organizing the presentation material

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Organise the Presentation Material

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Regardless of whether your presentation is going to be delivered formally, such as at work or informally, for a club or perhaps a Best Man's speech. You should always aim to give a clear, well-structured delivery.  That is, you should know exactly what you want to say and the order in which you want to say it. 

Having thought about and planned a good structure will also help to alleviate any nervousness you may be feeling in the build up to your talk.

Clarity of ideas and good organisation should help result in a lively, logical and compelling message, delivered in a confident and professional way

Organising the presentation material may include:

• Blue Sky Thinking (the ideas).
• Selecting the main points.
• Deciding whether to illustrate.
• Introduction and conclusion.

Blue Sky Thinking (The Ideas)

Keeping your objectives in mind ( see our page: Preparing Your Presentation ), write down all the points you wish to make, irrespective of order.

For an introduction to Blue Sky Thinking, see our section on Brainstorming - part of our guide to problem solving.

Select Your Main Points

The talk/presentation should be divided into three sections:

• Introduction (beginning)
• Main Content (middle)
• Conclusion (end)

A useful structure would be the following:

Tell the audience in the introduction what your subject is and how you have organised the presentation (by stating the key elements).

Then tell them the details of the key elements and/or messages (by expanding and qualifying the key points in more detail and providing supporting evidence).

Then tell the audience what you have just told them (by summarising the key points, concluding with the main subject again).

Work on the main content first.

From your notes decide on the most important things that need to be said. If you have too much material, be selective.

As a guide:

3 key points are sufficient for a 10-15 minute presentation.

6 key points are sufficient for a 30 minute presentation.

8 key points are sufficient for a 45 minute presentation.

Arrange the key points in logical order and expand them with supporting material - discussion, argument, analysis and appeal.  If you are hoping to persuade people then it is advisable to address potential objections within the presentation so that you present a reasoned, well-balanced view.

Decide Whether to Illustrate

Most talks benefit from personal anecdotes, real-life situations or hypothetical examples to bring them to life. 

If the presentation is short and informal it is probably not necessary to use any visual aids.  Use visual illustrations if anything requires expanding, clarifying or simplifying.  Illustrations of any type should be relevant and fully explained.  Bear in mind that a talk will last longer if visual aids are used.

PowerPoint or other presentation software is often used to support a presentation, although care needs to be taken to ensure that this technology aids the presentation and does not detract from the main essence of your talk. Do not use visual aids or PowerPoint just for the sake of it or to show off your technological prowess, there is nothing more distracting than whizzy and pointless PowerPoint animations in a presentation.

See our page: Visual Aids for more information.

Introduction and Conclusion

The introduction should give a preview of what you are going to say and should gain the attention of the listeners with a statement of purpose.  Make it clear whether you wish to accept questions as they arise during the presentation, thereby breaking your flow and risk being side-tracked, or will invite questions at the end.

The conclusion should repeat the main points but this time try to use different words and summarise the main point and argument.   End decisively, so that no-one is in any doubt that your presentation is finished. This is also the time to ask the audience whether they have any questions.

Continue to: Writing Your Presentation Working with Visual Aids

See also: Deciding the Presentation Method | Managing the Presentation Event Coping with Presentation Nerves | Dealing with Questions

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How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

August 3, 2018 - Dom Barnard

For many people the thought of delivering a presentation is a daunting task and brings about a  great deal of nerves . However, if you take some time to understand how effective presentations are structured and then apply this structure to your own presentation, you’ll appear much more confident and relaxed.

Here is our complete guide for structuring your presentation, with examples at the end of the article to demonstrate these points.

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

If you’ve ever sat through a great presentation, you’ll have left feeling either inspired or informed on a given topic. This isn’t because the speaker was the most knowledgeable or motivating person in the world. Instead, it’s because they know how to structure presentations – they have crafted their message in a logical and simple way that has allowed the audience can keep up with them and take away key messages.

Research has supported this, with studies showing that audiences retain structured information  40% more accurately  than unstructured information.

In fact, not only is structuring a presentation important for the benefit of the audience’s understanding, it’s also important for you as the speaker. A good structure helps you remain calm, stay on topic, and avoid any awkward silences.

What will affect your presentation structure?

Generally speaking, there is a natural flow that any decent presentation will follow which we will go into shortly. However, you should be aware that all presentation structures will be different in their own unique way and this will be due to a number of factors, including:

• Whether you need to deliver any demonstrations
• How  knowledgeable the audience  already is on the given subject
• How much interaction you want from the audience
• Any time constraints there are for your talk
• What setting you are in
• Your ability to use any kinds of visual assistance

Before choosing the presentation’s structure answer these questions first:

• What is your presentation’s aim?
• Who are the audience?
• What are the main points your audience should remember afterwards?

When reading the points below, think critically about what things may cause your presentation structure to be slightly different. You can add in certain elements and add more focus to certain moments if that works better for your speech.

What is the typical presentation structure?

This is the usual flow of a presentation, which covers all the vital sections and is a good starting point for yours. It allows your audience to easily follow along and sets out a solid structure you can add your content to.

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

Before you start delivering your talk, introduce yourself to the audience and clarify who you are and your relevant expertise. This does not need to be long or incredibly detailed, but will help build an immediate relationship between you and the audience. It gives you the chance to briefly clarify your expertise and why you are worth listening to. This will help establish your ethos so the audience will trust you more and think you’re credible.

Read our tips on  How to Start a Presentation Effectively

2. Introduction

In the introduction you need to explain the subject and purpose of your presentation whilst gaining the audience’s interest and confidence. It’s sometimes helpful to think of your introduction as funnel-shaped to help filter down your topic:

• Introduce your general topic
• Explain your topic area
• State the issues/challenges in this area you will be exploring
• State your presentation’s purpose – this is the basis of your presentation so ensure that you provide a statement explaining how the topic will be treated, for example, “I will argue that…” or maybe you will “compare”, “analyse”, “evaluate”, “describe” etc.
• Provide a statement of what you’re hoping the outcome of the presentation will be, for example, “I’m hoping this will be provide you with…”
• Show a preview of the organisation of your presentation

In this section also explain:

• The length of the talk.
• Signal whether you want audience interaction – some presenters prefer the audience to ask questions throughout whereas others allocate a specific section for this.
• If it applies, inform the audience whether to take notes or whether you will be providing handouts.

The way you structure your introduction can depend on the amount of time you have been given to present: a  sales pitch  may consist of a quick presentation so you may begin with your conclusion and then provide the evidence. Conversely, a speaker presenting their idea for change in the world would be better suited to start with the evidence and then conclude what this means for the audience.

Keep in mind that the main aim of the introduction is to grab the audience’s attention and connect with them.

3. The main body of your talk

The main body of your talk needs to meet the promises you made in the introduction. Depending on the nature of your presentation, clearly segment the different topics you will be discussing, and then work your way through them one at a time – it’s important for everything to be organised logically for the audience to fully understand. There are many different ways to organise your main points, such as, by priority, theme, chronologically etc.

• Main points should be addressed one by one with supporting evidence and examples.
• Before moving on to the next point you should provide a mini-summary.
• Links should be clearly stated between ideas and you must make it clear when you’re moving onto the next point.
• Allow time for people to take relevant notes and stick to the topics you have prepared beforehand rather than straying too far off topic.

When planning your presentation write a list of main points you want to make and ask yourself “What I am telling the audience? What should they understand from this?” refining your answers this way will help you produce clear messages.

4. Conclusion

In presentations the conclusion is frequently underdeveloped and lacks purpose which is a shame as it’s the best place to reinforce your messages. Typically, your presentation has a specific goal – that could be to convert a number of the audience members into customers, lead to a certain number of enquiries to make people knowledgeable on specific key points, or to motivate them towards a shared goal.

Regardless of what that goal is, be sure to summarise your main points and their implications. This clarifies the overall purpose of your talk and reinforces your reason for being there.

Follow these steps:

• Signal that it’s nearly the end of your presentation, for example, “As we wrap up/as we wind down the talk…”
• Restate the topic and purpose of your presentation – “In this speech I wanted to compare…”
• Summarise the main points, including their implications and conclusions
• Indicate what is next/a call to action/a thought-provoking takeaway
• Move on to the last section

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

Conclude your talk by thanking the audience for their time and invite them to  ask any questions  they may have. As mentioned earlier, personal circumstances will affect the structure of your presentation.

Many presenters prefer to make the Q&A session the key part of their talk and try to speed through the main body of the presentation. This is totally fine, but it is still best to focus on delivering some sort of initial presentation to set the tone and topics for discussion in the Q&A.

Other common presentation structures

The above was a description of a basic presentation, here are some more specific presentation layouts:

Demonstration

Use the demonstration structure when you have something useful to show. This is usually used when you want to show how a product works. Steve Jobs frequently used this technique in his presentations.

• Explain why the product is valuable.
• Describe why the product is necessary.
• Explain what problems it can solve for the audience.
• Demonstrate the product  to support what you’ve been saying.
• Make suggestions of other things it can do to make the audience curious.

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

• Briefly frame the issue.
• Go into the issue in detail showing why it ‘s such a problem. Use logos and pathos for this – the logical and emotional appeals.
• Provide the solution and explain why this would also help the audience.
• Call to action – something you want the audience to do which is straightforward and pertinent to the solution.

Storytelling

As well as incorporating  stories in your presentation , you can organise your whole presentation as a story. There are lots of different type of story structures you can use – a popular choice is the monomyth – the hero’s journey. In a monomyth, a hero goes on a difficult journey or takes on a challenge – they move from the familiar into the unknown. After facing obstacles and ultimately succeeding the hero returns home, transformed and with newfound wisdom.

Storytelling for Business Success  webinar , where well-know storyteller Javier Bernad shares strategies for crafting compelling narratives.

