Sunday, October 9, 2016

Public Speaking - How to Structure your Presentation



Send your comments on this PRESENTATION STRUCTURE diagram to: sofia@speak2us.com.au

Whether you know it or not, any talk or presentation you give to an audience will consist of these components:


- You will have an Opening, even if it is just you walking on to the stage and beginning to speak.
- As a courtesy, especially for a longer talk, you will give the audience an overview Signpost of  what you will be covering in your talk.  The signpost is also the place where you may have to give  the audience some "housekeeping" details, e.g. the timing of your talk, the point at which you will have Question time. (Don't leave Question Time until the very end because then it can be a very untidy end to your presentation with, sometimes, people leaving the room before you have a chance to give a summary and close.
- The Body of your Talk.  Your talk will be on more than one element of your topic.  The Rule of Three  works well here.  This is where you start writing your talk. Don't waste time thinking of the title - it will reveal itself in the body of your talk.  Very probably, so will the Close of your talk.
- If there's Question Time, place it after the body of your talk.  (Email me if you want to know the reasons for this)
- Summary:  this is where you can acknowledge questions raised in Question Time.  You can even introduce some material you may have forgotten to mention.
- Call to action: What do you want your audience to do, after you have finished speaking? If it is "nothing"  Why are you there?  Why are they listening?  It can be as little as "Now you are better informed on this topic" through to "Now you have seen what benefits body organ donation can result in, and you can sign up right here and now."

- Close: Here you may repeat what I call your absolute statement.  

If you had only 30 seconds to give this presentation - what would be your statement? In one sentence?   Make sure that everything in your talk is congruent with this one absolute statement.




9 comments:

  1. To be a great speaker, you need to first be a good reader. Read lots of books, case studies and white papers to improve on your language, vocabulary and latest news.
    Presentation Skills Training Bangalore | Team Building Training in Bangalore

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not really. It's better to tell your OWN story. When you are speaking to an audience - it's good to be confident in your mind, body and voice - and you get that by practising and preparing - which is 90% of your task - and the 10% is the glory of speaking, sharing and creating a shift in the minds of your audience. Happy to come to Bangalore and demonstrate for you! kind regards, sofia

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Thank you Ilyas. If you could do only one thing to improve your public speaking, it would be to read out loud from a children's story book. Children love drama and magic - so you would practise your vocal variety by reading dramatically, as if you were on stage!

      Delete
  3. English speaking is not so tough as you think, just you need to work on it constantly and this language is individually very important.
    Soft Skills Skills Training in Bangalore | Communication Skills Training in Bangalore

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed. Like many skills, it's better to practise 20 minutes EVERY day than one hour every week! Cheers,

      Delete
  4. Thank you Milestone 3 for publicising your services on my Speak2usCommunication blogsite. I would like the opportunity to visit Hong Kong, meet with you and discuss our mutual interest in professional speaking. This year I am partnering with Garry Mills Performance Coach to deliver Speaking Skills workshops - especially designed for executives, managers and people in IT and Client Services. Best Wishes for 2017!

    ReplyDelete
  5. its just need prepapration ,and then complete the mission :)

    Catering Semarang

    ReplyDelete