Presenting in the age of AI: staying human, staying sharp

Beware the illusion of polish

A client recently told me she’d used ChatGPT to write her quarterly update. “It was brilliant,” she said. “So easy. But when I delivered it – OMG, I bombed. I ended up reading it. It didn’t sound like me.”

That’s the trap. AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini are extraordinary – but when we let them do our thinking, we lose the human heartbeat that makes communication work. Presenting is emotional, imperfect, surprising – and that’s what makes it memorable.

AI can’t replace you: your presence, humour, perspective, experience. Well, at least not yet. But let’s not go there.

Let AI make you sharper, not lazier

Think of AI as a creative assistant, not a stand-in for doing the hard mahi. Here’s how I’ve used it over the last year with my planning and messaging – and how you can too.

Clarifying your message. Feed a rough draft into AI and ask, “What’s the one idea that really stands out here?” You’ll be amazed at how often it spots your real point – the one buried under three layers of context.

Testing your clarity. Try: “Explain my message to a 16-year-old.” It’s a wonderful way to avoid jargon and simplify. I encourage my clients to think about this all the time – not just when using AI.

Brainstorming new angles and metaphors. One of AI’s superpowers is idea generation. Ask it for five surprising ways to open your talk (keep it related to your topic), or metaphors that make a complex concept relatable. For example: “What’s a simple metaphor for organisational change?” or “Give me an analogy that helps explain strategic alignment.” You’ll likely get something super obvious, but give it more context and you’ll avoid the clichés. You might find a gem that reframes your point beautifully – like one client who compared culture change to tuning an orchestra rather than rewriting the score. Nice. And remember, the goal isn’t to copy what AI gives you – it’s to use it as creative fuel. You still have to strike the match. (Thanks for the metaphor, ChatGPT.)

Finding stories that stick. You can also ask AI for relevant case studies or examples that illustrate your point. “Give me three short stories with a New Zealand context about resilience under pressure,” or “What’s an example of a company that simplified successfully?” It’ll always return something – your job is to find the one that feels connected to your point. But remember: attribute well. Don’t claim other people’s stories as your own.

Shaping your structure. AI can map your argument, find gaps, and help you see if your story has momentum. Think of it as a second pair of eyes – one that doesn’t get bored reading draft nine.

Generating images for your slides. This can be fun, but I’ve had mixed results – especially when there’s text involved. It’s definitely getting better. I think my prompting might be more the problem here, but I lose patience quickly. And don’t forget the basics, like having it proof your slides and handouts for spelling and grammar.

What AI shouldn’t do is replace your thinking. If you outsource that, you’re outsourcing your credibility.

And remember

Yes, AI’s a great help with your planning and messaging – but when it comes to delivery, that’s all over to you. Make sure you really know your stuff. Practise, practise, practise. Keep it conversational rather than memorising a script.

And connect. We’re humans, after all.

Using AI for the research and the draft, and keeping the thinking your own, is now part of every programme we run. The Spotlight covers it – in-house, for teams, anywhere in New Zealand. Tell us about your team.

Russell Pickering – founder of The Pickering Group, author of Step into the Spotlight.