Another popular choice for using a story to structure your presentation is in media ras (in the middle of thing). In this type of story you launch right into the action by providing a snippet/teaser of what’s happening and then you start explaining the events that led to that event. This is engaging because you’re starting your story at the most exciting part which will make the audience curious – they’ll want to know how you got there.

• Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

The remaining method structure is good for situations where you’re presenting your perspective on a controversial topic which has split people’s opinions.

• Go into the issue in detail showing why it’s such a problem – use logos and pathos.
• Rebut your opponents’ solutions  – explain why their solutions could be useful because the audience will see this as fair and will therefore think you’re trustworthy, and then explain why you think these solutions are not valid.
• After you’ve presented all the alternatives provide your solution, the remaining solution. This is very persuasive because it looks like the winning idea, especially with the audience believing that you’re fair and trustworthy.

Transitions

When delivering presentations it’s important for your words and ideas to flow so your audience can understand how everything links together and why it’s all relevant. This can be done  using speech transitions  which are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified.

Transitions can be one word, a phrase or a full sentence – there are many different forms, here are some examples:

Moving from the introduction to the first point

Signify to the audience that you will now begin discussing the first main point:

• Now that you’re aware of the overview, let’s begin with…
• First, let’s begin with…
• I will first cover…
• My first point covers…
• To get started, let’s look at…

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

• In the same way…
• Likewise…
• Equally…
• This is similar to…
• Similarly…

Internal summaries

Internal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next point. You must inform the audience:

• What part of the presentation you covered – “In the first part of this speech we’ve covered…”
• What the key points were – “Precisely how…”
• How this links in with the overall presentation – “So that’s the context…”
• What you’re moving on to – “Now I’d like to move on to the second part of presentation which looks at…”

Physical movement

You can move your body and your standing location when you transition to another point. The audience find it easier to follow your presentation and movement will increase their interest.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second point from the centre again.
• You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
• The conclusion occurs in the centre.

Key slides for your presentation

Slides are a useful tool for most presentations: they can greatly assist in the delivery of your message and help the audience follow along with what you are saying. Key slides include:

• An intro slide outlining your ideas
• A  summary slide  with core points to remember
• High quality image slides to supplement what you are saying

There are some presenters who choose not to use slides at all, though this is more of a rarity. Slides can be a powerful tool if used properly, but the problem is that many fail to do just that. Here are some golden rules to follow when using slides in a presentation:

• Don’t over fill them  – your slides are there to assist your speech, rather than be the focal point. They should have as little information as possible, to avoid distracting people from your talk.
• A picture says a thousand words  – instead of filling a slide with text, instead, focus on one or two images or diagrams to help support and explain the point you are discussing at that time.
• Make them readable  – depending on the size of your audience, some may not be able to see small text or images, so make everything large enough to fill the space.
• Don’t rush through slides  – give the audience enough time to digest each slide.

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a  10-20-30 rule :

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.

Here are some additional resources for slide design:

• 7 design tips for effective, beautiful PowerPoint presentations
• 11 design tips for beautiful presentations
• 10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea

Group Presentations

Group presentations are structured in the same way as presentations with one speaker but usually require more rehearsal and practices.  Clean transitioning between speakers  is very important in producing a presentation that flows well. One way of doing this consists of:

• Briefly recap on what you covered in your section: “So that was a brief introduction on what health anxiety is and how it can affect somebody”
• Introduce the next speaker in the team and explain what they will discuss: “Now Elnaz will talk about the prevalence of health anxiety.”
• Then end by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: “Elnaz”.
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: “Thank you Joe.”

From this example you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

Having examples of great presentations will help inspire your own structures, here are a few such examples, each unique and inspiring in their own way.

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

This presentation by ex-Google CEO  Eric Schmidt  demonstrates some of the most important lessons he and his team have learnt with regards to working with some of the most talented individuals they hired. The simplistic yet cohesive style of all of the slides is something to be appreciated. They are relatively straightforward, yet add power and clarity to the narrative of the presentation.

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

Since being released in 2009, this presentation has been viewed almost four million times all around the world. The message itself is very powerful, however, it’s not an idea that hasn’t been heard before. What makes this presentation so powerful is the simple message he is getting across, and the straightforward and understandable manner in which he delivers it. Also note that he doesn’t use any slides, just a whiteboard where he creates a simple diagram of his opinion.

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

Here’s an example of a presentation given by a relatively unknown individual looking to inspire the next generation of graduates. Rick’s presentation is unique in many ways compared to the two above. Notably, he uses no visual prompts and includes a great deal of humour.

However, what is similar is the structure he uses. He first introduces his message that the wisest man he knew was a third-grade dropout. He then proceeds to deliver his main body of argument, and in the end, concludes with his message. This powerful speech keeps the viewer engaged throughout, through a mixture of heart-warming sentiment, powerful life advice and engaging humour.

As you can see from the examples above, and as it has been expressed throughout, a great presentation structure means analysing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message you want to impart the audience with, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

By preparing a solid structure, and  practising your talk  beforehand, you can walk into the presentation with confidence and deliver a meaningful message to an interested audience.

It’s important for a presentation to be well-structured so it can have the most impact on your audience. An unstructured presentation can be difficult to follow and even frustrating to listen to. The heart of your speech are your main points supported by evidence and your transitions should assist the movement between points and clarify how everything is linked.

Research suggests that the audience remember the first and last things you say so your introduction and conclusion are vital for reinforcing your points. Essentially, ensure you spend the time structuring your presentation and addressing all of the sections.

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by Tom Rielly • June 15, 2020

Keeping your presentation visuals minimalistic, simple, and clear is just one important step to remember when designing a hit presentation. Leaving nothing to chance, great presenters prove quite methodical as they prepare. Here’s a checklist for everything you need to keep in mind before your next presentation:

1. Choose the right software for your needs

The easiest way to select the right presentation software for you is to simply find the one that is native to your device. For example, if you have a Mac, use Apple Keynote, if you work on Windows, use PowerPoint. Google Slides is recommended if you’re working with someone, as it makes collaboration very easy. Another software option is Prezi: a specialty tool called Prezi that creates a presentation using motion, zoom, and panning across one giant visual space.

2. Organize your files

As you develop your script and visuals, you will need to start assembling all the assets for your slides. Create a unique folder on your computer to hold these items. Keep the folder organized by media type (presentation drafts, photos, videos, scripts) and back them up frequently to the Cloud or external disk. Label each file with a specific descriptive name, e.g. “Susan Johnson singing magpie 2020”, as opposed to “IMG_4043.jpg”, which can make it confusing to find your assets. The more organized you are up front, the easier preparing for your presentation will be.

3. Prepare your presentation materials

Make sure your presentation materials (script, graphics, actual slides) are saved in at least two safe spots (for example, your computer and an external USB drive) and are backed-up frequently. If you are using an online presentation software, such as Google Slides, be sure to also download a copy of your presentation in case the internet connection is unreliable. Having all the individual assets on hand in addition to your presentation slides can be helpful if you experience tech issues before presenting, or if you need to make any last minute changes. Make sure to label your final presentation with the title and your name so it’s easy to find.

4. Practice, practice, practice!

Remember, practice makes perfect. People often run out of time making their presentations and have no time to practice. Most TED speakers practice at least ten times. Neuroscientist Jill-Bolte Taylor gave one of the most successful Talks in TED history with nearly 27 million views. How did she do it? She practiced her Talk over 40 times! By rehearsing multiple times you will naturally memorize your Talk, which means you won’t need note cards when you give your final presentation.

5. Do a final test run

Before presenting, make sure the equipment you need is working properly. It’s generally good practice to rehearse standing on the exact stage with the exact lighting using the exact computer that you will be using in your final presentation.

Here’s a quick checklist of what to look for when testing your equipment:

• If you're not using your own computer, the one provided might be slower and have trouble playing media. If you have videos or other media, make sure they play correctly
• Test the projector to make sure it’s HD
• Make sure images are clear
• Test the sound of any clips you use, as this is what goes wrong most frequently
• If you’re using a mic, test the volume

Don’t let technical issues or other blunders overshadow your presentation. By following these guidelines, and with a little preparation, you can engineer out the problems BEFORE they happen.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

how to give the perfect presentation

How to organize your presentation, the key elements of a great presentation.

Your verbal message is the core of your presentation. Whether your presentation is long or short, it should still follow some basic rules, which have been passed down through the ages:

• Tell your audience what you’re going to say.
• Tell them what you have said.

Based on the above, all presentations can be divided into three parts: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. Transition statements and transition words can be used to maintain flow.

Introduction

The way you begin determines how your audience will respond throughout your presentation. First impressions are important, so make sure you follow the guidelines below to make a strong start. Your introduction should consist of three parts; the grabber, the thesis, and the overview.

THE GRABBER consists of your introductory remarks, which set the tone for what is to follow. One purpose of the grabber is to gain audience attention and create positive expectations about the presentation. A second objective is to establish rapport with the audience and assist in overcoming barriers between the speaker and the audience. A third objective is to wake up the sleepy members of your audience, especially if your presentation is scheduled right after lunch!

THE THESIS is a statement of purpose for the presentation. This is where you present your position to the audience. You explain how the audience will benefit from the information, thereby providing the audience with a reason to listen.

THE OVERVIEW indicates the main points which you will discuss in developing your thesis.The purpose is to show the audience what to expect so they can prepare to listen. This is especially important for global learners in the audience, who need to have a clear idea of the big picture before listening to the step-by-step details.

The body is the core of the presentation, where you develop the thesis. This is where most of the information will be covered. The number of main points should be limited depending on the length of the presentation. Offering people too much information only makes them tune out. Provide sufficient information to support your thesis without repeating yourself or going into too much detail. Provide stories, case studies, and examples whenever applicable. They provide an energizing break and enable the listener to grasp abstract concepts more easily. Use short script-like phrases to write the points of your talk. They will be easier for your listeners to understand than long, complicated sentences. Use examples and stories from your own life, career, or industry to sound and feel more authentic. Remember to speak at the level of your audience in terms of subject knowledge as well as language fluency. Whenever possible, keep your audience involved by asking for a show of hands.

