Presentation Skills
Having an outline for your presentation can be helpful every step of the way when creating and giving your presentation. An outline can make it easier when building your materials and running the live presentation. As well as help you map out key points, consider the order of your content, plan visuals, and set an agenda for your final presentation. Some helpful tips to consider when creating an outline are:
Are you persuading? Educating? Selling? Consider what you want to accomplish and who your presentation is aimed at.
Write out all the main points you need to speak on, then build them out with sub-points. Move them around as needed to find an order that works for you.
With your main points done, begin making connections with your research, and think of how you can transition between points.
Once you have a final outline you can turn it into an agenda. Having an agenda slide in your presentation lays out the structure of your presentation and shows progression. You can highlight each of your talking points by using section headers.
You can include an agenda at the beginning of your presentation, before each new section, or anywhere your audience might need a reminder.
Communication coach Alex Lyon gives an in-depth look at how to organize a presentation or speech including the introduction, body, and conclusion.
Structuring your content is an important part of an effective presentation. It's important to know what to include in your presentation and when to include it.
Complete the activity below to learn how to structure your presentation. You can also use the tip sheets below as a quick reference when you are creating future presentations.
