How do you deliver a presentation you did not build, with little time to prepare? Skim it for anything you can turn into a story, an image, or a real example, and plan to talk past the content instead of reading it. If you were only going to read it word for word, you could have emailed it. This happens more often than people admit: a colleague is out, a deck lands in your inbox an hour before the meeting, and you are the one standing up.
You are not there to narrate someone else's slides
The instinct is to stay glued to the screen because you do not know the material as well as whoever built it. That is the move that exposes the gap fastest. Reading slides aloud tells the room you are relaying, not presenting, and people can tell within a minute.
You do not need to fake mastery. You need to connect the audience to the material in a real way, with the same tools that work in any talk: a story, an example, eye contact, and a human voice.
It's never a PowerPoint presentation. It's a you presentation.
With almost no time, do these three things
Skim for places to leave the script
Read through the deck once with one question in mind: where can I use an image, tell a short story, or drop in a real example instead of just stating the point? Mark two or three slides. You do not need deep expertise to spot them, only a deliberate look.
Lean on the words "for example"
The phrase "for example" gives you a natural way to slow down and tie a point to something concrete, even on material you just learned. It tells the room you are engaging with the content, not reciting it. Your own example, even a small one from your own work, does more than any amount of closer reading.
Blank the screen and talk
If the technology allows it, press the B key to blank the slide. When it goes dark, everybody looks back at you. Talk to the room for a moment instead of narrating what is already visible. It feels more natural than trying to read unfamiliar material smoothly, and it puts you in control.
If you get a deck with almost no lead time, spend the minutes you have marking two or three slides where you can add a personal example or a brief story. That short list is worth more than trying to memorize the whole deck.
What if the slides or the tech let you down
Being ready to talk without the slides also protects you when something fails. Never rely on a live internet connection for an embedded clip. If a video will not play, say "maybe I'll just tell you what was going to be on there," and describe it. Audiences watch how you react more than they watch the failure.
Next step
The next time someone hands you a deck on short notice, use your minutes to mark where you can add a story or example rather than memorizing the whole thing. If you want to build this skill before it becomes an emergency, get a quick quote. For more on avoiding the trap of reading slides, see don't read your slides to the audience and how to interact with your audience even on unfamiliar material.
You do not need to know the deck cold. You need to connect the room to it.