THE REVIEW reinforces and summarizes the message. This is the part of the presentation when you can choose what was most important and what you would like audience members to remember. Choose three main concepts, ideas, or principles at the most.

THE CALL TO ACTION is the impetus to use the information presented. This is where you tell the listeners what you would like them to do after attending your presentation. This section crystallizes the entire purpose of the presentation.

THE CONCLUDING GRABBER signals the end of the presentation. The purpose is to create a memorable impression before your audience disperses. This short message may be what attendees describe or report to others on their cellphones as soon as they have finished attending your presentation. It’s your last chance to leave a powerful impression. By connecting your concluding grabber to your original grabber, you are able to neatly frame your entire presentation.

It may be a “grabber” a special visual aid? Thank you in advance

About Presentation Prep

Being able to speak in public can change your life! Presentation Prep is your complete, free guide to delivering speeches, lectures, and presentations more successfully and confidently. Whether you're a native English-speaker who suffers from public speaking anxiety, or a non-native speaker who needs guidelines for presenting to international audiences, this site will give you everything you need. Presentation Prep is written by Rebecca Ezekiel, an experienced corporate trainer who specializes in the areas of communications, presentations, and cross-cultural skills. Her online English language training videos are watched by millions of students worldwide.

Blog > How to structure a good PowerPoint Presentation

How to structure a good PowerPoint Presentation

08.09.21   •  #powerpoint #tips.

When creating presentations, it is particularly important that they are well organized and have a consistent structure.

A logical structure helps the audience to follow you and to remember the core information as best as possible. It is also important for the presenter, as a good presentation structure helps to keep calm, to stay on the topic and to avoid awkward pauses.

But what does such a structure actually look like? Here we show you how to best organize your presentation and what a good structure looks like.

Plan your presentation

Before you start creating your presentation, you should always brainstorm. Think about the topic and write all your ideas down. Then think about the message you want to communicate, what your goal is and what you want your audience to remember at the end.

Think about who your audience is so that you can address them in the best possible way. One possibility is to start your presentation with a few polls to get to know your audience better. Based on the results, you can then adapt your presentation a little. Use the poll function of SlideLizard and have all the answers at a glance. SlideLizard makes it possible to integrate the polls directly into your PowerPoint presentation which helps you to avoid annoying switching between presentation and interaction tool. You can keep an eye on the results while the votes come in and then decide whether you want to share them or not.

• an informative
• an entertaining
• an inspiring
• or a persuasive presentation?

Typical Presentation Structure

The basic structure of a presentation is actually always the same and should consist of:

Introduction

Make sure that the structure of your presentation is not too complicated. The simpler it is, the better the audience can follow.

Personal Introduction

It is best to start your presentation by briefly introducing yourself which helps to build a connection with your audience right away.

Introduce the topic

Then introduce the topic, state the purpose of the presentation and provide a brief outline of the main points you will be addressing.

Mention the length

In the introduction, mention the approximate length of the talk and then also make sure you stick to it.

The introduction should be no longer than two slides and provide a good overview of the topic.

Icebreaker Polls

According to studies, people in the audience only have an average attention span of 10 minutes, which is why it is important to increase their attention right at the beginning and to arouse the audience's interest. You could make a good start with a few icebreaker polls for example. They lighten the mood right at the beginning and you can secure your audience's attention from the start.

For example, you could use SlideLizard to have all the answers at a glance and share them with your audience. In addition, the audience can try out how the polls work and already know how it works if you include more polls in the main part.

Get to know your audience

As mentioned earlier, it is always useful to think about who your audience actually is. Ask them questions at the beginning about how well they already know the topic of your presentation. Use SlideLizard for this so that you have a clear overview about the answers. You can use both single- and multiple-choice questions or also open questions and display their results as a WordCloud in your presentation, for example.

Include a quote

To make the beginning (or the end) of your presentation more exciting, it is always a good idea to include a quote. We have selected some powerful quotes for PowerPoint presentations for you.

Present your topic

The main part of a presentation should explain the topic well, state facts, justify them and give examples. Keep all the promises you made earlier in the introduction.

Length and Structure

The main part should make up about 70% of the presentation and also include a clear structure. Explain your ideas in detail and build them up logically. It should be organized chronologically, by priority or by topic. There should be a smooth transition between the individual issues. However, it is also important to use phrases that make it clear that a new topic is starting. We have listed some useful phrases for presentations here.

Visualize data and statistics and show pictures to underline facts. If you are still looking for good images, we have selected 5 sources of free images for you here.

Focus on the essentials

Focus on what is most important and summarize a bit. You don't have to say everything about a topic because your audience won’t remember everything either. Avoid complicated sentence structure, because if the audience does not understand something, they will not be able to read it again.

Make your presentation interactive

Make your presentation interactive to keep the attention of your audience. Use SlideLizard to include polls in your presentation, where your audience can vote directly from their smartphone and discuss the answers as soon as you received all votes. Here you can also find more tips for increasing audience engagement.

Repeat the main points

The conclusion should contain a summary of the most important key points. Repeat the main points you have made, summarize what the audience should have learned and explain how the new information can help in the future.

Include a Q&A part

Include a Q&A part at the end to make sure you don't leave any questions open. It's a good idea to use tools like SlideLizard for it. Your audience can ask anonymous questions and if there is not enough time, you can give them the answers afterwards. You can read more about the right way to do a question slide in PowerPoint here.

Get Feedback

It is also important to get feedback on your presentation at the end to keep improving. With SlideLizard you can ask your audience for anonymous feedback through star ratings, number ratings or open texts directly after your presentation. You can then export the responses and analyse them later in Excel.

Presentation style

Depending on the type of presentation you give, the structure will always be slightly different. We have selected a few different presentation styles and their structure for you.

Short Presentation

If you are one of many presenters on the day, you will only have a very limited time to present your idea and to convince your audience. It is very important to stand out with your presentation.

So you need to summarize your ideas as briefly as possible and probably should not need more than 3-5 slides.

Problem Solving Presentation

Start your presentation by explaining a problem and giving a short overview of it.

Then go into the problem a little more, providing both intellectual and emotional arguments for the seriousness of the problem. You should spend about the first 25% of your presentation on the problem.

After that, you should spend about 50% of your presentation proposing a solution and explaining it in detail.

In the last 25%, describe what benefits this solution will bring to your audience and ask them to take a simple but relevant action that relates to the problem being discussed.

Tell a Story

A great way to build an emotional connection with the audience is to structure a presentation like a story.

In the introduction, introduce a character who has to deal with a conflict. In the main part, tell how he tries to solve his problem but fails again and again. In the end, he manages to find a solution and wins.

Stories have the power to win customers, align colleagues and motivate employees. They’re the most compelling platform we have for managing imaginations. - Nancy Duarte / HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations

Make a demonstration

Use the demonstration structure to show how a product works. First talk about a need or a problem that has to be solved.

Then explain how the product will help solve the problem and try to convince your audience of the need for your product.

Spend the end clarifying where and when the product can be purchased.

Chronological structure

When you have something historical to tell, it is always good to use a chronological structure. You always have to ask yourself what happens next.

To make it more interesting and exciting, it is a good idea to start by telling the end of something and after that you explain how you got there. This way you make the audience curious and you can gain their attention faster.

Nancy Duarte TED Talk

Nancy Duarte is a speaker and presentation design expert. She gives speeches all over the world, trying to improve the power of public presentations.

In her famous TED Talk "The Secret Structure of Great Talks" she dissects famous speeches such as Steve Jobs' iPhone launch speech and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. In doing so, she found out that each presentation is made up of 4 parts:

• What could be
• A moment to remember
• Promise of “New Bliss”

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About the author.

Helena Reitinger

Helena supports the SlideLizard team in marketing and design. She loves to express her creativity in texts and graphics.

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Horizontal communication.

Horizontal communication is the exchange of information between people, departments or units within the same level of an organisational hierarchy of a company.

Game-based Learning

Game-based learning is a popular approach where the instrument for a learning process is a game. Game-based learning scenarios are often found online - they are often favored because they engage learners in a way that few other learning methods do.

Community Events

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Declamation Speech

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How to Organize and Structure A Presentation for Maximum Impact

by Janice Tomich

• Presentation Planning & Public Speaking Skills

Have you attended a presentation where you had difficulty following along or understanding what the speaker was trying to communicate?

Were you lost along the way and couldn’t understand the key points (and covertly looked for the exit)? 

I suspect the answer is yes. We’ve all been there and felt sorry (and frustrated) for the presenter. You may have asked yourself what went wrong. 

There are many layers and interconnections that are required to write and give a business presentation or keynote address . Do it right and you’ll have your audience nodding yes and receive great presentation feedback . 

If you leave crucial organization and structure out you’ll create a disorganized presentation. One that will be difficult for your audience to follow. 

Table of Contents

Why Is It Important To Organize and Structure a Speech?

When I think back to well structured and poorly structured presentations, attending university comes to mind. 

I remember a few eccentric professors that went off on tangents that dipped and dived into the abyss and had little or nothing to do with the topic of the day. After class the hallway would be full of confused looks and comments such as, “I didn’t get what they were talking about. Did you?”

I also remember a few professor’s eloquent lectures that  took us along on a fluid, logical path. At the end of these lectures it was clear what they had planned for me to understand or do. After these classes the hallway discussions highlighted aha moments and the opportunities and possibilities of new ideas. 

These scenarios are common at conferences and meetings (whether in person or online) too. 

