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How to Construction your Presentation, with Examples

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Updated August 03, 2018 - Dom Barnard

For many people the idea of delivering a presentation is a daunting task and brings about a great deal of nerves. Even so, if you have some time to empathise how constructive presentations are structured and then apply this structure to your own presentation, you'll appear much more confident and relaxed.

Here is our complete guide for structuring your presentation, with examples at the end of the commodity to demonstrate these points.

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

If you've ever sat through a corking presentation, you'll have left feeling either inspired or informed on a given topic. This isn't considering the speaker was the nigh knowledgeable or motivating person in the globe. Instead, it's because they know how to construction presentations - they have crafted their message in a logical and simple style that has allowed the audience can keep upwardly with them and accept away primal letters.

Research has supported this, with studies showing that audiences retain structured information xl% more than accurately than unstructured information.

In fact, not only is structuring a presentation important for the benefit of the audience'southward understanding, it's besides important for yous as the speaker. A practiced structure helps you remain at-home, stay on topic, and avoid any awkward silences.

What will affect your presentation structure?

Generally speaking, there is a natural period that any decent presentation will follow which nosotros volition go into before long. However, you lot should exist aware that all presentation structures will be unlike in their ain unique fashion and this will be due to a number of factors, including:

• Whether yous need to deliver any demonstrations
• How knowledgeable the audience already is on the given subject
• How much interaction you want from the audience
• Any time constraints there are for your talk
• What setting yous are in
• Your ability to utilize whatever kinds of visual assistance

Before choosing the presentation's structure answer these questions first:

1. What is your presentation's aim?
2. Who are the audience?
3. What are the principal points your audience should recollect afterwards?

When reading the points below, retrieve critically almost what things may cause your presentation structure to be slightly different. You can add in sure elements and add more focus to certain moments if that works ameliorate for your speech.

What is the typical presentation construction?

This is the usual flow of a presentation, which covers all the vital sections and is a expert starting point for yours. It allows your audience to easily follow along and sets out a solid structure you tin can add your content to.

1. Greet the audience and innovate yourself

Before you commencement delivering your talk, introduce yourself to the audience and clarify who you are and your relevant expertise. This does not need to be long or incredibly detailed, only will assistance build an immediate human relationship betwixt you and the audience. It gives yous the gamble to briefly clarify your expertise and why y'all are worth listening to. This will aid establish your ethos so the audience will trust you more and recall you're credible.

Read our tips on How to Outset a Presentation Effectively

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ii. Introduction

In the introduction y'all need to explain the subject and purpose of your presentation whilst gaining the audience'south involvement and confidence. It'southward sometimes helpful to call back of your introduction every bit funnel-shaped to assist filter down your topic:

1. Introduce your general topic
2. Explicate your topic area
3. Country the issues/challenges in this surface area yous volition exist exploring
4. State your presentation's purpose - this is the basis of your presentation so ensure that you provide a statement explaining how the topic will be treated, for case, "I will argue that…" or maybe you lot will "compare", "analyse", "evaluate", "draw" etc.
5. Provide a argument of what you lot're hoping the outcome of the presentation will exist, for example, "I'm hoping this volition be provide y'all with..."
6. Show a preview of the organisation of your presentation

In this section besides explicate:

• The length of the talk.
• Bespeak whether you want audience interaction - some presenters prefer the audience to ask questions throughout whereas others allocate a specific section for this.
• If it applies, inform the audience whether to take notes or whether you will exist providing handouts.

The style you structure your introduction tin can depend on the corporeality of time you have been given to present: a sales pitch may consist of a quick presentation so you may brainstorm with your conclusion and and then provide the evidence. Conversely, a speaker presenting their idea for change in the world would exist better suited to beginning with the show and then conclude what this means for the audience.

Proceed in heed that the main aim of the introduction is to grab the audience's attention and connect with them.

3. The main body of your talk

The principal trunk of your talk needs to meet the promises you made in the introduction. Depending on the nature of your presentation, clearly segment the different topics you lot will be discussing, and then work your mode through them one at a fourth dimension - it'due south of import for everything to exist organised logically for the audition to fully empathize. In that location are many different ways to organise your main points, such as, by priority, theme, chronologically etc.

• Main points should exist addressed one by one with supporting evidence and examples.
• Before moving on to the next point yous should provide a mini-summary.
• Links should be clearly stated between ideas and yous must make it clear when you're moving onto the next point.
• Allow time for people to take relevant notes and stick to the topics you have prepared beforehand rather than straying likewise far off topic.

