meaning of presentation plan

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How to Plan a Presentation

Last Updated: October 8, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 229,549 times.

Presentation planning is a useful and necessary skill in the professional world as well as school. Whether you need to sell a product, or get a passing grade in your class, planning a presentation takes time and dedication. You will want to figure out the best way to construct your material, considering your audience and your presentation's message. From there, work on building your slides and materials. Assemble information in a logical order that best illustrates your point. Practice your presentation regularly before delivering it. This can help you figure out any information that should be cut or restructured.

Assembling Your Best Material

• Write down your most important points. See if you notice a key point emerging. If your audience were to take away one thing from this presentation, what would it be?
• Don't just bombard your audience with facts. Think about what these facts do for your audience. What's the point you're trying to make with the information?

• Are you trying to sell them a product, introduce them to a new idea, alter their way of thinking?
• Think about the kind of people in your audience. Do you have a tougher crowd, or do you have a group of enthusiastic people excited about what you're going to say?

• For example, if you're talking to a company about recycling program, you might discuss how corporate pollution contributes to global warming and how recycling can help the company save money. You wouldn't discuss the melting ice caps as a key point.
• Melting ice caps are a valid concern, but they are a fact or a supporting point.

• Add clarity to your argument by explaining anything the audience may not understand. For example: a brief overview of pollution's effect on climate change.
• Add authority by making connections with existing research, studies, and information. For example, you could mention the consensus in the scientific community that global warming is manmade and cite a few studies.
• Add color to your argument through visuals, like pictures and videos. For instance, you could show a chart of the amount of waste an average corporation produces in one month.

Finding a Trajectory for the Presentation

• Include the basics of introducing yourself. You can say something like, "I'm Clara Thompson from Clean Water Action, and I would like to address your company today."
• Get your audience's attention with a question or a fact. For example, you could ask: "Have you ever passed a body of water covered in green sludge and wondered how this happened? The answer may surprise you."
• You don’t have to write your presentation in chronological order. If you want to work on your main points first and save the introduction for last, you can.

• For example, you're trying to get the corporation to alter their recycling program. Start by overviewing the vast amount of corporate pollution in the world.
• Explain the consequences of this. Show how pollution contributes to climate change, then show what the corporation can do through changes in their policies.

• Common linking statements include things like, "Another important issue...," "Based on this data, you can now see..." and, "This brings me to my main point..."
• For example, "Now that I've shown you the effects of corporate pollution, this brings me to my main point. What can you do to stop it?"

• If you have any graphs or diagrams that will help illustrate your point, use them. Physically seeing information can help make your point more clear.
• You should also see if there are any videos you can include. A brief video of someone succinctly explaining an issue can shake things up a bit.
• Pictures are also nice. Each slide should have a picture related to the topic at hand.
• Make sure not to overuse graphics or visuals. Too many could be overwhelming or distracting for your audience.

• You only need one slide. Recap what your point was. Begin with something like, "As you can see..." and then briefly repeat your main point.
• A visual can help as well. Try adding one last visual aid that sums up your point. A graph or diagram would work well here.

Practicing Your Presentation

• If you're taking longer, cut some information out. You do not want to talk fast to include all information, as this can make you difficult to understand.
• For accuracy, talk in your regular voice. Do not speak too fast or too slow. You want to make sure you can fit in all information talking at a normal rate.

• Are any facts extraneous? It's great to illustrate the effects of global warming, but do you really need five examples of environmental decay? Try to cut it down to two or three.

• You should sound enthusiastic when presenting. Talk without hesitance, and don't use filler words, like "um" or "uh."
• Don't jump between topics. Use your linking sentences, and say things like, "And this brings me to the following..."
• Watch the time. Make sure your presentation isn't going on for too long.
• Watch yourself give the presentation in a mirror so you can correct any distracting movements or gestures.

• Don’t read the information off of your visuals since it could affect your engagement between yourself and the audience.

How Should You End a Presentation?