A well organized and structured presentation helps your audience quickly make sense of what you want to communicate – they will be able to connect the dots quickly and understand the message you are sharing. You’ll grab the audience’s attention, and keep it. 

What’s In It For Your Audience When You Organize Your Presentation?

And as one of those professors often reminded us, all communication, including presentations and speeches, are all about the audience, not about you the person writing or delivering them. 

Presentations must (or should) be audience focussed. Of course, you have a message to share but if it’s ignored your time invested is wasted. 

When you organize your presentation with the audience in mind they’ll understand your message and you have a better chance of them taking action.  

What’s In It For You To Create And Deliver An Organized Presentation?

Presentations are a big investment in time…or should be if they’re developed with creativity and thoughtfulness in mind.

When presentations/speeches are organized well, they will impact your attendees/audience. A speech that is well structured will influence and persuade.

​​​​Sucheta Misra Associate VP Inclusion & Diversity and Social Impact Leader

A question I always ask my clients when we debrief after they’ve delivered their presentation is about the reaction and feedback they received. Instead of the usual response of ‘great presentation’ or ‘well done’ when consideration to the presentation’s organization and structure is used, attendees often reach out to express how much the presentation impacted them. 

There’s nothing more rewarding than when you see the ideas that you’ve shared actually make change happen and that’s what a well organized presentation can do. 

Strategies For Organizing Your Research

Capture your research and notes all in one place.

There are online platforms that can help to gather your research in one place so you’re not wasting time hunting for that one important piece that’s some how disappeared. 

A few of my favourites are:

Evernote helps you capture notes and find them fast:

• Syncs notes to all devices.
• You can add text, images, audio, scans, PDFs, and documents to your notes.
• A powerful search tool that helps you find your research as you type.

“ Scrivener is an app often used by writers and works for writing presentations too because it brings together all your notes, research, and writing so they’re always at your fingertips: “Your background material is always at hand, and you can open it right next to your work. Write a description based on a photograph. Transcribe an interview. Take notes about a PDF file or web page.”

OneTab is a Chrome extension that populates all of your open tabs into one list. It’s brilliant having all of your internet research in one place with an added bonus of saving up to 95% of memory. If you’re like me, I have too many tabs open at one given time, which can make your computer move like a slug. 

Laser Focus Your Research

As a subject matter expert you have a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience, a database that your audience doesn’t have. With all your information gathering, having too much information is more often the problem than having too much. 

Does your audience need to know everything? Do you need to take them down obscure rabbit holes?

But it can be difficult to target and whittle down to the most relevant concepts to create a presentation that will convince and persuade. 

Which is why it’s key to keep yourself focussed. 

What is it you want the people that attend your presentation to know, think, or do? It’s necessary that you define this and consider while you develop your presentation. 

With your presentation focus in mind scan through your information. Dispense of the thoughts, ideas, and concepts that don’t support your key message. 

Structure Your Presentation With My Framework

I’m a presentations coach , and often clients come to me with a draft presentation that they’ve built in Keynote as a Powerpoint presentation. It’s slide after slide of information, but it’s usually disjointed and a mess. I know it’s tempting to work from the slide deck platform, but it’s not in your best interest to skip presentation organization. 

You may ruffle at the thought of building your presentation in a framework structure, however my framework gives you lots of opportunity to get creative. 

Building a speech or presentation is similar to building a house. It needs to be supported by a strong foundation. 

All types of presentations—whether an investment pitch, an inspirational keynote speech, or a board meeting —can easily be developed and created using my framework. The framework provides flexibility to build out the length whether short, medium, or long. It guides you from getting clear about your key message, and then helps you weave that through the entire presentation structure, using supporting proofs, points, and arguments. The presentation map ends by prompting you to decide how to close.

I know it’s hard to have that difficult conversation, pitch that podcast, or choose just the right words to make your presentation come to life.

How Do I Begin Developing My Presentation?

Presentation Outline Example

It’s all about the audience.

In the first row of my presentation map you’ll see guided questions titled under intention. Each and every presentation is all about the audience (not about you). This is the first step to creating and organizing a presentation or speech. Having a solid grasp of who they are and what they want/need is key to the success of your speech or presentation.

How Will You Measure Success?

The next concept to clarity is your own intention.

Why are you giving the keynote and what do you want to have happen because of it?

How will you measure if you have been successful?

I see many speeches or presentations fail because a success measurement isn’t defined. It’s the driver for your speech and will illuminate what worked or didn’t. 

What Is Your Throughline?

It’s at this point I’ve watched many presentations go off the rails because the presenter covers too many key topics.

As a subject matter expert it’s enticing to share all you know. Remember that your audience doesn’t have the same depth and breadth of knowledge and the experience you have. 

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) is a basic design principle which ensures your audience will clearly understand your main point and is more likely to engage or follow up. 

Don’t let yourself get married to ideas that you love but don’t help with your audience understanding your key point and argument.

I’m a complete communication nerd and could go on all day about the good and bad that I hear and see every day. Do others want to hear all the minutia …no. They only want to know what impacts them. 

So take your red pencil and (bravely) cross out ideas / concepts that don’t pass the KISS principle. 

Organizing The Introduction 

Here’s a startling fact: in the 45 years since the introduction of the automated teller machine, those vending machines that dispense cash, the number of human bank tellers employed in the United States has roughly doubled, from about a quarter of a million to a half a million. – David Autor

The introduction is your chance to pull in your audience while creating an opening that will start the path of your through line. Creating it is usually better left until you’ve created the body of your speech or presentation.

Steer away from a long introduction that speaks to your expertise/credibility or providing too much context. Instead aim to pique your audience’s interest to hear more. 

There are many ways to begin a presentation. Here are a few of the tried and true:

• Begin with the start of a story that sets the stage for your theme/throughline. Then integrate it throughout your presentation and/or finish your presentation with the story ending. One of the best examples of this opening I’ve heard is Dr. Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk. She threads the theme of lacking confidence throughout her presentation beginning with her own and then that of one of her students.
• Share a stat or fact that is not common knowledge. Something that I often begin a presentation with is it’s a fallacy humans have the attention span of goldfish , which is one of those tall tales that is not true. 
• Ask a question – perhaps something contrary that isn’t a common point of view. The question can be rhetorical or ask for hand’s up to make your presentation interactive right from the start. My go-to is asking my audience about their level of comfort for public speaking. 
• Start with a quote that ties into the key message or your call to action. One of my favourites is a passage from Mary Oliver where she asks, “What is it you want to do with your wild and precious life”. I use it because it gets my audience thinking about how short life is and what uncomfortable (or wild) thing you would do to accomplish what you hope to. 
• Tell a joke. This is something I never do because I’m the worst joke teller. Some of my clients are brilliant at it. If you’re comfortable, then I encourage you to use humour as your opener. It’s a brilliant way to break the ice and get audience engagement quickly. Remember to leave a few seconds for people to laugh. Similar to a comedian, you need to consider your timing. 
• Get the elephant out of the room right away to break the ice. For example are you someone that is younger than many of those in the audience or perhaps older? Openings like this will help establish your credibility by showing your humility. 
• With a minimal amount of context/background state the problem that your audience is facing. Jumping quickly into the problem that you’ll be solving for your audience will get their attention. 

Organizing The Body Of Your Presentation Or Speech

You’ll notice in my presentation map above, just below the space where you define and describe your opening, there are three columns to prove/argue your key message/through line. 

For this section brainstorm as many ideas as come to mind that will support key message. Use Post-it notes to capture one idea per note. Stick them on a whiteboard or wall and keep going until you run out of ideas. Taking a few breaks helps clear your head and bubble up new ideas. After you’ve run out of ideas remove the weak ones. Then create clusters of ideas that are similar. Aim for three. Identify the (three) major themes, which will be your major proof points.

I encourage you to use only three major proof concepts. Any more and you’ll lose your audience because your presentation will be too dense. They will have difficulty following your train of thought. 

You should have a number of concepts that will support your three major proof points. Choose the strongest ones. How many you choose will depend on the amount of time you have to deliver your presentation. 

What Is The Internal Structure In The Argumentation?

What is. what can be.

In her public speaking book Resonate , Nancy Duarte, shares the concept of ‘What is and What Can Be”. This framework takes the audience from the present state to possibilities. Her technique can be used for the major theme, the key messages, and the supporting messages to take the audience on the up and down of a roller coaster ride. 

Context, Problem, Solution, And Benefit

The CPSB (Context, Problem, Solution, and Benefit) framework is powerful for clear communication. 

• Using two or three sentences describe the background of a problem/issue. 
• Go on to speak to the problem at hand.
• Then speak to your idea(s) about solving the problem.
• And always talk about the benefit your solution will provide. It’s key to persuading and influencing your audience.

Here’s an example of CPSB in action:

Insightful leaders are focussed on creating an open and trust-based culture. By supporting their team members this way an organization has opportunity for sustainable growth. ( Background ) 

Many organizations are steeped in antiquated hierarchical, politically charged environments where employees feel the need to be careful of what they say and do. This type of org structure stagnates growth. ( Problem ) 

When leaders foster a culture where their teams can speak openly, which requires them in turn to be vulnerable (and open to feedback) ( Solution ) it creates a creative environment that supports growth ( Benefit ). 

Use An Example Or Story  

Presentations or speeches where the speaker delivers data point after data point or statement after statement are dry and run the risk of losing their audience. 

Stories are appropriate for even the most professional or academic presentations.

With each proof point to illuminate and connect the dots of understanding use a real world example or a short story. I often have my clients analyze other people’s presentations. The most remembered parts are the stories. 

Stories and examples are sticky and help us make sense of concepts and ideas. Without them speeches and presentations are simply boring. 

Organizing The Conclusion: What Are The Essential Elements Of An Impactful Conclusion? 

Have you attended a presentation where you were unsure if it was over?

