Preparing Your Presentation

Probably even more important than your style and delivery, is the time you spend preparing your presentation.?I believe there is power in the number 3.?Build your presentation around the number 3. ?

For example, you will have the introduction, the main body (key points) and your summary (Conclusion.). ?Begin by making an outline and not writing paragraphs.?With key points, also limit them to a maximum of 3.

Another method for structuring a presentation is using the questions, “What?” - “Why?” and “How?” to communicate your message to your audience. ?

“What?” identifies the key message you wish to communicate.?From the perspective of the audience, think about what is the benefit of your message.?What will they gain, what can they do with the information, and what will the benefit be?

“Why?” addresses the next obvious question that arises in the audience.?Having been told “what”, the audience will naturally then start to think “why should I do that?”, “why should I think that?” or “why should that be the case?”?Directly addressing the “why?” question in the next stage of your presentation means that you are answering these questions and your talk is following what the audience perceives as a natural route through the material. The result is that you have the audience on your side immediately.

“How?” is also the next question that naturally arises in the audience’s mind: how are they going to achieve what you have just suggested.?Try not to be too prescriptive here so, instead of telling people exactly how they should act on your message, offer suggestions as to how they can act.?

Once you have a first draft of your presentation, it is important to review and edit it.?Take a break from the presentation before editing so that you can look at your writing with a fresh pair of eyes.?


When editing presentation content, consider the following:


? ??Ensure that the language you use is appropriate for the audience.?Are there any?terms they may not be familiar with??If so use more familiar terms.

? ??Is your language presentation friendly??Choose to use easily-understood words (such as those you would use in a conversation) rather than technical or obscure words.

? ??Eliminate long sentences.?Remember that you will be talking through your ideas and that the audience will be listening rather than reading. ?Keep sentences short, and simple to ease the audience’s understanding.

? ??Identify ways of grabbing the audience’s attention.?Are there additional visual materials that you could include to illustrate your key points??

? ??Check, and double check, that any presentation slides or illustrations, titles, captions, handouts or similar are free from spelling mistakes.


Now you are ready to learn about developing your presentation skills.

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Bob Spence的更多文章

  • A GAME PLAN FOR HIRING THE RIGHT PEOPLE

    A GAME PLAN FOR HIRING THE RIGHT PEOPLE

    INSIDE THIS BOOK YOU WILL LEARN: A well-crafted systematic hiring system How to score resumes How to effectively do…

  • A Game Plan for Hiring the Right PEOPLE!

    A Game Plan for Hiring the Right PEOPLE!

  • Conquering Loneliness At the Top

    Conquering Loneliness At the Top

    For several years I served as the CEO/Superintendent of public school districts. I was dealing with the public, elected…

  • More Wine Please!

    More Wine Please!

    It’s been several years now, but I remember this like yesterday. I had a speaking engagement for a business…

  • A Game Plan for Hiring the Right People

    A Game Plan for Hiring the Right People

    INSIDE THIS BOOK, LEARN: A well-crafted hiring system. Basic Interview skills.

  • Systematic Decision-Making

    Systematic Decision-Making

    What does a systematic decision-making process include? Cross-check your pending decision to your mission statement and…

  • ANTICIPATORY FOCUS

    ANTICIPATORY FOCUS

    Effective leaders have what is referred to as an Anticipatory Focus. In making decisions, planning, strategic planning…

  • Presentation Skill Development 2

    Presentation Skill Development 2

    This is the second in a three-part series on developing your presentation skills. (7) Nerves.

  • Presentation Skill Development 1

    Presentation Skill Development 1

    One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the years as a public speaker is that it’s extremely important to develop…

  • You Want Me To Do What?

    You Want Me To Do What?

    (First in a series of articles about giving presentations.) If you ask someone about their fears, they might say…

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了