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislative-staff/legislative-staff-coordinating-committee/tips-for-making-effective-powerpoint-presentations.aspx
• ↑ https://www.comm.pitt.edu/oral-comm-lab/audience-analysis
• ↑ https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/presentations/planning
• ↑ https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/10551/partsofapresentation.pdf
• ↑ https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/sites/default/files/Oral_presentations_signalling_2014_Accessible.pdf
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-conclude-a-presentation
• ↑ https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studyingeffectively/preparing/presentations/delivering.aspx
• ↑ https://www.gvsu.edu/ours/oral-presentation-tips-30.htm

About This Article

To plan your presentation, start by spending 5 to 10% of your time summarizing your research and linking it to a main point. A good way to start is with a key question or fact. Then, follow this summary with your research and work, which should take up 60 to 70% of the presentation. This is the body of your presentation, and should be made up of 3 key ideas which lead to your main point. Keep reading for our reviewer’s tips on how to organize the body of your presentation! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Blog Beginner Guides How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 20, 2023

A top-notch presentation possesses the power to drive action. From winning stakeholders over and conveying a powerful message to securing funding — your secret weapon lies within the realm of creating an effective presentation .  

Being an excellent presenter isn’t confined to the boardroom. Whether you’re delivering a presentation at work, pursuing an academic career, involved in a non-profit organization or even a student, nailing the presentation game is a game-changer.

In this article, I’ll cover the top qualities of compelling presentations and walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to give a good presentation. Here’s a little tip to kick things off: for a headstart, check out Venngage’s collection of free presentation templates . They are fully customizable, and the best part is you don’t need professional design skills to make them shine!

These valuable presentation tips cater to individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, encompassing business professionals, sales and marketing teams, educators, trainers, students, researchers, non-profit organizations, public speakers and presenters. 

No matter your field or role, these tips for presenting will equip you with the skills to deliver effective presentations that leave a lasting impression on any audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

Step-by-step guide on how to prepare an effective presentation, 9 effective techniques to deliver a memorable presentation, faqs on making a good presentation, how to create a presentation with venngage in 5 steps.

When it comes to giving an engaging presentation that leaves a lasting impression, it’s not just about the content — it’s also about how you deliver it. Wondering what makes a good presentation? Well, the best presentations I’ve seen consistently exhibit these 10 qualities:

1. Clear structure

No one likes to get lost in a maze of information. Organize your thoughts into a logical flow, complete with an introduction, main points and a solid conclusion. A structured presentation helps your audience follow along effortlessly, leaving them with a sense of satisfaction at the end.

Regardless of your presentation style , a quality presentation starts with a clear roadmap. Browse through Venngage’s template library and select a presentation template that aligns with your content and presentation goals. Here’s a good presentation example template with a logical layout that includes sections for the introduction, main points, supporting information and a conclusion: 

2. Engaging opening

Hook your audience right from the start with an attention-grabbing statement, a fascinating question or maybe even a captivating anecdote. Set the stage for a killer presentation!

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – check out these 15 ways to start a presentation to set the stage and captivate your audience.

3. Relevant content

Make sure your content aligns with their interests and needs. Your audience is there for a reason, and that’s to get valuable insights. Avoid fluff and get straight to the point, your audience will be genuinely excited.

4. Effective visual aids

Picture this: a slide with walls of text and tiny charts, yawn! Visual aids should be just that—aiding your presentation. Opt for clear and visually appealing slides, engaging images and informative charts that add value and help reinforce your message.

With Venngage, visualizing data takes no effort at all. You can import data from CSV or Google Sheets seamlessly and create stunning charts, graphs and icon stories effortlessly to showcase your data in a captivating and impactful way.

5. Clear and concise communication

Keep your language simple, and avoid jargon or complicated terms. Communicate your ideas clearly, so your audience can easily grasp and retain the information being conveyed. This can prevent confusion and enhance the overall effectiveness of the message. 

6. Engaging delivery

Spice up your presentation with a sprinkle of enthusiasm! Maintain eye contact, use expressive gestures and vary your tone of voice to keep your audience glued to the edge of their seats. A touch of charisma goes a long way!

7. Interaction and audience engagement

Turn your presentation into an interactive experience — encourage questions, foster discussions and maybe even throw in a fun activity. Engaged audiences are more likely to remember and embrace your message.

Transform your slides into an interactive presentation with Venngage’s dynamic features like pop-ups, clickable icons and animated elements. Engage your audience with interactive content that lets them explore and interact with your presentation for a truly immersive experience.

8. Effective storytelling

Who doesn’t love a good story? Weaving relevant anecdotes, case studies or even a personal story into your presentation can captivate your audience and create a lasting impact. Stories build connections and make your message memorable.