People weakly clapped or nodded and then left the room? Unfortunately it happens too often. 

Your conclusion is as important as every other element of your speech or presentation. 

The biggest mistake I see presenters make is facilitating a Q & A and then wrapping it up with the answer to the last question. When you do this you give your power away.

After the Q & A take back control and wrap it up. 

There are as many ways to conclude as there are to open. 

Here’s a few that work well:

• Loop back to your story if you opened with one. Concluding this way finishes up your presentation so that it ‘feels’ finished as though wrapped up with a bow. 
• Highlight the most important concept that you shared – one that you want remembered. One is all you need. 
• If you’ve created a presentation with the intention of having your audience do something – a call to action – you will have seeded it throughout. When you conclude it’s time to fully describe what it is you want them to do. 
• A powerful statement. When I present I often speak about presentation skills and start by talking about how my fear of public speaking brought up horrible anxiety and when I delivered presentations you could see my legs shake. I have concluded with, “See…no more leg shakes”. 

• A powerful visual if you are using a slidedeck. Simply standing beside a well chosen image is an unusual ending that will be remembered.
• The ‘what could be’ close describes how good life will be or the success a company will realize if your solution or idea is used. Concluding with a visually rich outcome has your audience leaving on a positive note. 
• A rhetorical question will have your audience leaving with food for thought for example, “What would your company’s pitches look like if each and every team member could deliver with confidence”. 

What are the consequences of not having a satisfying conclusion?

You’re the one who has the stage and whose responsibility it is to finish your presentation powerfully. It’s your last opportunity to make an impression and a missed one if you don’t. It’s your opportunity to leave your audience inspired or with a clear understanding of what you want then to do.

Taking the time to organize your presentation is worthwhile. By considering and following through each of the concepts I’ve guided you through will create a presentation that is clear, focussed, and will engage your audience. One that you’ll be proud to deliver. 

Do you have a limited amount of time to deliver your upcoming presentation? If presentation or speech is looming and you need to be confident you’ll deliver an A+ presentation my Crunch Time service may be what you need.

It would be my pleasure to work with you. 

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Practical Tips for Organizing Presentation Material

Effective communication plays a crucial role in the corporate world, and presentations are a common method for conveying information and ideas. However, to ensure that your message resonates with your corporate audience, it is essential to organize your presentation material thoughtfully.

Tailoring your content, structure, and presentation techniques to suit the needs and expectations of your audience will significantly enhance your ability to engage and influence key stakeholders. In this post, we will explore some practical tips for organizing presentation material to suit your corporate audience.

• Know Your Audience: The first step in organizing your presentation material is to thoroughly understand your audience. Consider their level of knowledge, interests, and expectations. This is something we hear from customers looking for training course material to present Leadership Development Courses. Are they executives, team members, or external stakeholders? Conducting research and gathering insights about their backgrounds and preferences will help you shape your content appropriately.
• Define Clear Objectives: Before starting to organize your presentation material, define clear objectives for what you want to achieve. Are you seeking to inform, persuade, or inspire your audience? Once your objectives are defined, structure your content accordingly, ensuring that each section contributes to the overall goals of the presentation.
• Start with a Strong Opening: Capture your corporate audience’s attention right from the beginning with a compelling opening. This could include a thought-provoking question, a relevant anecdote, or an intriguing statistic. A powerful opening will create interest and set the tone for the rest of your presentation.
• Use a Logical Structure: Organize your presentation material in a logical and coherent manner. Consider using a well-defined structure, such as the problem-solution approach, chronological order, or a cause-and-effect framework. Clearly label each section, and use visual cues like headings, subheadings, and bullet points to help your audience follow your flow of thought.
• Focus on Key Messages: To ensure clarity and impact, focus on conveying a few key messages throughout your presentation. Limit the amount of information you present and emphasize the most important points. Use visuals, such as graphs, charts, and infographics, to support your messages visually and make complex data more accessible.
• Tailor the Language and Tone: Adapt your language and tone to match the expectations of your corporate audience. Avoid technical jargon or overly complex terms if your audience is not familiar with them. Conversely, if you are presenting to a specialized group, make sure to use appropriate terminology to maintain credibility and relevance.
• Incorporate Engaging Visuals: Visual aids are powerful tools for capturing and retaining your audience’s attention. Use high-quality visuals strategically to reinforce your key points and enhance comprehension. Consider using images, videos, and interactive elements that align with your content and engage multiple senses.
• Encourage Interaction: Encourage audience participation to foster engagement and make your presentation more interactive. Incorporate opportunities for questions, discussions, and activities that involve your audience. This not only keeps them actively involved but also allows for a deeper understanding and retention of the presented material.
• Provide Clear Takeaways: At the conclusion of your presentation, provide clear and actionable takeaways for your audience. Summarize the key points and highlight the benefits or implications. Offering practical suggestions or next steps will help your corporate audience apply the information they have learned and make your presentation more valuable.

Conclusion: Organizing presentation material to suit your corporate audience is a crucial aspect of delivering impactful presentations. By knowing your audience, defining clear objectives, and using a logical structure, you can effectively engage and influence key stakeholders. Additionally, tailoring language and visuals, encouraging interaction, and providing clear takeaways will further enhance the effectiveness of your presentations. By following these tips, you can deliver presentations that resonate with your corporate audience and achieve your communication goals successfully.

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How to Organize a Presentation

From health care facilities and pharmaceutical companies to law firms and finance agencies, virtually every business relies on high-quality presentations to communicate with team members and sell their products to investors, other companies, and potential consumers. The ability to craft a strong, compelling presentation is a vital skill for professionals involved in all industries, but most people find the prospect of presenting to an audience stressful and intimidating. Thankfully, carefully planning and structuring your presentation can help you to deliver a persuasive message, demonstrate your experience and authority on the subject, and accomplish your goals.

Why Is Organization of a Presentation Important?

You have undoubtedly experienced several presentations throughout your business career with varying degrees of success. Some presentations may have educated or inspired you, while others were so dull you may have forgotten about them as soon as you left the room. The difference between the two presentations was likely not solely due to the knowledge or enthusiasm of the speaker, but because the former understood the importance of organizing the presentation to engage the audience. Powerful speakers know how to structure their message in a simple, straightforward, and logical manner to capture the audience’s attention, keep them interested, and ensure they can gain valuable information from the presentation.

In fact, research from Stanford University has demonstrated that an audience is able to retain information 40% more accurately when the speaker presents their message in a meaningful structure than when they do so in an unstructured format. Establishing a solid structure for your presentation helps your audience know what to expect at each stage and guides them along the process so they can absorb what you are sharing with them. This not only helps the audience follow along, but it is also vital for you as the speaker. By structuring your presentation, you can ensure you remember your talking points, keeping you on track and letting you avoid awkward pauses or confusing transitions.

How to Prepare for a Presentation

Before you can begin writing and organizing your content, you must first identify your target audience and determine the goal you hope to accomplish with your presentation. Conduct thorough research regarding your audience to determine how familiar they are with your topic. If they have limited understanding or awareness of the concepts, you will be covering, you must provide the proper background information to catch them up. If they are well-versed in your concepts, you should skip this information to avoid boring them. Instead, focus on more in-depth and detailed aspects of the topic that they can follow and appreciate.

Next, consider your purpose, or what you are hoping to achieve by presenting your message. You may want to educate them on a certain topic, inform them of your company’s offerings, help them solve a problem, or explain how your products can meet their needs. The goal is not to cover everything, but to consider how your content relates to your audience and use it to capture their interest and encourage further discussion. Pay attention to the setting of the presentation, the time constraints you face, and whether you can use presentation software, product demonstrations, or other visual aids to support your message.

Follow the steps below to learn how to organize a presentation:

1. Develop an outline for your key points.

Think about three or four key points you want to share with the audience and organize them into a concise outline. Any points that are too lengthy or too complicated should be simplified, condensed, reworded for clarity, or even eliminated altogether if you determine that they do not effectively help accomplish your goal. Provide information that supports your topic, including relevant facts, research data, survey results, or statistics. Think about the visual elements you can use to enhance your message, such as graphs, charts, diagrams, illustrations, photos, and infographics.

2. Decide on the right structure for your presentation.

There are several ways to structure your presentation based on your goals, including:

• Chronological – recounting an event from the beginning to end or explaining the steps of a process
• Spatial – describing the physical composition or structure of an item based on space, such as top to bottom, or left to right
• Categorical – dividing one broad topic into smaller sub-categories and discussing how each of them fits into the main topic
• Analytical – breaking a concept down into logical components and analyzing how they relate to one another to produce the intended effect
• Compare and Contrast – highlighting similarities and differences between two items, events, or situations
• Cause and Effect – demonstrating the cause-and-effect relationship between two variables in which one has a specific impact on the other
• Problem and Solution – discussing an important problem relevant to your audience and offering a reasonable solution to solve this problem

3. Determine a clear beginning, middle, and end of your presentation.

Your presentation should have three primary sections:

Introduction:

Begin by citing an eye-opening statistic, asking an open-ended question, sharing an appropriate quote, telling a story, or connecting your topic to the audience to build common ground. Establish your credibility and authority on the subject matter by discussing any personal experience you have in this area or research you have conducted on the topic. This allows you to gain the confidence of the audience and gives weight to the rest of your presentation. Your audience should understand the value of your topic, how it applies to them, and what information or encouragement you will be providing to help them take action to meet a need, solve a problem, or otherwise improve their lives. End with a preview of your presentation structure so they can anticipate the flow of your message.

The body of your presentation is where you will present your key points and offer information to support these points, such as examples, customer stories, and other evidence that your claims are valid. Divide this section into distinct topics organized in a logical way the audience can understand. Address each point one by one, support it with compelling evidence, then briefly summarize how it relates to the main idea before shifting to the next point. Utilize transitions to show connections between your points and signal to the audience that you will be moving to another point. Transitions include words and phrases like “likewise,” “similarly,” and “in the same way” so your speech flows well and viewers can easily follow your message.