When planning your presentation write a list of main points you desire to make and ask yourself "What I am telling the audience? What should they understand from this?" refining your answers this fashion will help yous produce clear messages.

4. Conclusion

In presentations the conclusion is oft underdeveloped and lacks purpose which is a shame as information technology's the best place to reinforce your letters. Typically, your presentation has a specific goal - that could be to convert a number of the audience members into customers, lead to a certain number of enquiries to brand people knowledgeable on specific key points, or to motivate them towards a shared goal.

Regardless of what that goal is, be sure to summarise your primary points and their implications. This clarifies the overall purpose of your talk and reinforces your reason for being in that location.

Follow these steps:

• Betoken that information technology'southward virtually the end of your presentation, for example, "Every bit nosotros wrap up/as we wind downward the talk…"
• Restate the topic and purpose of your presentation - "In this speech I wanted to compare…"
• Summarise the main points, including their implications and conclusions
• Bespeak what is side by side/a call to action/a thought-provoking takeaway
• Move on to the final section

five. Thank the audience and invite questions

Conclude your talk past thanking the audition for their fourth dimension and invite them to ask any questions they may have. Every bit mentioned before, personal circumstances volition affect the structure of your presentation.

Many presenters prefer to make the Q&A session the key function of their talk and try to speed through the main body of the presentation. This is totally fine, but it is nevertheless best to focus on delivering some sort of initial presentation to prepare the tone and topics for discussion in the Q&A.

Other common presentation structures

The in a higher place was a description of a basic presentation, here are some more specific presentation layouts:

Sit-in

Use the sit-in structure when you lot have something useful to show. This is usually used when you want to prove how a product works. Steve Jobs frequently used this technique in his presentations.

• Explain why the production is valuable.
• Depict why the product is necessary.
• Explain what problems it tin solve for the audience.
• Demonstrate the product to support what y'all've been saying.
• Make suggestions of other things it can do to make the audience curious.

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

• Briefly frame the issue.
• Go into the issue in detail showing why it 's such a trouble. Apply logos and pathos for this - the logical and emotional appeals.
• Provide the solution and explain why this would also assist the audience.
• Telephone call to action - something you desire the audience to practise which is straightforward and pertinent to the solution.

Storytelling

As well every bit incorporating stories in your presentation, y'all can organise your whole presentation as a story. There are lots of dissimilar type of story structures you tin can utilize - a popular option is the monomyth - the hero's journey. In a monomyth, a hero goes on a hard journey or takes on a challenge - they movement from the familiar into the unknown. Later on facing obstacles and ultimately succeeding the hero returns home, transformed and with newfound wisdom.

Another popular choice for using a story to structure your presentation is in media ras (in the middle of thing). In this type of story y'all launch right into the action past providing a snippet/teaser of what'southward happening and so yous start explaining the events that led to that outcome. This is engaging because you're starting your story at the most exciting role which volition make the audience curious - they'll want to know how you got in that location.

• Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

The remaining method construction is good for situations where you're presenting your perspective on a controversial topic which has split people'south opinions.

• Briefly frame the issue.
• Go into the issue in detail showing why it'due south such a problem - use logos and pathos.
• Rebut your opponents' solutions - explicate why their solutions could be useful considering the audition will see this as fair and will therefore retrieve yous're trustworthy, and and then explain why y'all recollect these solutions are not valid.
• After yous've presented all the alternatives provide your solution, the remaining solution. This is very persuasive because it looks similar the winning thought, especially with the audience assertive that you're fair and trustworthy.

Transitions

When delivering presentations it'south important for your words and ideas to menstruum and then your audition tin can understand how everything links together and why it's all relevant. This can exist done using speech transitions which are words and phrases that permit you to smoothly movement from one betoken to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified.

Transitions can be one word, a phrase or a total sentence - at that place are many different forms, here are some examples:

Moving from the introduction to the first point

Signify to the audience that yous will now begin discussing the beginning main point:

• Now that you're aware of the overview, let's brainstorm with...
• Showtime, let's begin with...
• I will first cover...
• My commencement point covers...
• To get started, permit's look at...

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

• In the same manner...
• Likewise...
• Every bit...
• This is like to...
• Similarly...

Internal summaries

Internal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next bespeak. You must inform the audience:

• What part of the presentation you lot covered - "In the first function of this speech we've covered..."
• What the key points were - "Precisely how..."
• How this links in with the overall presentation - "So that's the context..."
• What yous're moving on to - "At present I'd similar to motion on to the second office of presentation which looks at..."

