Unless your client accepts your suggestions it is unlikely that you will get agreement. There are many ways to get that agreement, the formal presentation is just one of them.
Table of Contents
The approach and structure
The structure of a presentation is key, there must be a logical flow to allow you formulate your thoughts and to encourage your audience to follow that train of thought.
At a very basic level, the structure is in three distinct but related areas. The areas are the introduction, the middle and the close. They serve the following purposes:-
The Introduction
The introduction fulfils many roles:
- Immediate impact-establish credibility
- Introduce the subject
- Outline the agenda
- Set the objectives
- Warm the audience – grab attention
- Manage expectations
- Provide guidance -length of the presentation, when to ask questions, if handouts will be provided etc
The Middle
The middle of the presentation is the main body of content and must encompass the following.
- The musts – the objective of the presentation as outlined in the Introduction
- The shoulds – extra material in addition to the objectives of the presentation to allow flexibility and the varied needs of the audience. Pitching the content just ‘spot on’ is difficult, however, by building in flexibility you are prepared for various levels of understanding and knowledge.
- The coulds – this is the ‘nice to knows’. extra information that is not vital to the objectives or understanding of the content, but could make the subject matter more interesting or palatable.
- Also, prepare material for the main body that allows the audience to build on their comprehension and understanding. In other words, take them from the known to the unknown and from the general to the very specific or detailed
The Close
The close is as vital as the introduction and the main body, it closes down the presentation professionally and ensures that the attending audience is clear about the content. Additionally, consider the following:
- It must have an air of finality – finish and start with a bang. le. impact, never a whimper!
- Summarise the main or key elements of the message
- It makes a statement that the presentation has finished and questions, if appropriate, may begin.
- It ensures that the presentation is aligned with the introduction statements
- It can be visionary – state that this is only one of a programme of presentations
- Take the opportunity to reiterate your name and offer contact details, additional material, handouts etc
- Get an agreement!