In 2007 Steve Jobs nailed his presentation.

Beforehand, Apple had built up loads of anticipation of the iPhone.

And in his first 8 minutes, Steve teased the audience before finally showing the product. It was a masterclass in how to present.

And when you break it down, great presentations all follow the same pattern. Whether you’re presenting a product or presenting as part of an interview for a marketing job.

Of course, a presentation is only part of a 2nd interview, so it’s worth considering how to prepare for the interview more broadly.

So what are those tips?

Start as you mean to go on

Starting a presentation well is important, yet few people put any thought into exactly what they’ll say as soon as they’re given the floor.

How are you going to introduce your presentation? What words will you use? How are you going to have an impact in that first 30 seconds?

Because if you can have a good start, then you’ll feel confident and have a captivated audience. After all, it’s not necessarily what you say, but how you say it that’s important, so make sure you practice so you deliver it perfectly.

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Further Reading; B2B Marketing Interview Questions – The Comprehensive Guide

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Tell the story

To me, a good presentation should be able to stand on it’s own. What do I mean by that? If you were on mute, the audience should be able to understand it without hearing you.

Now that doesn’t mean cramming each slide with words because we all know that’s a no-no. But it does mean creating a coherent story with an agenda, main body with heading that flow and make sense and a summary that pulls out the important points.

A simple test is to give it to a colleague or friend to read, and then ask them to tell you about it. Do they get it or are they confused?

Don’t forget about the softer elements

Often in a presentation for a marketing role you’ll be asked to present back about a campaign you’ve delivered before, or to relate your experience to the aspects of the role you’re interviewing for.

As an interviewer, we then start thinking about WHAT we delivered instead of HOW we delivered it.

That could be getting buy-in from sales, persuading the CEO for more budget or kicking the agency up the a**e. Whatever it might be, don’t forget to include it because as a marketer your personal skills are as important as your technical ones.

Show humility

Often we get into sales mode when we’re in an interview presentation. Our mind is on what went well. And rightly so because surely the company is looking for someone who can win at things.

Well, perhaps not.

When was the last time your campaign was perfect?

Exactly. Being open about the challenges you faced, what you would have done differently, or perhaps that the results weren’t what you expected shows emotional intelligence. It shows an ability to look at your performance objectively. And that’s a strength.

So next time add in a slide on learnings, or what would I have done differently.

If you’ve got a presentation coming up, then we hope this helps. There’s certainly plenty of resources out there, and always feel free to give us a call for advice, we’d love to hear from you.

If you’re thinking about kick starting your job search, then follow these 6 tips to do before you start.