How to Organize A Presentation

April 7, 2021 11:12am

Adapted from the webinar “Organizing a Presentation” by Micah Fry, MA Communication

Many people fear or don’t feel confident in speaking in front of people. One of the best ways to overcome this fear is by being prepared! Preparation includes organizing your presentation and practicing it. The first step to this is to organize the speech. There are three parts to every presentation – the introduction, speech body, and conclusion. Here are some tips on how what to include in each and how to organize them to ensure the best, most effective oral presentation.

Introduction

A strong introduction is vital. There are four ways to create a strong introduction. First, you want to get your audience’s attention. You can do this by sharing an interesting story or fact for example. After drawing your audience in, you want to tell them exactly what the point of your speech is. This is called your central idea or your thesis statement. It can be one complete sentence that encapsulates your speech. You should note that you wouldn’t want to start this sentence by saying, “In this speech, I will.” The central idea of this speech should be independent. Consider having a subject of your speech also be a subject of this sentence. Next, you will state your credibility to speak on the topic. If you aren’t necessarily an expert on the topic, you can share how the topic relates to you. Finally, you will preview the main points you will be covering in your presentation. Depending on your presentation, an introduction may include parts beyond these four, but these four are a great place to start when check listing your introduction. You might also want to provide some background information or context for your audience if they aren’t familiar with your topic.

Speech Body

Within the body of the presentation, it is important to obtain and keep your audience’s attention. The best way to achieve this is to select your main points and limit them. Ideally, you will want to stick with between two and four main points. This may change depending on the length of the presentation. For each main point, you’ll discuss it using evidence to support that point. Once your main points have been established, you’ll want to create strong transitions that can tie them together. This will help your speech to feel less like you are jumping from one point to another and more like a cohesive presentation.

Conclusion

The final part of the speech is the last thing your audience will hear, which makes it most important. A good conclusion is key. You’ll want to recap those main points to wrap everything up. This repetition also helps your audience to remember the information you have shared. At this point, you will have previewed the main points in the introduction, spoken about them in the body, and then recapped them again in your conclusion. The final thing you want to do is to leave your audience thinking in some way. The conclusion should end with an additional concluding device. This might be a quote or dramatic statement. It could even tie back into a story you shared in the introduction.

As you prepare the body of your presentation, keep an eye out for information that might make an interesting attention-getter or a strong concluding device. As the body of your presentation begins to come together, begin to work on your introduction and conclusion. Once all of the parts are completely outlined, it will be important to be sure to practice, practice, practice before giving your speech!