4 Obstacles to High Impact Presenting Which Can be Overcome

There are many potential obstacles to high-impact presenting, and the good news is that every single one of them can be overcome.

Here are four of the most common barriers professionals face, and how to move past them.

1. Mindfulness (or the absence of it)

Far too many professionals don’t prepare presentations; they survive them.

They’re racing from meeting to meeting, juggling deadlines, and squeezing slide‑building into the gaps. In that state, a presentation isn’t an opportunity; it’s an interruption.

So, they do what busy people do: open the laptop, recycle the old deck, copy the old structure, and hope familiarity will save them.

High-impact presenting doesn’t begin with slides; it begins with space.

Before you touch your laptop, stop.
Step away.
Sit. Breathe. Think.

Then ask yourself the questions that change everything:

What’s my objective?
What do I want my audience to do with this information, idea or insight?

What’s my intention?
Not what I want them to know, but how I want them to feel when I’ve finished presenting.

Mindfulness isn’t soft; it’s strategic

It’s the difference between “another update” and a message that lands.

2. Habit

We are all creatures of habit, and many of those habits shape the way we think, speak and present. It’s why so many business presentations look and sound the same. People copy what they’ve seen and done before because it feels safe.

High‑impact presenting requires the courage to break patterns.

Start by noticing your default patterns, not just in preparation, but in delivery:

– Do you rush?

– Speak in a monotone voice?

– Read from slides?

– Avoid eye contact?

– Use the same phrases or gestures every time?

Some habits help you, some hold you back, and some you don’t even realise you have.

If you’re unsure, ask someone you trust what they consistently notice about your presenting. One honest comment can reveal a habit you’ve never seen.

Once you spot the patterns, change just one of them. A small shift in preparation or delivery can transform the way people experience you.

3. Confidence

In a typical workshop of six delegates, we often see:

• 1 person who is extremely confident
• 2 people who are extremely nervous
• 3 people who are comfortable

Interestingly, the very confident are often the ones who need the most coaching.
Their confidence usually comes from years of presenting without feedback, and in the absence of constructive guidance, they assume they must be doing well.

The nervous participants, on the other hand, have already shown courage simply by being there.

Low confidence is one of the biggest obstacles to high-impact presenting, but it’s also one of the easiest to transform with the right support.

Confidence isn’t a personality trait; it’s a skill you can tune into and turn on.

4. Culture

Organisational culture has a profound influence on how people present.

The most successful organisations are those where leaders model clear, compelling communication.
“Leadership by example” isn’t a slogan; it’s a behavioural blueprint.

When senior teams communicate well, others follow and when they don’t, the entire organisation adopts the same habits.

Great presenters aren’t born, they’re developed through culture, coaching and conscious practice.

Every Obstacle Can Be Overcome

If you need help overcoming them:

– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.

– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.

– Get yourself some excellent presentation training

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