How do you make a presentation flow smoothly across multiple speakers or sessions?

1 Define your goals and structure

Before you start working on your presentation, you need to define your goals and structure. What is the main purpose of your presentation? What are the key messages you want to convey? How will you divide the time and content among different speakers or sessions? How will you link them together? Having a clear vision and outline of your presentation will help you design it more effectively and avoid confusion or repetition.

2 Align your content and style

One of the challenges of having multiple speakers or sessions is to ensure that your content and style are aligned and consistent. You don't want to have conflicting or contradictory information, or a sudden change of tone or format that might confuse or distract your audience. To avoid this, you should communicate and coordinate with your co-speakers or session leaders, and review each other's content and slides. You should also agree on a common style guide, such as fonts, colors, images, and animations, that matches your theme and brand.

3 Use transitions and signposts

Another way to make your presentation flow smoothly is to use transitions and signposts. Transitions are words or phrases that indicate the end of one section and the beginning of another, such as "now that we have covered X, let's move on to Y" or "to summarize, we have discussed Z". Signposts are words or phrases that highlight the main points or structure of your presentation, such as "there are three reasons why we should do A" or "in this session, we will focus on B". Transitions and signposts help your audience follow your logic and anticipate what is coming next.

4 Engage your audience

A presentation that involves multiple speakers or sessions can be long and complex, so you need to keep your audience engaged and interested throughout. You can do this by using various techniques, such as asking questions, telling stories, sharing examples, showing visuals, using humor, or incorporating interactive elements, such as polls, quizzes, or Q&A sessions. You should also vary your voice, pace, and gestures, and make eye contact with your audience. Engaging your audience will help you create rapport and connection, and make your presentation more memorable and persuasive.

5 Practice and rehearse

Finally, the best way to ensure that your presentation flows smoothly is to practice and rehearse it. You should practice your presentation alone and with your co-speakers or session leaders, and get feedback from others. You should also rehearse the timing, the transitions, the technology, and the contingency plans, in case something goes wrong. Practicing and rehearsing your presentation will help you improve your confidence and delivery, and avoid any surprises or glitches.

6 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?