Writing a presentation? Here's how to start

So, you have a presentation coming up, where do you start?

A lot of people I know start by opening their laptop and punching out slides. When you start a presentation like this you are trying to capture random thoughts and arrange them in a linear fashion on the fly. The presentation ends up looking like a shopping list of information with no flow, no objective, and no connection. The slides also tend to be text heavy and include too much detail. I also find that when people invest time in making slides, they tend not to cull them, so you end up with a slide deck that just doesn’t work

Here is another alternative that I use with every client that I coach. I call it ‘throwing the net wide.’

The goal here is to do a brain dump of everything you know about the topic you are presenting on. Start with a blank piece of paper - the bigger the better, I use flipchart paper and this exercise usually generates four pages of content.

Here is how it works

1.?????Put your main topic in the middle of the page and ask yourself:

·????????Why am I giving this talk?

·????????What am I hoping to achieve with this presentation?

·????????What is my objective?

Dig deep, apply the five whys, and get some clarity on what you want people to do, say, think, or feel as a result of this presentation.

2.?????Now flip the coin

·????????What are the audience’s expectations?

·????????What are then non-negotiable needs?

·????????What are their wants and desires?

·????????What are their expectations?

·????????What questions will they have?

·????????Are they supporters or critics?

Ensure you address their wants and needs and prepare for any questions they may have.

3.?????Start listing all the subtopics you can speak about

·????????Throw the net as wide as possible this will help you understand your subject

·????????Do not edit at this stage, just dump it all down on paper

I find when people do this they progress quickly from anxiety and confusion through to confidence and pride in how much they know.

?Need more information? Let me know and I'll write about it in my next newsletter.