How can you ensure your message is clear and concise during a live event?

1 Know your purpose

Before you start planning your live event, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you want to measure your success. Do you want to inform, persuade, inspire, or entertain your audience? Do you want to generate leads, increase sales, build trust, or raise awareness? Your purpose will guide your content, structure, and delivery of your message. It will also help you focus on the most relevant and valuable information for your audience.

2 Know your audience

Another key factor to consider is who you are speaking to and what they need and expect from you. You need to understand your audience's demographics, preferences, challenges, goals, and motivations. You can use surveys, interviews, feedback, or social media to gather insights and data about your audience. Knowing your audience will help you tailor your message to their interests, needs, and level of understanding. It will also help you choose the right tone, language, and style for your live event.

3 Structure your message

A well-structured message is easier to follow, remember, and act on. You need to have a clear and logical flow of ideas, arguments, and evidence that support your main point. You can use a simple formula to structure your message: tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them. This means you need to have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. In your introduction, you need to capture your audience's attention, state your purpose, and preview your main points. In your body, you need to develop your main points with relevant details, examples, and data. In your conclusion, you need to summarize your main points, restate your purpose, and provide a call to action.

4 Simplify your message

One of the biggest challenges of live events is to keep your message simple and concise. You don't want to overwhelm or confuse your audience with too much or too complex information. You want to make sure they can easily understand and remember your message. To simplify your message, you need to use clear and simple language, avoid jargon and acronyms, use short and simple sentences and paragraphs, and use transitions and signposts to connect your ideas. You also need to limit your message to the most essential and relevant information for your audience and purpose. You can use the rule of three to help you focus on the most important points you want to make.

6 Practice and rehearse

Finally, the best way to ensure your message is clear and concise during a live event is to practice and rehearse your presentation before the event. You need to prepare your content, your slides, your notes, and your equipment. You need to practice your delivery, your timing, your voice, and your body language. You need to rehearse in front of a mirror, a camera, or a friend. You need to ask for feedback and make adjustments. Practicing and rehearsing will help you improve your confidence, your clarity, and your conciseness. It will also help you anticipate and overcome any potential issues or challenges during the live event.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?