Client Presentation: Own Your Awkward.

I sometimes wonder how many people feel this way: a little awkward in larger groups, especially when presenting to clients.

Presenting has never come naturally to me. I know my work. I know I’m good. I know the thinking is tight. While I was at McCann in NYC, I took presentation classes. At CDM, we even held formal presentation rehearsals. Ugh. None of it seemed to matter as I still felt terrible about it. Watching my copy partners present so smoothly, effortlessly polished, only made me more self-conscious. I felt clunky by comparison.

Two moments, though, changed how I think about presenting.

The first was at Grybauskas Beatrice, a great mid-sized agency in NYC with a diverse client roster; USTA, A&E Television Network, Volvo, the Cuervo portfolio, Herman Survivors, Mikimoto, Daiwa, among others. We were presenting a TV spot for Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix. At the time, I had a habit of narrating exactly what was happening in the storyboard, describing each frame beat by beat. My ECD told me I was “overlapping the dots” instead of connecting them. I was explaining what everyone could already see, rather than articulating the emotion, the human truth, the takeaway. That distinction stuck. Presenting wasn’t about describing the work; it was about elevating it.

The second moment came a bit later at Ogilvy Healthworld. I was driving from NYC to Baltimore with an account lead for a presentation at AstraZeneca for Symbicort. We were dividing up who would say what, and I casually mentioned that I wasn’t great at presenting. She stopped me.

“You have your own way of presenting. Own it,” she said. “Why would you want to sound like everyone else? You’re great with clients. You make them feel heard. And you believe in the work because it’s grounded in strategy and smart thinking.”

That stayed with me.

Managing creative teams, I don't try to mold them into a single style. Instead, I focused on helping them find and refine their own voice. No one wants to hear a robot walk through a creative. It should feel dynamic—like a tag team between copy and art. Engaging. Human.

I thought a lot about how to mentor my direct reports. I’d take notes during presentations. I’d watch clients’ facial expressions. Depending on the relationship, I’d follow up afterward and ask how the team did. Then I’d reflect on that feedback, too.

In recent years, with so many meetings happening over Zoom, something important has been lost. The subtle cues. The energy in the room. The human connection that builds trust. Presentations can start to feel transactional. Which is exactly why authenticity matters more than ever.

The statistics say that 87% of creatives have imposter syndrome, leading to self-doubt, fear of judgement in presenting is no surprise.

I may never be the slickest presenter in the room. But I care deeply about the work. I care about the people in the room. And I show up as myself.

And maybe that’s more than enough.