The Introvert’s Guide to Presenting
How I learned to speak up (without pretending to be someone I’m not)
If you’ve ever met me in person, you’ll know pretty quickly – I’m a classic introvert.. Not the “shy but secretly extroverted” kind. I’m the “small talk drains me and I need silence to recharge” kind.
When we started building in the fashion industry, I expected there would be events, but boy, do fashion people LOVE events. Fashion shows, collection launches, brand luncheons, networking dinners, trade exhibitions – if you had something to say or show, the event was on. Every single one required dressing up, networking, and pretending you weren’t counting down the minutes until it was polite to leave.
I’d try my best to mingle, but most of the time I’d find one or two people who looked just as reluctant to be there. We'd chat in a corner and by the time I got in the car to head home, I was exhausted.
Meanwhile, Vivy is next to me texting the same people she just spent three hours in the same room with.
So how did someone like me end up giving townhalls, investor pitches, and keynote talks? How did I go from avoiding small talk to presenting in front of cameras?
There was one terrifying experience early on which made me eventually build a system around it.
The Pitch on NATIONAL TV
My first real public presentation was on MYEG Make The Pitch, Malaysia’s version of Shark Tank. We had made it to the finals, which meant one terrifying thing: it was going to be televised on national TV.
We nearly pulled out. I was that anxious. The thought of being recorded, replayed, judged made me sick to my stomach. If Vivy hadn’t reminded me how badly we needed the funding (and that it was free marketing), I probably would have..
But I didn’t. I showed up, stammered through it, and somehow we pulled it off.
That experience forced me to figure out a way to present without feeling like I had to become someone I wasn’t. Over time, I developed 3 simple rules that helped me show up with clarity and confidence.
Rule 1: Prepare the presentation myself. Completely.
From the title slide to the thank you page, I wrote and edited every slide myself.
No delegating. No outsourcing the deck. I needed to understand the logic, the content, the transitions, the tone – everything. If I didn’t write it, I couldn’t own it. And if I couldn’t own it, I couldn’t deliver it.
Have you ever seen a presenter move to the next slide and pause to look at it? And for the next 15 seconds, you and the presenter are reading the slide together? – I would have said thank you and introduced the next speaker.
I would build each slide to have a singular message and each slide flowed into the next. Even if my delivery was monotonous, at least it was clear, logical, and in my voice. I wasn’t trying to be charismatic. I just wanted people to feel that I knew what I was talking about. I needed to come across as competent – not flashy, not theatrical – just grounded.
Rule 2: No BS.
I would never put in a number or claim that I didn’t have full conviction of.
If I was presenting my financials – I would sit with my finance team for as long as I needed to understand everything. If we were making marketing claims, I needed to be sure there was proof publicly available. If there was market data, I needed to know exactly where it came from, how it was calculated, and what alternatives existed.
Take CAC – Customer Acquisition Cost. Investors love this one.
“What’s your CAC versus the market?”
Our CAC was easy enough to calculate. But “the market’s CAC”? That was a rabbit hole.
I’d look up US benchmarks, Malaysia-specific numbers, CAC for fashion brands, CAC for platform businesses, our competitors’ CAC, etc. In the end, I would just put one number for "the market" but I knew exactly what that number was for and how it was derived.
So when someone inevitably said, “That sounds low”, I could explain why different sources vary. Not to argue – just to show I had done the work.
Rule 3: Practice. A lot.
Sounds obvious, but I don’t think you can ever spend too much time on this.
I practiced in front of mirrors. To Vivy. To my team. Occasionally, I would record myself (I don't recommend this if you're like me and don't like the sound of your voice. Just make sure no one else hears it)
But practice wasn’t just about “delivery.” It was how I tested if Rules 1 and 2 held up.
Could I explain everything confidently? Did the slides flow? Were there awkward transitions I needed to fix?
I also memorised cue phrases – short lines that signalled to me, okay, time for the next slide. The phrase would end the current slide and start the next one. It made the whole thing feel more natural. Less performance, more rhythm.
Bonus Rule: Know your crowd (before you even start building slides).
One of the hardest lessons I learned: not all rooms want the same story.
I once gave a talk at Matrade, Malaysia’s trade development agency, about growing an e-commerce business. I shared our usual founder story – how we started, our struggles, how we overcame them. The room was packed. But completely silent. Within 10 minutes, I was praying the floor would crack open and let me fall through.
That same presentation, I gave to a group of small business owners outside KL. From the moment I started, people were nodding, laughing, even shouting “Yes!” randomly. I felt like the man. I even lost track of time.
Same deck. Very different response.
A room full of policymakers don’t connect with founder war stories the way entrepreneurs do. You can still tell the same story – but the emphasis, tone, and examples have to shift.
Final Thoughts
I still don’t love presenting. I still get nervous. And most days, I still wish someone else could do it.
But I’ve found a way that works for me. One that doesn’t require becoming someone I’m not – just someone who’s prepared, honest, and aware of who’s listening.
And while I’ll probably never be the most dynamic speaker in the room, I’ve learned that clarity, thoughtfulness, and a bit of self-awareness can go a long way.
If you’re an introvert who’s had to give talks or presentations, I’d love to hear what worked for you. What’s your personal hack? Drop a comment or message me – let’s swap notes.
Fadza
I always enjoy hearing from readers. Whether it's feedback, stories of your own, or if you'd like to collaborate - feel free to reach out: fadza@offtherecord.media
Looking forward to connecting.
Bonus Material
Want to get better at presenting?
📺 This Guy Kawasaki talk is one I still refer to today. It’s long, but worth it – I love how he delivers serious points while keeping it light, interactive, and real. Watch until the end, especially the Q&A.
⏱️ Prefer something shorter? This 5-minute TED Talk is quick, practical, and fun to watch – a great place to start.
i’m an introvert (90+% if you ask MBTI) and my main two jobs have been business development and training/facilitation.
after every pitch or prog, I basically sleep like a log haha.
I second all your tips! will add two more:
1) know that we introverts have gifts to offer that the extroverts don’t (and vice versa). the world needs us. a book called Quiet by Susan Cain given by first-ever boss helped me to see this.
2) you don’t have to do it like how an extrovert would. you have to do it your own way. the only way to find your way is to do it more. the way to convince yourself to do more is to know why you want to get better at the thing.
i’ll add that being shy/anxious ≠ being introverted. working on the first one helps more than trying to force yourself to be who you’re not.
As an introvert myself (yes, the same kind who is drained and need to recharge badly after social hours), I actually do all 3 things that you write about.
There are many times where I come across as a person who micro-manage just because I prepare the whole deck myself, but hey doing it yourself and understanding the nooks and crannies, the jargons, the technicalities of it all, these are the only ways I am going to get the hang of it, and therefore being able to present with conviction.
Thank you for telling it as it is. I enjoy your sharing!