Conclusion:

Do not simply end your presentation after making your last point. Instead, it is crucial to clarify the purpose of your presentation and ensure your message resonates with the audience. Develop a clear conclusion that summarizes your message, reinforces your key points, mentions the implications and consequences of these points, and provides a persuasive call to action that motivates them to learn more about your topic. Do not rush or add new content. If your introduction began with an attention-grabbing piece of information, revisit it in the conclusion to bookend your presentation. Finally, thank viewers for their time, explain how they can contact you for further information, and invite them to ask questions.

Create Better Business Presentations Today

Creating a presentation can be a daunting prospect but implementing the steps above to organize your presentation ensures you can effectively express your message, engage your audience, and secure optimal results. If you are interested in learning more about how to organize a presentation that impresses potential investors and clients, contact Shapiro Negotiations today. Our negotiation training program is based on science, backed by experience, and boasts a track record of proven results that have helped business professionals in all industries negotiate their way to better deals. We can help your team prepare successful pitches, craft compelling presentations, and achieve the best outcome for your business.

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Talk to Your Audience; Don't Read to Them!

A presentation is not the same as an essay. If you read your presentation as if it were an essay, your audience will probably understand very little about what you say and will lose concentration quickly. Use notes, cue cards, or overheads as prompts that emphasize key points, and  speak to the audience . Include everyone by looking at them and maintaining regular eye-contact [but don't stare or glare at people].

Your First Words are Your Most Important!

Your introduction should begin with something that grabs the attention of your audience, such as, an interesting statistic, a brief narrative or story, or a bold assertion, and then clearly tell the audience in a well-crafted sentence what you plan to accomplish in your presentation. Your introductory statement  should be constructed so as to invite the audience to pay close attention to your message and to give the audience a clear sense of the direction in which you are about to take them.

First of all, think about what you want to achieve and think about how are you going to involve your audience in the presentation.

• Brainstorm  your topic and write a rough outline. Don’t get carried away—remember you have a limited amount of time for your presentation.
• Organize  your material and draft what you want to say [see Outlining section below].
• Summarize  your draft into key points to write on overhead slides and/or note cards.
• Prepare  your visual aids.
• Rehearse  your presentation and practice getting the presentation completed within the time given. Ask a friend to listen and time you.

Try organizing your content into a typical outline format, such as the following:

I.  Introduction  [may be written last]

• Capture your listeners’ attention . Begin with a question, an amusing story, a startling comment, or anything that will engage your audience and make them think.
• State your purpose . For example, "I’m going to talk about..."; "This morning I want to explain…."
• Present an outline of your talk . For example, “I will concentrate on the following points: First of all…Then…This will lead to…And finally…"

II.  The Body

• Present your main points one by one in a logical order .
• Pause at the end of each point . Give people time to take notes, or time to think about what you are saying.
• Make it clear when you move to another point . For example, “The next point is that...”; “Of course, we must not forget that...”; “However, it's important to realize that....”
• Use clear examples to illustrate your points and/or key findings .
• If appropriate, consider using visual aids to make your presentation more interesting  [e.g., a map, chart, picture, etc.].

III.  The Conclusion

• Leave your audience with a clear summary of everything that you have covered.
• Don't let the talk just fizzle out . Make it obvious that you have reached the end of the presentation.
• Summarize the main points again . For example, use phrases like: "So, in conclusion..."; "To recap the main issues...," "In summary, it is important to realize...."
• Restate the purpose of your talk, and say that you have achieved your aim : "My intention was ..., and it should now be clear that...."
• Thank the audience, and invite questions : "Thank you. Are there any questions?"

NOTE:   When asking your audience if anyone has any questions, give people time to contemplate what you have said and to formulate a question. It may seem like an awkward pause to wait ten seconds or so for someone to raise their hand, but it's frustrating to have a question come to mind but be cutoff because the presenter rushed to end the talk.

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7.3 Structuring Your Presentation

Lucinda Atwood; Christian Westin; [Author removed at request of original publisher]; and Linda Macdonald

Presentations can be organized in many different ways. The choice of an organizing principle, or a core assumption around which everything else is arranged, depends on the subject matter, the speaking situation, and many other factors, including your preference as a speaker.

Presentation Structure

The simple structure outlined below is adaptable to most topics. The presentation begins with an attention-getter, a claim, and an overview of key points that will be addressed. The main part of the speech follows with two to five main points; and concludes with a summary and, in a persuasive speech, a call to action.

Introduction

In the Introduction of your presentation, you will capture the audience’s attention, tell them who you are, state the main point of your presentation, and provide a preview.

• Attention-getter/grabber   A very brief and interesting statement or question that grabs the audience’s attention. See Grabber Types below for more details.
• Self-introduction  (Place before or after the grabber ) Tell the audience your name and credentials. For example: I’m Minh and I’ve been a professional career coach for 10 years.
• Thesis   The main point or argument of your presentation. Be brief and precise, not general or vague. For example: I’m going to show you how practicing your presentation 10 times will improve your level of comfort by 50%.
• Overview of main points  Briefly outline the main points that you will cover in your presentation. To help your audience, list these in the same order that you will deliver them later on. For example: First, we’ll talk about what makes presentations great, then I’ll share some data on how practice affects your confidence and performance, and finally, we’ll look at how to practice.

Attention-getter/grabber types

Remember that the job is grabbing the audience’s attention, so it must be surprising, fascinating or intriguing. It must also be related to your presentation’s topic. Some descriptions and examples are presented here:

You can also mix and match grabbers. For example, you could show an image and ask the audience to guess what it is.

The length of your grabber is relative to your total presentation time. For a 2-minute presentation, it should be quite brief – maybe one sentence. For a 16-minute team presentation, a 45-60 second grabber would be appropriate.

In this part of your presentation, you will deliver detailed information. Depending on the length of the presentation and your purpose, you might have two to five points in the body.

• Key point 1   A major point that supports your thesis and may have supporting sub-points
• Key point 2   Another major point that supports your thesis and may have supporting sub-points
• Key point 3   The final major point that supports your thesis and may have supporting sub-points

Your points can be arranged in a variety of ways. In her TED Talk The Secret Structure of Great Talks and her Harvard Business Review article titled “ Structure your presentation like a story” (click here for direct link to her article) , Nancy Duarte advocates organizing a presentation according to what is and what could be . Before reading on, take a moment to read the Duarte article, then check your knowledge.

Other ways to organize the body of your presentation are presented in Table 7.1 The center column explains how the principle works, and the right column provides an applied example based on a sample presentation about the United States’ First Transcontinental Railroad. For example, using a biographical organizing principle, you might describe the journey of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, Lincoln’s signing of the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862, and the completion of the first Transcontinental Express train trip in 1876. As another example, using a spatial organizing principle, you might describe the mechanics of how a steam locomotive engine works to turn the train wheels, which move on a track to travel across distances.

As you read each organizational structure, consider how the main points and subheadings change or adapt to meet each pattern.

Sample Organizing Principles for a Presentation

Transitions

The structure of your presentation should be clear to your listeners at the start of the presentation and reinforced throughout with transitions. Transitions both connect to your thesis and indicate a shift to your next point.

As part of your introduction, you should make clear the structure of your points. For example,

“Slack Desktop offers three time-saving benefits for our team collaborations.” “First, I will discuss the current inefficiencies in our collaborations and then explain how Slack Desktop can resolve these problems.” “Slack Desktop’s built-in notification system, keyboard shortcuts, and convenience in switching between workspaces are advantages for team collaborations.”

Provide a transition as you move from the introduction to the first point. For example,

“The first advantage for our teams in using Slack Desktop…” “First, I will provide an overview of Slack’s capabilities before addressing the two features that are most compelling for our teams…” “Let’s begin with the built-in notification system…”

As you move to the second and third points, you can reinforce the structure of the presentation for your listener by stating where you have been and where you are going. For example,

“We have covered the benefits of the notification system and the range of keyboard shortcuts and will now discuss the greatest benefit for our work– the simplicity in moving between teams.” “A final benefit of Slack Desktop for collaborations is the ease in switching between teams.” “Now that I have demonstrated the problems with the current system, I will demonstrate the solutions to these problems with Slack.” “It is clear that the notifications systems and keyboard shortcuts are time-saving features, but the greatest time-saving feature is the ease and convenience in switching between teams.” “Although Slack has several beneficial features, team collaborations in our company may be better facilitated through Chanty.” “Just as keyboard shortcuts provide added convenience, so too does the notification system.”

Finally, transition to the conclusion:

“In summary, Slack has indisputable advantages.” “In conclusion,..” “What I would most like you to take from this presentation is…”

Transitions connect your points and ensure the audience follows you. The audience will clearly see where you have been and where you are going next. Practice your transitions so that the content flows naturally. As we will discuss in Chapter 3.12 , moving as you transition between points can help you remember the order of points as well as engage your audience.

At the end of your presentations, you’ll remind the audience of what you told them, and tell them what to do next.

• Summary of main points   (can be merged with your conclusion) Clearly restate your three main points in the same order you delivered them. It is the same as your overview but in past tense. First, I described what makes presentations great, then I shared data on how practice affects confidence and performance, and finally, we looked at how to practice.
• Conclusion   Restate your thesis in past tense. For example: I’m showed you that practicing your presentation 10 times will improve your grade by 20%.
• Call to action   Give your audience clear, active and compelling direction, based on what you told them. For example: Practice your presentations ten times and start collecting those A-plusses!

Now that you have some ideas of how you might structure your presentation, move on to creating an outline, the subject of the next chapter section.

