Another consultant once asked me for some advice on his training sessions. He seemed surprised when I told him I think there is a fine line between a so-so presentation and an excellent one. The more we talked, the more evident it was that he really had some very good material but his presentation was too defensive. Timidity was keeping him from crossing that line into the very good or even excellent territory. He seemed to want to bribe the audience into loving him and that's a tactic that works for, say, three seconds.
He needed to dissect every aspect of his presentation and see what could be improved and then, after improving it, keeping doing the dissection and improvement process over and over again and never stop. Making presentations is a brutal business. What succeeds with one group will be less so with another. Audiences can be unfair and cruel and speakers are easy targets but every group has its lessons. Part of the learning process is knowing when a negative reaction is irrational and sensing when it might, just might, have a point, however small, that should be addressed.
When scrutinizing your own performance, you need to play two roles: that of critic and personal advocate. Sackcloth and ashes can be as dangerous as arrogance. Introspection is crucial. If honesty and perception are present, you become your own best consultant.
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