Planning Your Presentation

“If you talk to a man in the language he understands, that goes to his head.  If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart”.         – Nelson Mandela

The key to success for every speech is planning your presentation.   Ask yourself:

• Why am I doing this presentation?
• What is my purpose?
• Who is my audience?

Topic

It may seem obvious, but before you start writing your presentation you must determine what precisely your topic  will be or what aspect of a topic you plan to address.  Once this is clear you can commence writing.

Occasionally you will find that your topic is actually too large or complex for the time available and you may have to go back and review the specific topic you wish to address.

Purpose

“Speech is power – to persuade, to convert, to compel”.  – Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Identify the overall purpose for your talk.  Reasons for giving a presentation include:

• to inform or educate
• to entertain
• to inspire
• to persuade

An entertaining speech is constructed and delivered differently from an informative speech.  A persuasive speech uses language and content to affect, not just inform the audience.  An entertaining speech might use more humour, or drama or exaggerated gestures.

Once you know the purpose of your presentation you can determine the structure, topics and method of delivery that will best achieve your purpose.

Your Audience

Analyze the audience and the situation.  Every audience is different and in order to ensure success you should always consider what your potential audience will be like and what their expectations will be.  Failure to address the needs and level of interest and understanding of an audience can be deadly to a speaker.

What does your audience know?  What don’t they know that you will have to tell them? Will they be sympathetic to you or will you need to convince them?  If you do not have personal knowledge of the potential audience try to contact someone who can give you some idea as to the nature, attitudes and expectations of your potential audience.

Organization of Your Speech

• Body of the Presentation

Once you have clearly defined your topic and purpose you need to identify 2-3 key points and the supporting information or examples you will use to explain or elaborate them.

Facts and statistics can be useful in an informative presentation and also to support a position.  Personal stories, anecdotes and quotations can be powerful and effective in engaging the audience as can asking questions of the audience.  Humour should only be used if appropriate.

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning” – Mark Twain

• Opening and Conclusion

Once you have the body of your presentation you can then plan your opening and concluding remarks.  You should spend as much time planning your opening and closing remarks as you did on the body of the presentation! Plan a powerful, attention-getting introduction to grab your audience’s interest right from the start and a strong conclusion to reinforce what you have said or as a call to action for the audience.  If your presentation is lengthy you can also use the conclusion to summarize your key points.

Timing

It is vital that you speak for amount of time you have been given.  NEVER exceed your allotted time as you run the risk of aggravating the audience and threatening the flow of the event you are attending.

Practice

Practice your presentation before you deliver it (several times if possible).  Seek comments from friends and colleagues.

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Sample Speech Outline

Here is a basic outline that illustrates the structure of a speech containing three main points:

A. Opening

1. Captures the audience attention
2. Leads into the speech topic

B. Body

1. First point
   a. Statement of fact
   b. Supporting material
2. Second point
   a. Statement of fact
   b. Supporting material
3. Third point
   a. Statement of fact
   b. Supporting material

C. Conclusion

1. Review or summary
2. Call to action or memorable statement

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After the Presentation…

Ask yourself.. what worked well, what didn’t work well, what could/should you have done differently/better?

Benefits of Being Able To Communicate With Confidence

Do you need to know:

• how to overcome your fear of speaking in public
• how to introduce a speaker
• how to MC an event
• how to present a Toast?

Public speaking and communication can be enhanced with knowledge of basic principles and etiquette. I have written and collected articles about various aspects of public speaking and training.  I hope this information will be of interest and use to you.

Some of the material is adapted from Toastmasters International manuals.  Other material I have developed. The material that I have authored represents my observations, opinions and experience.  Other articles are from fellow Toastmasters and others who have submitted material for inclusion.   I hope you find the topics useful and that they inspire you to polish your communication skills.

In a presentation, there are basic issues that should be addressed:

• overcoming nervousness
• determining why you are giving the presentation
• developing a plan for and the content of the presentation
• polishing your skills by developing vocal variety, effective use of gestures and body language to enhance your delivery and impact.

The following pages will address these issues and more: