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Before you start on the content of your presentation it is important to have a clear cut structure planned. This can help you to really pinpoint what you want to get across to your audience. There are five simple questions that you should ask yourself when deciding on the structure of you presentation:

1. What’s the aim of my presentation? This may seem obvious however it is surprisingly easy to loose track and deviate. The audience wants a precise and easy to follow presentation – don’t go off on tangents.
2. What’s the title? This will be the first thing you audience sees and will set the tone for the rest of the presentation. Pick something striking that reflects the overall message you are trying to convey.
3. What type of audience am I speaking to? Know your audience! Think about what aspects they’ll be interested in, what questions they may ask, what they know already, and what style they will be comfortable with. Change your approach accordingly. If your audience would have seen a lot of presentations before yours, think about how to make yours stand out. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to perform some grand gesture as it is often the little things that make a real difference such as proper organisation and a decisive line of thought.
4. What are the main points that I need to make? Be direct and to the point with clear cut sections, this will help the audience to follow what you  are saying and help you to keep track of where you are. Normally you will want to limit the number of main points in your presentation to two or three – keep things simple.
5. What do I want the audience to take away from my presentation? Whatever the purpose of your presentation make sure that it comes across clearly at the end. It is often the conclusion of a presentation that most of your audience will remember and it is your chance to really make an impression. By the end of your presentation you should make sure that you and your audience have a clear understanding of your message.

Similar resources you may like

1. Deciding on a Format
2. Writing a Presentation
3. PowerPoint Presentations
4. Preparing Your Presentation
5. If Something Should Go Wrong

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effective presentations, learning, Presentation Skills, training

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This entry was posted by Faye Binfield on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 2:41 pm and is filed under Presentation Skills Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.