It is recommended that you read 9 simple steps before reading the post presented below. If you have already read it, please keep in mind that this is 4th Step in presenting the information and you will have information from first three steps.


A presentation that does not flow very well will confuse and distract the audience. Organized information is usually remembered well and makes a better impact. Imagine a presentation on global warming. The presenter starts with how global warming is harming the earth and then gives some examples and then defines the concept of global warming. If I were to listen this and had no idea about global warming, I would sit there with zero understanding of the first part till the concept is defined.

Okay, then how should information be organized?

As I mentioned in the previous article, remember the introduction, body and conclusion rule. Let’s look at what kind information should be included in these sections. As you might know, introduction should be where you tell the audience what this talk is going to be about. But what will make the introduction, body and conclusion sections more effective? Let’s look at them one by one.

Introductions

As mentioned before, this is where you tell the audience what you will be saying. The trick is to tell them that in a way they become interested in what’s about to come. But don’t tell them too much either. Introduction is where you grab their attention. You can do this by either asking a question or presenting a thought-provoking statement. There are many other ways you could grab your audience’s attention.

Body

Once you have the attention, next thing is to keep your audience interested. In introduction part of the speech, you have already told your audience what you are going to present. In this part, which is the main part of the speech, organize the information – those facts, data and ideas in an engaging way. Balance the information you include, with the time and audience’s interest.

Elaborate some of your main points in this section. If you have an argument to make, present it and then emphasize it with support statements, facts or statistics.

Conclusions

In previous sections you have told the audience what you will talk about, then you talked about what you told them you would talk about and now in conclusion, tell them that you talked about, what you told them you will talk about. Confused? In this section you should summarize the information you presented in the previous sections.

This is the final chance to present your point of view. Tell them in a way that it reinforces your ideas. This is the last part of the speech – the end part. A punch in the conclusion is required to make the message memorable. As they say, “all is well that ends well.”

Depending on the type of speech, your conclusion will be different. If you are giving a motivational speech, a conclusion may end with a quote or if it’s a persuasive speech, conclusion can have a call for action. Think about what type of speech it is and prepare a conclusion supporting the topic.

So, is that all?

Wait. There is one important thing besides these sections. That is, to make sure there is flow and good transition between these sections.

Transition should be smooth and natural. Transitions can be made natural by using simple words. You do not need long sentences or detailed statements. Some other tactics are phrases, simple sentences and small questions. A smooth transition will be an icing on the cake.

How do you do it?

Let’s hear from our readers, what do you do to organize your presentations? Are there any favorite transition tricks? If you were to present, what else would you include?

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  1. 9 Basic Steps to Giving a Great Presentation