A great presentation background is also essential as it sets the tone, creates visual interest and reinforces your message. Enhance the overall aesthetics of your presentation with these 15 presentation background examples and captivate your audience’s attention.

9. Well-timed pacing

Pace your presentation thoughtfully with well-designed presentation slides, neither rushing through nor dragging it out. Respect your audience’s time and ensure you cover all the essential points without losing their interest.

10. Strong conclusion

Last impressions linger! Summarize your main points and leave your audience with a clear takeaway. End your presentation with a bang , a call to action or an inspiring thought that resonates long after the conclusion.

In-person presentations aside, acing a virtual presentation is of paramount importance in today’s digital world. Check out this guide to learn how you can adapt your in-person presentations into virtual presentations . 

Preparing an effective presentation starts with laying a strong foundation that goes beyond just creating slides and notes. One of the quickest and best ways to make a presentation would be with the help of a good presentation software . 

Otherwise, let me walk you to how to prepare for a presentation step by step and unlock the secrets of crafting a professional presentation that sets you apart.

1. Understand the audience and their needs

Before you dive into preparing your masterpiece, take a moment to get to know your target audience. Tailor your presentation to meet their needs and expectations , and you’ll have them hooked from the start!

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

Time to hit the books (or the internet)! Don’t skimp on the research with your presentation materials — dive deep into the subject matter and gather valuable insights . The more you know, the more confident you’ll feel in delivering your presentation.

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

No one wants to stumble through a chaotic mess of information. Outline your presentation with a clear and logical flow. Start with a captivating introduction, follow up with main points that build on each other and wrap it up with a powerful conclusion that leaves a lasting impression.

Delivering an effective business presentation hinges on captivating your audience, and Venngage’s professionally designed business presentation templates are tailor-made for this purpose. With thoughtfully structured layouts, these templates enhance your message’s clarity and coherence, ensuring a memorable and engaging experience for your audience members.

Don’t want to build your presentation layout from scratch? pick from these 5 foolproof presentation layout ideas that won’t go wrong. 

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

Spice up your presentation with eye-catching visuals! Create slides that complement your message, not overshadow it. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, but that doesn’t mean you need to overload your slides with text.

Well-chosen designs create a cohesive and professional look, capturing your audience’s attention and enhancing the overall effectiveness of your message. Here’s a list of carefully curated PowerPoint presentation templates and great background graphics that will significantly influence the visual appeal and engagement of your presentation.

5. Practice, practice and practice

Practice makes perfect — rehearse your presentation and arrive early to your presentation to help overcome stage fright. Familiarity with your material will boost your presentation skills and help you handle curveballs with ease.

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and seek feedback from friends and colleagues. Constructive criticism can help you identify blind spots and fine-tune your presentation to perfection.

With Venngage’s real-time collaboration feature , receiving feedback and editing your presentation is a seamless process. Group members can access and work on the presentation simultaneously and edit content side by side in real-time. Changes will be reflected immediately to the entire team, promoting seamless teamwork.

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

Prepare for the unexpected by checking your equipment, internet connection and any other potential hiccups. If you’re worried that you’ll miss out on any important points, you could always have note cards prepared. Remember to remain focused and rehearse potential answers to anticipated questions.

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

As the big day approaches, give your presentation one last shine. Review your talking points, practice how to present a presentation and make any final tweaks. Deep breaths — you’re on the brink of delivering a successful presentation!

In competitive environments, persuasive presentations set individuals and organizations apart. To brush up on your presentation skills, read these guides on how to make a persuasive presentation and tips to presenting effectively . 

Whether you’re an experienced presenter or a novice, the right techniques will let your presentation skills soar to new heights!

From public speaking hacks to interactive elements and storytelling prowess, these 9 effective presentation techniques will empower you to leave a lasting impression on your audience and make your presentations unforgettable.

1. Confidence and positive body language

Positive body language instantly captivates your audience, making them believe in your message as much as you do. Strengthen your stage presence and own that stage like it’s your second home! Stand tall, shoulders back and exude confidence. 

2. Eye contact with the audience

Break down that invisible barrier and connect with your audience through their eyes. Maintaining eye contact when giving a presentation builds trust and shows that you’re present and engaged with them.

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

A little movement goes a long way! Emphasize key points with purposeful gestures and don’t be afraid to walk around the stage. Your energy will be contagious!

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

Weave the magic of storytelling into your presentation. Share relatable anecdotes, inspiring success stories or even personal experiences that tug at the heartstrings of your audience. Adjust your pitch, pace and volume to match the emotions and intensity of the story. Varying your speaking voice adds depth and enhances your stage presence.

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

Spice up your presentation with a dash of visual pizzazz! Use slides, images and video clips to add depth and clarity to your message. Just remember, less is more—don’t overwhelm them with information overload. 

Turn your presentations into an interactive party! Involve your audience with questions, polls or group activities. When they actively participate, they become invested in your presentation’s success. Bring your design to life with animated elements. Venngage allows you to apply animations to icons, images and text to create dynamic and engaging visual content.

6. Utilize humor strategically

Laughter is the best medicine—and a fantastic presentation enhancer! A well-placed joke or lighthearted moment can break the ice and create a warm atmosphere , making your audience more receptive to your message.

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

Be attentive to your audience’s reactions and feedback. If they have questions or concerns, address them with genuine interest and respect. Your responsiveness builds rapport and shows that you genuinely care about their experience.

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it!

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

Simplicity is key. Limit each slide to five bullet points, with only five words per bullet point and allow each slide to remain visible for about five seconds. This rule keeps your presentation concise and prevents information overload.

Simple presentations are more engaging because they are easier to follow. Summarize your presentations and keep them simple with Venngage’s gallery of simple presentation templates and ensure that your message is delivered effectively across your audience.

1. How to start a presentation?

To kick off your presentation effectively, begin with an attention-grabbing statement or a powerful quote. Introduce yourself, establish credibility and clearly state the purpose and relevance of your presentation.

2. How to end a presentation?

For a strong conclusion, summarize your talking points and key takeaways. End with a compelling call to action or a thought-provoking question and remember to thank your audience and invite any final questions or interactions.

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

To make your presentation interactive, encourage questions and discussion throughout your talk. Utilize multimedia elements like videos or images and consider including polls, quizzes or group activities to actively involve your audience.

In need of inspiration for your next presentation? I’ve got your back! Pick from these 120+ presentation ideas, topics and examples to get started. 

Creating a stunning presentation with Venngage is a breeze with our user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and professionally designed templates for all your communication needs. 

Here’s how to make a presentation in just 5 simple steps with the help of Venngage:

Step 1: Sign up for Venngage for free using your email, Gmail or Facebook account or simply log in to access your account. 

Step 2: Pick a design from our selection of free presentation templates (they’re all created by our expert in-house designers).

Step 3: Make the template your own by customizing it to fit your content and branding. With Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can easily modify text, change colors and adjust the layout to create a unique and eye-catching design.

Step 4: Elevate your presentation by incorporating captivating visuals. You can upload your images or choose from Venngage’s vast library of high-quality photos, icons and illustrations. 

Step 5: Upgrade to a premium or business account to export your presentation in PDF and print it for in-person presentations or share it digitally for free!

By following these five simple steps, you’ll have a professionally designed and visually engaging presentation ready in no time. With Venngage’s user-friendly platform, your presentation is sure to make a lasting impression. So, let your creativity flow and get ready to shine in your next presentation!

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Plan a Presentation for Success – 8 steps

September 03, 2023

Too many people, when they hear the word presentation, reach for their computer and switch to PowerPoint. That’s because they feel they are making progress by making slides. They pull information together, they lay out slides and admire their handiwork. Only then do they try to tell a story.

This is not the right way to plan a presentation..

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” Alexander Graham Bell

What to do instead: Plan a presentation using a story, a script and a plan

The process for presentation planning should be more like that of movie making. When you make a movie you only start filming at the end of the planning process. Before filming you have a story, a script and a plan.  It should be the same when you plan a presentation.

The better you plan a presentation, the easier it is to be successful. At first, it may feel frustrating that you are not writing slides. You may spent hours staring into space or doing research. But investing in proper planning will pay back many times over.

In the end by planning your presentation properly you will spend less time writing PowerPoint slides. You will spend less time editing and you will spend less time searching for a way to link the sections of your presentation together. You’ll also discover that practising and rehearsing is easier.

