Presentation Skills: It’s the Structure That Counts

How often do you sit through presentations that are clear, concise and easy to follow?

If this is a regular occurrence count yourself lucky, as I find that a common problem with presentations is that they tend to be too long, difficult to follow and with no clear take away messages.

Why is this?

Simple, the presenters haven’t given sufficient thought to the structure of their presentation.

In fact I have seen in the training room over and over again how having a clear structure can transform your presentations overnight!

There are four simple steps to improving the structure of your presentations

1. Breakdown your presentation into chunks, ideally somewhere between 2 and 5 chunks to aid audience recall.

2. Give each chunk a heading, which combined form the agenda for your presentation.  Don’t forget to share the agenda with your audience at the start of the presentation.

3. Each chunk should have a key point; it works like a mini summary so the audience is clear on the take-away message.

4. End with a clear, concise summary.

By following these simple steps your presentations will be clearer, easier to follow and your audiences will understand what your key messages are.

You may even find that they love you for it!