Perspectives
Creating Presentations
by Shirley Fine Lee
When asked to give a
presentation, consider using the four P’s of presentation steps to help you
with your creation. The four P’s are: Plan, Prepare, Practice, and Perform.
. This article will address steps one and two, which are about planning and
preparing the presentation.
1. During Plan, you
will consider your audience and why you are giving the presentation along with
what generally appeals to them and why they may want to know about your
subject. You will determine with the person requesting the presentation how
much time you will have and what type of visual aids may be relevant and
usable at the location of final presentation. You can find some hints in the
Briefing section of the book “R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizards’ Approach” that
aids in development of planning questions to ask during this step such as:
- When
do I need to be there? Date of presentation with start/end times and
location. Who will be there? Description of primary audience and names of
decision makers.
- What
will appeal to this audience and why do they want to know about this
subject? Reason(s) presentation is necessary or relevant to this
audience.
- What
types of supporting documents and audio/visuals are preferred by audience?
Items such as projection or handouts that are preferred by or available
with this audience.
- How
much of presentation time should be allowed for questions and answers at
the end? Most presentations are followed by Q&A from audience to
speaker and knowing the desired timeframe allows better time allotment of
prepared speaking points.
2. Prepare your
presentation by thinking about both the beginning and ending, and then add the
detail in the middle that supports your strong start and end. Now that you
know what to say and are aware of your visual aid limitation, think about how
you can make the presentation memorable by developing any visuals that may
accompany the presentation making sure their flow matches the presentation.
When developing visuals, remember you don’t want people fumbling with
handouts or noting spelling errors when they could be listening. When
preparing, consider what the Presentation Plan form in the book “R.A!R.A! A
Meeting Wizards’ Approach” suggests as possible outline questions for a
briefing presentation:
- Why
are we here? Reasons presentation is necessary or desirable at this
time.
- What
have we done? History, work, or statistics related to purpose or
presentation.
- What
do we plan to do? Possible future outcomes or actions as result of
presentation or decision to be made based on presentation.
- What
have we learned? Summary of presentation or recommendations.
- What
have we to share? Stories, statistics, charts, or other data to prove
points.
- What
do we need? Resources to facilitate presentation and discussion or to
accomplish actions.
With the Plan and Prepare steps, you have learned to ask questions to help you
develop speaking points and visuals aids.
To understand the Practice
and Perform steps, see article on “Delivering Presentations”, which will
be part 2 in next month’s issue.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
About the
Author: Shirley Fine Lee has considerable
training and expertise in leading effective meetings and projects, as well as
training others within the corporate world to be able to do the same. Her
book, "R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizard's Approach", is a much-needed guide
to planning and conducting meetings so that they are as productive, effectual,
and smoothly run as possible. Find out more about her, her books, and learning
options she provides on her website http://www.shirleyfinelee.com.