Aug 03 2007
Professional Presentations Succeed At The Planning Stage
As with all things in life, the quality of the preparation affects the final outcome and this is certainly true when it comes to planning and preparing a presentation.
I have experimented with a number of methods over the years but I do believe that the simplest are usually the best.
The Collection: Over a period of time think all round the subject and note down on a large sheet of paper or indeed several sheets, everything that comes into your head about the subject of your presentation. This is rather like a personal brain storming session and should be done roughly, in the order in which the thoughts occur; do not attempt to write a speech at this stage.
The Central Theme: This second method requires you to decide on the exact message you want to get across and writing it down in one simple sentence. Then you think all around the sentence, scribbling down the ideas as they come to you - this method is almost identical to ‘mind-mapping.
Before selecting or rejecting any idea, it is important to decide:-
• Who are my audience?
• How much do they know already?
• How much time will I be allowed?
Having taken account of the answers to those three key questions, it should be possible to answer one further one -
• What do I want to say?
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