When you’re planning a presentation, you want to effectively communicate your ideas in a way that the audience understands and responds to. Organization and structure are key to getting the effect you want from your presentation.
Having a structure and a plan allows the ideas in the presentation to flow logically, helping the audience to grasp the concepts and buy in to your call to action.
Your presentation should have a clear introduction and conclusion in which you “tell them what you’re going to tell them” and “tell them what you told them.” This way the audience will see where you’re coming from and where you’re going. In between those, though, there is the meat of the presentation: the body.
When planning your presentation’s structure, start by writing down your main ideas. Select three or four primary ideas to focus on. These ideas form the “backbone” of your presentation.
Then determine the sequence in which you will present the ideas. Ask yourself in what order the main ideas should be presented to meet the audience’s needs. Which main idea should be explained first?
Next decide what supporting data will best clarify or substantiate the ideas. There are several ways to plan supporting information, depending on different types of logical reasoning. A deductive supporting argument consists of presenting compelling reasons for the idea. An inductive argument involves using a group of supporting details that work together to support your idea.
Determine how much detail to include. How much detail will your audience want? Should you keep things clean and simple, or should you flesh out your presentation with a lot of detailed information? Keep in mind what sort of people make up your audience, as well as any time constraints.
If your presentation is intended to show a solution to a problem, ask yourself whether the audience perceives the problem in the same way you do. Are they aware that it is a problem at all? Do you first have to convince them that there is a problem? Are you prescribing a solution, or inviting them to come to their own conclusions? Are there several potential solutions that need to be evaluated?
There are a number of approaches to presenting salient information in the body of the talk. A few examples:
• Cause-and-Effect – Present the cause, and show its effects. If the talk is a problem-solving presentation, present alternative solutions and their projected effects.
• Whole-Part-Whole (macro-micro-macro) - Present the “Big Picture” first, then break it down into smaller parts, and end by bringing attention back to the big picture.
• Chronological Order - Follow a timeline that puts each of your points into a chronological perspective – for example, a past-present-future structure to show the basis of the problem, the current situation, and the solution you envision for the future.
• Simple to Complex - Organize your details from the easiest to the most difficult concepts. They may build on each other, or increase in complexity in another logical pattern.
When you have something to communicate through a presentation, take the time to organize your thoughts and structure the body of your talk. You will be able to more effectively communicate your ideas to your audience, improve their retention of the information you are presenting, and enhance their levels of receptiveness and buy-in.
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