struggled to be taken seriously in front of her team She didn’t need to change who she was, just to recognize where she needed more structure and clarity. Once she did, her confidence soared.

These kinds of transformations are not about turning you into someone you're not. They're about refining your natural communication style so that it serves you more effectively, especially when the stakes are high.

If any of this resonates with you, I’d love to invite you to take the next step. Sign up for a one-on-one consultation. It’s a relaxed, no-pressure conversation where we explore your communication style, pinpoint your challenges, and help you set clear goals for growth. From there, we’ll talk about how our course can support your development in a way that feels authentic, practical, and yes, empowering!

Improving your presentation skills starts with knowing yourself. Let’s begin there. It’s the first lesson in our presentation skills course.