How to: Structure the Introduction for your Next Presentation
It is important to plan and structure your presentations.
All good presentations are structured. So you should take the time before your next presentation to plan out your presentation. Also don’t forget you only have 7 to 10 seconds to make a good impression.
What is the one thing that you want your audience to remember after the presentation?
Before you start any planning, start by identifying the one thing that you want your audience to remember after the presentation. What is your key message? What makes your presentation worthwhile? The rest of your presentation should then underpin this and bring your audience to this point.
Your Introduction
Once you have your objective you can then happily plan out your introduction.
- Think about what your audience is going to get from your presentation. Talk about the benefits, why they are there, why they should listen.
- Who are you and how are you going to introduce yourself? How will you make them remember you and what is important for them to know?
- What admin do they need to know about? At an in-person event, what safety information do they need to know? Online – how are you running any Q&A, and if you have slides and worksheets etc what resources will they be sent after the presentation.
Notes
You can use notes to plan your presentations, but any notes used during a presentation, should only be prompts. It is important that you engage and connect with your audience so that you make a good first impression and maintain their interest.
Further Reading:
