Summary
A discussion of Presentations formats and structures that are effective.
Presentation
Keep the message(s) simple. A presentation that has one or two strong, clear messages is better than a presentation that is "comprehensive". We can leave comprehensiveness to a handout.
If you were able to say only one sentence to the audience what would it be? Once you have that sentence, use it as a theme that runs through your talk.
Then use this formula:
-
tell 'em what you're going to say (i.e. the sentence)
- use this section to give a high level outline of the rest of the presentation
- talk about the sentence from two or three different perspectives
-
tell 'em, or better yet, show 'em (i.e. the sentence)
- use this section to make the key concepts underlying the sentence concrete
- show them what the sentence means using a demo
- show them various aspects about the sentence using examples
- talk about some non-obvious consequences of the sentence
- talk about the positives and negatives (pros/cons) of the sentence
-
tell 'em what you said (i.e. the sentence)
- Use this section to provide a conclusion that your sentence is solid and correct
- re-iterate the sentence referring back to key bits and pieces from the rest of the presentation.
- if possible, use simple, straightforward "if A then B" style logic
- imagine that section 2 above was ripped out. Does this section flow from section 1?