7.3 Structuring Your Presentation Copyright © 2022 by Lucinda Atwood; Christian Westin; [Author removed at request of original publisher]; and Linda Macdonald is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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6 Basic Organizational Pattern to Arrange the Body of your Presentation

The body of your presentation is the main substance of your message. It contains the evidence you need to support your main topic and the information your audience expects to know more about. To make your message easier to remember, limit your main points to three and have supporting details on each. Choose the strongest ideas you can consider as a major point and sandwich appropriately the weaker details in one of the major details. Just make sure that it is closely related and is logically apt to be categorized under it . 

To effectively curate the body of your speech, it has to be delivered using an organizational structure. It is best to arrange them by following a method according to the one that is most appropriate for your needs. Among the common organization patterns for arranging speeches are the following:

1. Chronological Pattern

The time order pattern presents ideas, events, or processes in the sequence of time in which they took place or should take place. It begins at a given period in history and moves forward or backward with time. It is mostly used in describing a process or discussing the development of certain trends for demonstration speeches. 

2. Spatial Pattern

In this pattern, the main points of your speech follow a spatial sequence. This illustrates the arrangement and the relationship of things in a given place. It describes the ideas according to physical relationships among things and persons as well.  To describe or explain the organization of patterns, you may present your ideas by inside-outside, far-near, small-big, east-west, or up-down.

3.  Logical Method

You can develop your speech’s body from a broad vision to specific details, or you may also proceed with a particular instance to the general. The key here is that you either present your information deductively or inductively. This pattern is effective when presenting a broad topic which you intend to break down into subtopics.

4. Causes and Effect

If you want your audience to appreciate a certain subject’s impact, a pattern that may suit this best is the cause and effect method. In this pattern, you arrange the main ideas in the discussion in a causal relationship. You both present in appropriate detail the events that have occurred and their corresponding results. 

5. Advantage and Disadvantage

To focus and shed light on how beneficial an activity, idea, event, or product, you may consider using the advantages and disadvantages method. This will help you guide your audience to examine the range of positive and negative aspects of things that they can use to better judge when deciding on things.

6. Comparison and Contrast

A presentation may also be developed by pointing out the similarities between two objects, persons, or ideas. You can make the concept vivid by comparing familiar objects and familiar points of reference. People can effectively learn concepts when they have something with which to compare it.  If you are using this pattern, make sure that you have a valid and adequate number of comparisons. This method is suited when trying to motivate the audience to understand a concept they have never considered before or ask them to take action like following or purchasing something they have never owned before. 

When writing the body of your presentation, you may consider pointing out the familiarity in some respects between things or ideas otherwise unlike. It is also appropriate to clarify something abstract and familiar by relating it to something concrete and familiar.  

8. Problems and Solutions

You can organize the body of your speech by presenting it through a problem and solution method. Naturally, the speech should focus on the problem at hand, then provide the solution that you are offering. To make your proposition more convincing, you may include other problems that could also be fixed by the solution you are suggesting. This becomes more effective in persuading as the audience sees the value of your proposition. Knowing that the solution you are offering is versatile and can also be applied to multiple problems, they are more encouraged to accept it. This is suitable when motivating your audience into action, prompting them to support an idea or buy a product, information, or service that offers a solution to a problem. 

In arranging the body of your presentation, you may use any of the patterns above, although you may utilize more than one method. Keep in mind that you have to observe the principles of unity, coherence, clarity, conciseness, and correctness in writing it.  Ensure that as you present the facts and move from one point to another, you help the audience know that you connect two parts—present  interconnectedness by using transition sentences that show the logical or psychological relationships among the ideas. Using transition statements between main and subordinate points will help make your central idea clear and easy to understand. 

Special Bonus Tip: To ensure that your presentation’s body is organized and well structured, create an outline for your speech. This will also help you to draft an appropriate introduction and conclusion for your central idea. Moreover, you may also look for materials and references that provide samples of how the above-listed patterns were used. You may also ask an English teacher specializing in writing speeches to guide you on how to write compelling content for the body of your speech. 

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• Preparing for the Presentation

Preparing the Presentation

Before developing a presentation on a given topic, know the requirements, purpose and audience of the presentation and then prepare an outline of the presentation.

Know the Requirements

Knowing the requirements of a presentation involves finding the answers for several relevant questions:

How much time will you have to deliver the presentation?

This dictates how much you have to prepare and how detailed it should be. The number of slides necessary for a 5-minute class presentation may differ considerably from what is necessary for a 30-minute project presentation.

Who and how many will be in the audience?

This impacts the formality of the presentation and its context, as well as the attire you may have to wear.

A thesis or dissertation presentation for a committee of faculty, or a project presentation for client at a company, may have a small audience and require formality in your delivery and attire (as appropriate for your discipline).

The context could involve evaluation of your presentation for a course grade or obtaining a project for your company.

Knowing the audience is also important for accommodating people with different abilities.

Where will you deliver the presentation?

This impacts the design of presentation materials, your delivery (whether you need a microphone or not) and the possibility to interact with the audience.

A small conference room (as opposed to a large classroom or an auditorium) may require developing different type of presentation materials.

A small conference room or classroom may allow you to interact easily with the audience, while a large auditorium where you deliver the presentation from the stage may not allow you that flexibility.

What type of technologies will be available to deliver the presentation?

This impacts the selection of technologies to match what will be available at the presentation location.

The delivery technologies can include presentation software and data projector, document camera, flip charts, microphone, web browsers, etc.

If you design your presentation using an online presentation tool, and plan to deliver the presentation using the same, it is critical to make sure that online presentation tool will be available at the delivery location, or you can bring your own.

Will you deliver the presentation alone or as part of a panel or a team?

This impacts what you prepare and how you will have to deliver it.

If you have to deliver the presentation by yourself, you will have considerable flexibility on how you can design and deliver your presentation.

If you have to present as part of a panel or a team, then you may have to coordinate with other presenters, to align your portion appropriately with theirs and not duplicate material.

Do you have to prepare handouts of your presentation to distribute to the audience?

This impacts the design of your presentation materials and the cost of making copies of the presentation.

Some presentation materials may come across well on a large screen but not on paper.

Distributing copies of your presentation will require you to know in advance how many copies to make, and any to make in large fonts for those with visual impairments.

What alternatives do you have if there are unexpected changes at the last minute to any of the previous items?

This helps you to develop Plan B solutions in case there are unexpected changes.

Planning simple alternatives to handle unavailability of particular delivery technologies in the presentation location or change in presentation duration can reduce stress and help you deliver your presentation effectively.

Saving presentation materials in different formats and media will help to adapt to any unexpected changes at the last minute.

Know the Purpose

Learn about the purpose of your presentation from your course instructor or the organizer of your presentation.

The purpose of a presentation can be (and are not limited) to:

• Inform   an audience, as in a formal thesis or project presentation
• Persuade   an audience, as in selling a proposal for service to a client or convincing an interviewer
• Entertain   an audience, as in presenting at a reception
• Speak   on a special occasion, such as honoring a colleague
• Educate   an audience, as in teaching or training a group of people

Informative Presentation

This video clip is an example of the presenter informing the audience .

Persuasive Presentation

This video clip is an example of a presenter attempting to persuade the audience .

Entertaining Presentation

This video clip is an example of the presenter attempting to entertain .

Honoring Presentation

This video clip is an example of the presenter speaking to the audience on a special occasion .

Knowing the purpose of the presentation will help you design, develop, and deliver the presentation for the intended purpose.

For example, a brief technical presentation for informing an audience may not leave time for very many interactions with the audience, including questions and answers (Q&A) at the end.

However, a technical presentation as part of a thesis or dissertation defense will involve considerable Q&A by the faculty committee and the audience.

Presenting for the purpose of educating or training an audience may require considerable interaction and Q&A during the presentations.

Presenting for the purpose of entertaining an audience may not be very formal, whereas honoring someone may be formal, and both may not involve Q&A at the end.

Knowing the purpose of the presentation can also help in arranging the room layout and audience seating (if that flexibility is available), so you can interact easily with the audience appropriately.

Know the Audience

It is important to know your audience demographics before you prepare your presentation. Knowing who they are (faculty, students, etc.), their familiarity with the topic, and their role (gain information, evaluate your learning, etc.) in attending your presentation, will help you organize your thoughts appropriately.

Presentation Level Appropriate

This video clip is an example of a presentation that is appropriate for a non-expert audience .

Presentation Level Inappropriate

This video clip is an example of a presentation that is too technical for a non-expert audience .

Presenting a topic to a specific audience requires careful preparation so the presentation will make sense to them and fulfill their needs. Some audience demographics include age, gender, faculty or students and educational background. Presenting to a group of your peers will require you to present the topic with authority, but on their level of understanding and with the ability to motivate them to ask questions. Presenting to a faculty audience will also require you to present the topic with authority, but you may need to prepare for more substantial questions and remarks.

Prepare an Outline

Once you know the requirements and the purpose of the presentation, the next step is to prepare an outline. Preparing an outline will give you a roadmap or a sense of direction for developing the presentation for the required purpose.

Before you develop an outline, ask yourself what you would want your audience to know in the time you have to present it. The outline should consist of the major headings or topics of your presentation.

The outline should have a beginning, middle and an end so that the audience can follow your ideas logically from the beginning to the end. You can then elaborate each major topic or heading into appropriate points.

The type of outline and the list of headings or topics may depend on the nature of the discipline and the purpose of a presentation.

