Structure Your Presentation

by Heather Stubbs

Structure! It benefits both presenter and listener. A clear framework keeps speakers on track and helps audiences follow and remember what is being said. Here’s a method for creating a structure that enables you to guide your audience on a journey from starting point to destination, and helps them stay with you along the way.
 

Premise

Your first priority when planning a presentation is to be clear in your own mind about your purpose. What’s the core idea you want your listeners to take away? Can you state it as a concise headline? The premise of a photographer’s talk might be, “Good composition creates great photos.” For a succession planner the core idea might be, “Advance planning avoids future headaches.” A presentation to a Board of Directors might have “Better customer service will increase profits” as the premise.

Strive to write your premise in eight words or less. If your talk were a house, your premise is the roof under which everything you say is gathered.
 

Opening

As I mentioned in my Tips on Talking article “A Strong Start”, don’t waste your precious opening moments on meaningless fillers like, “Tonight I’m here to talk to you about...” That kind of opening takes the audience’s initial intensity of interest and dials it down several notches.

The first few words of your talk are probably the only time you have the full attention of the entire audience. Take advantage of that attention and dive right in! One way is to open with your headline premise and expand on it in your next sentence or two. Take a look back at the opening paragraph of this article for an example.
 

Three Points

Chances are you know volumes more about your topic than you have time to convey in your presentation. There’s so much you want to tell them! It’s important not to try to “pack it all in.” Your audience won’t remember everything you say, anyway. They’ll probably remember one outstanding point, and perhaps a couple more.

Let’s say you’re planning your talk and you have a host of sticky notes all over the top of your desk, each one with an aspect you could talk about. Think in terms of support for the roof of your presentation house, your headline premise. Pick no more than three points for the walls holding up that roof. The more points you make, the less your audience will remember, so discipline yourself to three. Don’t be afraid to number your points as you talk through them. It helps your audience to follow you.

If they need to know more than three points, distribute a handout.
 

On Track And On Time

Building your presentation around a three point structure gives you a clear sense of direction and keeps your mind on track. If you find yourself getting off on a tangent, structure pulls you back into the right direction. If you’re concerned about forgetting which point comes next, use a 3 x 5 card with key words for each section of your talk. A quick glance will bring your thoughts into focus.

Structure also helps keep you on time. You know you have just so much time for each point, so plan it out. Be sure to allow time for your opener, your conclusion and Q&A. If audience questions threaten to derail your timing, knowing you have one or two points yet to cover allows you politely to move on by suggesting you chat with the questioner after the presentation.
 

Illustrate With Stories

Back up your points with two or three supporting points (no more). Bear in mind that dry data is boring and will instantly be forgotten, so incorporate the human element. The surest way to keep your audience engaged is to illustrate facts with stories. Use analogies to make numbers relevant. If you have data like “At this very moment, there are 600 million stray dogs in the world,” make that number real with “That’s nearly two dogs for every person in the United States.”
 

Conclusion

Conclude your talk by reminding the audience of your three points and then “close the circle” by restating your opening in a way that includes a call to action. Invite your listeners to take the next step.

For your next presentation, let a clear structure keep you moving efficiently from point to point and keep your audience in step with you all the way.

Links

• image courtesy of Gorilla

Heather Stubbs helps her clients discover their own potential as exciting speakers at Skilltime. She has been performing onstage since early childhood as a musician, singer and actress. Heather compiled the lessons learned and mastered over a lifetime into a training program called, “SPEAK UP! How to Talk So People Listen”. She offers workshops, keynote speeches and private coaching. You’ll find more on the Experion website, LinkedIn and Twitter.