Planning a Presentation
Ask yourself, ‘If I had only sixty seconds… what would I absolutely have to say to get my message across?’
– Jeff Dewar
Introduction
You have two days to create a presentation on the year’s sales numbers. You’re drowningin charts, graphs and spreadsheets. Where do you even start? It can be overwhelming tomap out a presentation, especially those on complex topics. However, without proper planning, you’ll run the risk that the audience won’t understandyour points, or that listeners will lose interest in your topic. To stay on track while you’recollecting your research and talking points, follow these four key steps to planning apresentation.
Key steps
1. Identify your audience.
Understand your audience members and you’re more likely to create a relevant andengaging presentation. What are they expecting from your presentation? What do theycare about? What will get them excited? Are you even presenting to the right audience?What format do they want to receive the information in? Would a brainstorm or discussionwork better than a presentation? Answering these questions will help you meet youraudience members where they are.
2. Define your presentation’s objective.
What do you want to accomplish? Presentations typically break down into two types:those that inform and those that persuade. Informative presentations don’t have the samegoals as persuasive ones, so figure out which one you’re giving before proceeding. Onceyou know your type, write down exactly what you want the presentation to accomplish, such as “convince the management team to invest in a new IT system.”
3. Create a storyline.
Before you plan a single slide, write down your presentation’s overarching narrative by listing the situation, the problem and your solution. For an informative presentation, the headings can read: the situation, the idea/product/topic, and why it’s important. Under each heading, plot out some sub-points to complement each main point. This is the skeleton on which your presentation will be built.
Here is an example storyline that you might use if your presentation were meant to convince the executive team to invest in a new IT system:
The situation: Our current IT system is outdated and costs too much to maintain.
- We can’t use the latest software.
- The IT system broke down 3 times last month.
- Replacement components are very expensive.
Your proposal: We should allocate $50,000 to the budget for a new system.
- Can automate design activities.
- Can save time with newer, higher speed printers.
- Installation of the new system will be easy.
The benefits: By doing so, we will work more efficiently and save a lot of money.
- Will help keep us competitive.
- Will pay for itself in first year from lower part costs, and save an estimated $60,000 per year after that.
4. Find the right format for your presentation.
Determine what will be most useful for your audience. Is it really PowerPoint? Be creative. For example, a video of an unhappy customer being interviewed could be the best way to demonstrate a customer service problem. Or an open white board might be the best way to get your audience engaged and participating. Try not to use slides in the following cases: (1) your audience doesn’t like slides, (2) it’s a small group, (3) it’s a brainstorm session.
Once you know your audience, objective, storyline and your presentation format, it’s time to tune up the individual segments of your presentation. For many, that involves refining slides of some sort, whether in PowerPoint or another presentation program.
Next: How to Improve Your Slides >>