Physical movement

Yous can move your torso and your continuing location when you transition to another point. The audience find information technology easier to follow your presentation and move will increase their interest.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Kickoff your introduction by standing in the centre of the phase.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second betoken from the centre again.
• You stand up on the correct side of the phase for your third bespeak.
• The decision occurs in the centre.

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Key slides for your presentation

Slides are a useful tool for most presentations: they can greatly assistance in the delivery of your message and aid the audience follow along with what you are maxim. Central slides include:

• An intro slide outlining your ideas
• A summary slide with core points to remember
• High quality image slides to supplement what you are saying

There are some presenters who choose non to use slides at all, though this is more than of a rarity. Slides tin be a powerful tool if used properly, only the problem is that many fail to exercise simply that. Here are some gilded rules to follow when using slides in a presentation:

1. Don't over fill them - your slides are at that place to assistance your speech, rather than be the focal point. They should take as little information as possible, to avoid distracting people from your talk.
2. A picture says a thousand words - instead of filling a slide with text, instead, focus on one or two images or diagrams to help support and explain the point you are discussing at that time.
3. Make them readable - depending on the size of your audience, some may not be able to see pocket-size text or images, and then make everything large enough to fill the space.
4. Don't rush through slides - give the audition enough time to digest each slide.

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a ten-xx-30 rule:

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides - people rarely remember more than ane concept subsequently so there's no signal overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will go out time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk then less information on the slides ways that there is less run a risk of the audience being distracted.

Here are some additional resources for slide blueprint:

• 7 design tips for constructive, cute PowerPoint presentations
• eleven design tips for beautiful presentations
• 10 tips on how to brand slides that communicate your thought

Group Presentations

Group presentations are structured in the same way equally presentations with one speaker simply usually crave more rehearsal and practices. Make clean transitioning betwixt speakers is very important in producing a presentation that flows well. One way of doing this consists of:

• Briefly recap on what yous covered in your section: "So that was a brief introduction on what health anxiety is and how information technology tin can bear upon somebody"
• Introduce the adjacent speaker in the team and explain what they will hash out: "At present Elnaz volition talk about the prevalence of health anxiety."
• So cease by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: "Elnaz".
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: "Cheers Joe."

From this example you can see how the unlike sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

Instance of great presentation construction and delivery

Having examples of groovy presentations will help inspire your own structures, here are a few such examples, each unique and inspiring in their own fashion.

How Google Works - by Eric Schmidt

This presentation past ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt demonstrates some of the most important lessons he and his team have learnt with regards to working with some of the near talented individuals they hired. The simplistic nonetheless cohesive style of all of the slides is something to exist appreciated. They are relatively straightforward, nonetheless add power and clarity to the narrative of the presentation.

Start with why - by Simon Sinek

Since being released in 2009, this presentation has been viewed almost iv meg times all around the world. The message itself is very powerful, however, it's non an idea that hasn't been heard before. What makes this presentation so powerful is the simple bulletin he is getting across, and the straightforward and understandable mode in which he delivers it. Also note that he doesn't utilise any slides, just a whiteboard where he creates a simple diagram of his opinion.

The Wisdom of a 3rd Grade Dropout - by Rick Rigsby

Hither'south an example of a presentation given by a relatively unknown individual looking to inspire the side by side generation of graduates. Rick's presentation is unique in many ways compared to the two above. Notably, he uses no visual prompts and includes a great deal of humor.

Yet, what is similar is the construction he uses. He first introduces his message that the wisest human he knew was a third-grade dropout. He then proceeds to deliver his master body of argument, and in the end, concludes with his message. This powerful speech keeps the viewer engaged throughout, through a mixture of middle-warming sentiment, powerful life communication and engaging humour.

As you lot can see from the examples to a higher place, and equally information technology has been expressed throughout, a great presentation structure means analysing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message yous want to impart the audience with, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

By preparing a solid structure, and practising your talk beforehand, you can walk into the presentation with conviction and deliver a meaningful bulletin to an interested audition.

In summary

It'south important for a presentation to be well-structured then information technology tin have the most impact on your audience. An unstructured presentation can be hard to follow and even frustrating to heed to. The heart of your speech are your main points supported by prove and your transitions should aid the movement between points and clarify how everything is linked.

Inquiry suggests that the audience remember the first and last things you say so your introduction and conclusion are vital for reinforcing your points. Essentially, ensure y'all spend the time structuring your presentation and addressing all of the sections.

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Source: https://virtualspeech.com/blog/how-to-structure-your-presentation

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