This is a common situation. You’ve been told you have 30 minutes to make your presentation to the board on what your department has been doing for the last quarter and why you deserve to continue to receive funding. But at the last minute, the organizer whispers in your ear, “We’re running behind schedule. You need to speak for no more than 15 minutes.”
“Egads!”

What do you do now? You have 30 minutes worth of material. You’ve rehearsed it, just as you know you should do, and you got the time down to exactly 30 minutes. This is unfair! This can’t be happening! You played by the rules, why can’t everyone else stick to the rules?
Relax. You will get through this.

Here is the first option. It is the most popular option—by my estimation this is what 99% of business people do when they are presenting in these situations.
1.    Comment at the beginning, middle and end that there is not enough time to cover all of your points.
2.    Apologize for not being able to cover all of your points.
3.    Eliminate all of your stories, examples and case studies to “save time.”
4.    Speak faster than normal to cover all the key points.
5.    Sweat.
6.    Apologize one last time in your conclusion.
7.    Walk away at the end with an annoyed look on your face.

If you follow these seven steps you will be in good company because this is what most people do. However, you won’t actually communicate anything and your presentation will have accomplished nothing. You will have failed miserably.
But you don’t have to fall into this trap. Here is what you should do in these situations:

1.    Determine the order of importance of all of your key points and then eliminate the bottom half.
2.    Never waste even a second of time by talking about the fact that you don’t have as much time as you’d like.
3.    Speak at a normal speed in a completely conversational manner, as if you had all of the time in the world. You do this because you know that if you speak faster, people won’t understand you and they’ll just think you are nervous.
4.    Deliver every single story, anecdote and case study you had prepared for the top points you cover.
5.    Never apologize—not even once.
6.    Finish in your allotted time and act as if this was the best presentation you have ever given and that you are completely satisfied with how it went.
7.    At the conclusion, give people paper or electronic handouts that cover all of your key points just covered as well as the points that had to be cut from your spoken presentation.

It is actually a blessing to have your time cut moments before you present. It provides a great opportunity for you to demonstrate in front of your boss, colleagues and clients that you have the coping skills to adapt quickly, that you can survive under pressure, and think on your feet. Too many salespeople, account managers and executives get put into this situation and all they can do is feel sorry for themselves and make excuses—it’s never pretty.

The foolproof presenter realizes there is never an ideal environment for speaking. There will always be distractions in the form of noise from next door, poor lighting, or noisy people in the back of the room. The foolproof presenter simply sizes up the opportunity given what is available in terms of time and resources and then makes the best of it—every time.

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