When you do this it makes the cooking look like magic.

As we were driving down the road I realized this is a great thing to strive for in software development and professional interactions as well. I’ve noticed the more preparation I can do before a meeting the better it goes. Some people have the ability to make this all look effortless, those people have “Savoir Faire,” but it always catches up to them. There will be a time when they’ll get burned by their lack of preparation.

Here are a few tips on how to prepare for a meeting or delivery of a final project.

Ask the tough questions – Make a list of the top 15-20 questions you don’t want to hear in a meeting. Answer those questions to the best of your ability. Often we go into the meeting expecting our best case scenario, but everybody else in that meeting is there to understand your proposition deeply. Help them understand, and cover all your bases.

Think about your backup plan – What do you need in order to deliver your presentation? What if those things aren’t there, break down, or you forget them? Computers are notorious for not connecting to projectors when you want them to. Thumb drives fail, projectors overheat, networks aren’t always available, dry erase markers dry up, and audio equipment fails. Think about each thing you need in your meeting and think about how you can continue when the failures occur.

Run through your presentation exactly once – Make sure you run through your presentation end to end once before you are in front of people, but don’t memorize a script or demo. Memorization will come off as such, and you’ll have a hard time engaging the people in the meeting. You need to be dynamic, but well prepared. As mentioned above, lots can go wrong, if you memorize how you want everything to happen, you’ll have a hard time thinking on your feet when unpredicted things come up.

Relax – Most of the ways that you can recognize being nervous are not visible externally. Nobody else can hear your heart beating in your ears, they can’t see the sweat in your palms, and they’re probably not paying attention to your face becoming flushed. 30 min before the meeting review your talking points quickly, then put them away until the meeting. Take a walk 15 min before, have a small glass of water and take a deep breath. During the meeting remember to breathe and if you’re standing up feel free to move a bit, walking around the room can make the delivery seem more natural. Finally remember you don’t need to fill up every moment with talking, you can stop to take a breath, to walk across the room for emphasis, or to wait for feedback.