Now you can begin to put your presentation together. Don't start by rushing to gather content. Every good piece of work begins with a plan or a blueprint. For your presentation, that blueprint is its structure—the order of topics and how you connect them. In this topic, you'll look at the factors you need to consider when structuring your presentation.
Presentation structure is like an architectural tour
Most architectural tours tend to follow a similar format. The tour begins in a lobby or entrance hall. You then move from one room to another. And finally, you return to the lobby or entrance hall.
Why are these tours structured this way?
Start in the lobby or entrance hall
Architectural tours start in the lobby or entrance hall so you can sense the building's contents as you see wings, hallways, and staircases leading off in various directions.
Move from one room to another
You move from one room to another because each one has different features and content and a story.
Return to the entrance hall
You return to the entrance hall so you can review the building as a whole and remember what you've seen.
How to structure your presentation
Explore a similar structure for a presentation. Your presentation should have an opening, a body, and a closing.
Opening
- Your presentation's opening should state your title and overall theme.
- This is where you put your agenda, which gives your audience an experience that is equivalent to looking down the various corridors to see where they will be going.
- Sometimes you'll start with an introduction or a story—something to warm up your audience. When you do, make sure it leads directly into your main idea, the way a front door might lead into your entrance hall.
Body
- The body of your presentation is equivalent to touring the building.
- This is where you move through your ideas in a logical order, topic by topic, like walking down a corridor, and from one room to another.
Closing
- The closing of your presentation is like returning to the entrance hall.
- Don't forget to do this! In this section, you restate your main theme and briefly review your agenda. This helps people remember the big picture and the steps you took to get there.
How will your objectives and audience shape your presentation's structure?
You learned how important it is to identify your objectives and your audience. These details impact the structure of your presentation and the decisions you make enable you to clearly state your theme during your opening. They help determine which ideas to include and which to leave out, and they help order your agenda items so that they build logically to prove your point.
Next, examine the relationship between a presentation's objectives, audience, and structure.
How should Jay structure his presentation?
Jay is creating a presentation for members from another team. He wants to show them what his team has been doing, and he wants them to be impressed. He wants to share knowledge and evoke a specific feeling in his audience, who are members of another team. You need to help him structure his presentation.
Objective category
- Share knowledge
- Evoke feelings
Audience
- Members of another team
Consider this question and decide on option 1 or 2. Check the correct choice for feedback. How should Jay open his presentation?
- He should provide an overview of the team’s goals.
- He should provide an organizational chart to introduce the team.
How should Jay open his presentation?
The correct choice is: He should provide an overview of the team’s goals. Option 1 would make for a good opening. It represents the big picture—the larger theme of his presentation. He should present an overview of the team’s goals before getting into details of the team’s composition and structure (option 2).
Consider this question and decide on option 1 or 2. Check the correct choice for feedback. What else should Jay include in his opening?
- The significance of the goals.
- The importance of the accomplishments.
What else should Jay include in his opening?
The correct choice is: The significance of the goals.Option 1 would make a good addition to Jay’s opening. One of his objectives is to impress the other team. By explaining why the goals are important, he can set the stage for impressing the audience later with his team’s accomplishments (option 2).
Consider this question and decide on option 1 or 2. Check the correct choice for feedback. What should Jay include in the body?
- A separate chart for each accomplishment.
- A single chart detailing all the accomplishments.
What should Jay include in the body?
The correct choice is: A separate chart for each accomplishment. Option 1 would be good to include in the presentation’s body. This option aligns with Jay’s objective of sharing knowledge. By creating a chart for each accomplishment, he can present more details about it without overwhelming his audience with too much information on one slide. By using separate charts for his team’s accomplishments, he can thoroughly explain how each goal was reached.
Consider this question and decide on option 1 or 2. Check the correct choice for feedback. What should Jay include in the closing?
- A review of a chart, showing all moving parts and choices made.
- A simple review that shows the big picture.
What should Jay include in the closing?
The correct choice is: A simple review that shows the big picture.It would be better if Jay closes his presentation using option 2. He should describe how all the points he covered tie into the overall theme of his presentation. Jay’s summary should present a simple review of how the team met the goals they had set for themselves. This will help Jay in meeting his objectives of sharing knowledge and impressing his audience.
How much information should you include?
The short answer is: Include only what's needed.
Presenters often think that the more they pack into their presentation, the greater its impact. You've probably sat through presentations that contain a lot of information. Too much material clutters your message and weakens it instead of making it stronger. Experiments have repeatedly demonstrated that the more you include, the less people remember. You should include only the information needed to reach your goal.
If you think some people might be interested in details, give them additional information later, in an email or a handout.
Key learning points in this topic
- Structure your presentation to include an opening, body, and closing.
- Consider the impact of objectives and audience on the structure of your presentation.
- The amount of information to include in your presentation should include only what's needed to reach your goal.
- If you think some people might be interested in more details, give them additional information later.