For example, the outline of a technical presentation for informing an audience can consist of headings such as:

• Problem statement
• Objectives and scope
• Literature review
• Methodology
• Experimentation
• Conclusions

Similarly, the outline of XYZ corporation's (your employer) proposal presentation to a client ABC Co. for obtaining a project can consist of headings such as:

• Welcome and introductions
• Needs and trends
• XYZ corporation
• XYZ’s products and services
• Major clients of XYZ
• How XYZ can serve the needs of ABC
• Possible opportunities
• Contact information
• Questions and answers

An example of an outline for a non-technical presentation in the humanities or other disciplines could include the following:

• Purpose, thesis, preview
• First (second, third) point(s), supporting evidence of thesis
• Possible objections analyzed and or refuted
• Source of information
• Transition to conclusion
• Restate thesis
• Statement of possible actions, next steps
• Memory and attention-reinforcing strategies (quote, anecdote, etc.)
• Discussion of limitations, missing elements
• Closing or summary statement

Depending on the allotted duration of your presentation, you can then plan on how much time to spend on each topic, and develop the presentation materials accordingly.

The outline will depend on the content of your presentation and the outline need not dictate how the presentation will be delivered.

One can develop an outline or a framework for a presentation but organize the content in a non-sequential manner for delivery. This is especially suited for when the outline is in the form of a pictorial framework where each part can be presented non-sequentially.

Once you have developed the outline of your presentation, the next step is to organize the content.

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18.4: Organizing for Your Audience

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In an earlier chapter, you learned about audience analysis. The analysis helps you create a profile. Organizing for your audience relates to the how the gathered content can be best arranged for them. According to Patricia Fripp (2011), a Hall of Fame keynote speaker and executive speech coach, any presentation can be intimidating but the key is to remember “your goal is to present the most valuable information possible to the members of the audience” (p. 16). Now what you think is most valuable and what the audience thinks is most valuable must be coordinated because of differences in perception (the process by which we give meaning to our experience). Therefore, organizing for your audience is focused on content, structure, packaging, and human element—not for you, not for the assignment, but for the audience. A customized plan of organization will assist your group in creating relevant messages that satisfy others’ personal needs and goals (Keller, 1983).

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. ~ William James

Audience members are interested in your expertise that has been developed from solid research and preparation. Audience members may have expectations about what foundational literature and key sources should be contained within your presentation. Therefore as a group you need to go beyond providing a variety of supporting material within your presentation to considering who will be present, levels of expertise and their expectations. In general, organizing the content should be focused on usage, knowledge levels, and objectives. First, usage refers to how audience members expect to use your presentational content which will help the group transform ideas into audience-centered speech points. Second, knowledge level means the audience’s knowledge level about the topic within the audience which assists the group in developing supporting material for the entire audience. Third, the objectives are linked to how the content serves the audience’s needs and assists the group in being intentional about helping the audience see the reason for their involvement and receive value for the time they devoted to attend. Overall, the content is coordinated in a way that keeps at the forefront who the decision makers are and what specifics they need to know, would be nice to know, and do not need to know.

Next professionally packaging a presentation for the audience deals with the structure or how you arrange points. The structure takes into consideration a strong opening, logical order, relevant key points, conciseness, and use of supplementary visual aids. In addition, the linking of points involves conversational language and the appropriate use of acronyms and technical jargon for inclusion or exclusion. The focus is geared to the perception of trustworthiness. Three strategic questions to answer include:

• What qualities as a group will demonstrate your trustworthiness to this audience?
• What content order needs to be achieved to give the consistent perception of fairness?
• What content requires repeating and how should that be achieved—through comparisons, examples, illustrations, etc.?

The packaging of successful group presentations revolves around the type of relationship with the audience, the division of time, and enthusiasm. An important dynamic of group presentations is for your group to know if audience members will be required to give an internal presentation or briefing from your presentation. As a group, know if you are packaging a one-time presentation, bidding for a long-term relationship, continuing a relationship for offering expertise, or if the presentation is tied to internal pressures to performance appraisals. Such knowledge will aid your group in developing talking points which can be re-presented with accuracy.

The type of presentation will help you divide the time for your presentation. The majority of the time is always spent on the body of the speech. A typical 30-minute speech might be divided into four minutes for the introduction, ten minutes for the body, and four minutes for the conclusion. The remainder 12 minutes is for the audience to ask questions, offer objections, or simply to become part of the discussion. It is important to leave enough time for the audience to contribute to the intellectual content. Therefore, always design group presentations with the intent not to run out of time before the audience can participate. All group presentations should have enthusiasm. Group members should be enthusiastic about the audience, message, and occasion. Planned enthusiasm should play a role in the creating the introduction, conclusion, and body of your presentations. The consistent use of enthusiasm can be planned throughout the speech outline.

human element

Now it is time to focus on compatibility. As a group consider what will it take to get this audience to pay attention to your presentation. Answer questions such as:

1. What can your group do to develop an introduction, transitions, and conclusions in a way to connect with this audience?

2. What types of stories are common or relatable to this audience? 3. What are the attitudes, beliefs, and values of this audience?

What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose. ~ Margaret Thatcher

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5 quick ways to organize a presentation.

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Too many people structure their presentations by pulling together slides and then assembling them like a deck of cards, in what seems like an OK order.  That usually means that no one except the presenter can divine where the speech is headed.

That’s a bad idea.

At the heart of a successful presentation is a clear structure.  Which one should you use?  The best structure for what you’re trying to do depends on the nature of your talk.  Following are five possible situations in the organizational world for which you might be called upon to present; pick the one that best suits your actual situation.

1.  You might be called upon to report progress.  In that case, use the following structure:

1.  Describe the issue or assignment, including why it’s important

2.  Describe the critical outstanding problems

3.  Prioritize them, and describe how they’re being addressed

4.  Describe successes to date – positive progress made

5.  Close with action steps

2.  You might be called upon to recommend a strategy.  For that situation, here’s a good structure:

1.  Define the objective

2.  Describe the current conditions

3.  Describe the desired state

4.  List the possible strategies, with pros and cons of each

5.  Identify best one, describe next steps

3.  You might be called upon to persuade your audience of the excellence of a particular product, service, or idea – a sales talk.  Here’s how to organize that one:

1. Frame the need that the product, service, or idea addresses

2. Describe the need in more detail

3. Describe the ways in which your solution addresses the need

4. Describe the benefits of buying in to your solution

5. Get agreement on a next step

4.  You might be called upon to choose among several alternatives.  Here’s the best way to present:

1.  Frame the situation

2.  Describe the criteria for success and prioritize them

3.  Describe alternatives

4.  Compare to the criteria and eliminate alternatives that don’t meet criteria

5.  Recommend best remaining alternative

5.  You might be called upon to teach a procedure or a skill.  In that case, proceed as follows:

1.  Frame the skill in terms of its importance to the audience

2.  Explain the skill or procedural steps involved

3.  Get the audience to try some aspect of the skill or procedure

4.  Review and summarize, including anything the audience did not try

5.  Describe what the audience can do on its own to acquire the skill or procedure

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Module 15: Group Presentations

Organizing for your audience.

In an earlier chapter, you learned about audience analysis. The analysis helps you create a profile. Organizing for your audience relates to the how the gathered content can be best arranged for them. According to Patricia Fripp (2011), a Hall of Fame keynote speaker and executive speech coach, any presentation can be intimidating but the key is to remember “your goal is to present the most valuable information possible to the members of the audience” (p. 16). Now what you think is most valuable and what the audience thinks is most valuable must be coordinated because of differences in perception (the process by which we give meaning to our experience). Therefore, organizing for your audience is focused on content, structure, packaging, and human element—not for you, not for the assignment, but for the audience. A customized plan of organization will assist your group in creating relevant messages that satisfy others’ personal needs and goals (Keller, 1983).

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. – William James

Audience members are interested in your expertise that has been developed from solid research and preparation.

Audience members may have expectations about what foundational literature and key sources should be contained within your presentation. Therefore as a group you need to go beyond providing a variety of supporting material within your presentation to considering who will be present, levels of expertise and their expectations. In general, organizing the content should be focused on usage, knowledge levels, and objectives. First, usage refers to how audience members expect to use your presentational content which will help the group transform ideas into audience-centered speech points. Second, knowledge level means the audience’s knowledge level about the topic within the audience which assists the group in developing supporting material for the entire audience. Third, the objectives are linked to how the content serves the audience’s needs and assists the group in being intentional about helping the audience see the reason for their involvement and receive value for the time they devoted to attend. Overall, the content is coordinated in a way that keeps at the forefront who the decision makers are and what specifics they need to know, would be nice to know, and do not need to know.

Next professionally packaging a presentation for the audience deals with the structure or how you arrange points. The structure takes into consideration a strong opening, logical order, relevant key points, conciseness, and use of supplementary visual aids. In addition, the linking of points involves conversational language and the appropriate use of acronyms and technical jargon for inclusion or exclusion. The focus is geared to the perception of trustworthiness. Three strategic questions to answer include:

• What qualities as a group will demonstrate your trustworthiness to this audience?
• What content order needs to be achieved to give the consistent perception of fairness?
• What content requires repeating and how should that be achieved—through comparisons, examples, illustrations, etc.?

The packaging of successful group presentations revolves around the type of relationship with the audience, the division of time, and enthusiasm. An important dynamic of group presentations is for your group to know if audience members will be required to give an internal presentation or briefing from your presentation. As a group, know if you are packaging a one-time presentation, bidding for a long-term relationship, continuing a relationship for offering expertise, or if the presentation is tied to internal pressures to performance appraisals. Such knowledge will aid your group in developing talking points which can be re-presented with accuracy.

Human Element

Now it is time to focus on compatibility. As a group consider what will it take to get this audience to pay attention to your presentation. Answer questions such as:

• What can your group do to develop an introduction, transitions, and conclusions in a way to connect with this audience?
• What types of stories are common or relatable to this audience?
• What are the attitudes, beliefs, and values of this audience?

What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose. – Margaret Thatcher

• Chapter 18 Group Presentations. Authored by : Jennifer F. Wood, Ph.D.. Located at : http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html . Project : Public Speaking Project. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• DMI conference. Authored by : Wiki4des. Located at : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DMI_conference.jpg . License : CC BY: Attribution

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