“There are three things that are important for a film. Number one is story, number two is story, number three is story. Good actors can save a bad script and make it bearable, but good actors can’t make a bad script good – they can just make it bearable.” Mark Strickson, TV producer & actor

Your 8 Step Presentation Plan

Let’s explore each of these presentation planning steps, one by one.

1. Start by using the AIM approach in your presentation plan

What is the first step in planning a presentation? AIM is an easy-to-apply first step so that your presentations are easier to prepare.

What typically goes wrong. Most people create presentations without proper planning. They start writing slides before they have decided what they really want to say.

Why is it important to plan a presentation?  Without an effective presentation plan you waste time and energy.   

What to do instead. Use AIM. Start with a blank sheet of paper and write the three letters A.I.M. across the top. In each of these columns start writing what you know about A: Audience , I: Your intent , (or Purpose) and M: your take-away Message .

See the next three paragraphs for more detail on A, I and M.

“Proper planning prevents poor performance” James Baker, former US Secretary of State

Contact us for a free consultation on your coaching needs

2. Presentation planning : Who’s your audience and what do they need?

Shortcut Summary : Your audience, not you, should be centre of attention in your presentation. The better you understand your audience, the better your talk will be.

What typically goes wrong : When people give presentations about their latest project, they talk about their latest project. If they are reporting quarterly results, they report quarterly results. If they are speaking about their new business, they tell the audience about their new business. If explaining a new piece of regulation, they talk about elements of that regulation.

The problem with this approach is you are not including your audience in your talk. And if you don’t include your audience, your audience will be disengaged.

Why does this matter?  Audiences are selfish. They like being talked about.

What to do instead. Your talk should be about what your subject means for the audience. For example these are good titles for a presentation:

• “What you can learn from our latest project.”
• “Our quarterly results and what they mean for your department next quarter.”
• “How our new business can make you money.”
• “What the new regulations mean for you and your clients”

To do this, you must understand your audience. That means asking questions about them and getting under their skin. For example, some questions you may have could include:

ABOUT BACKGROUND

• Who is coming to this talk?
• What common reference points can I use?
• What experiences have they shared?

ABOUT MOTIVATION

• Why are they coming?
• What problems do they have?
• What do they need and want?
• What will make life easy for them?

ABOUT EXPECTATIONS

• What would they like me to talk about?
• What would victory feel like for them?
• What will make them sit up?

ABOUT CONNECTING

• What can I say that will show them I am on their side?
• What stories will resonate?
• How can I add value?

ABOUT EMOTIONAL POSITION

• What frame of mind will they be in?
• What should I avoid talking about?
• What will make them feel good?
• What can I say at the start to win them over?

ABOUT MAKING IT EASY FOR THEM

• What specific language should I use?
• How should I position what I am talking about for this audience?
• What phrases will resonate?

The more you learn about your audience, the better you know them and the better you can plan your talk for them.

“Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it: To Whom It May Concern.” Ken Haemer, presentation designe r

• Before any talk, analyse the audience.
• Research them.
• Make sure you really know them and their needs before you start planning what to say.

3. How to plan a presentation – What are you trying to achieve?

Summary : Decide early the intent or purpose to your talk. This will help you direct your efforts to achieve your goals.

What typically goes wrong : “I’m going to talk about…” is a typical answer to the question “Why are you doing this talk?” But talking about something is of no use to anyone. It is pointless.

For example these are bad intents:

• “I’m talking about our new project”
• “I’m talking about the new regulations”
• “A pitch about our new fund”
• “An introduction to ABCX co”
• “Monthly board report”

Why does this matter? For a talk to work it requires a clear purpose. When you know your purpose you can harness your talk to achieve just that.

What to do instead : Decide your intent. For example, when I asked a Chief Financial Officer recently what was the intent of his presentation, he was clear: he said that he “Wanted to look like the next CEO of this business.” This clear purpose made it easy to help him prepare what he said, how he said it and how he positioned himself.

More examples of a good intent:

• A Lawyer, when giving a talk about new regulations , was clear that she wanted “to help companies use the new regulations to run better, more profitable businesses”.
• An HR director who was introducing a new expense system was clear that her intent was to “get people to use the new system by next month so they can get paid faster and with less effort.’
• A fund manager who was pitching a first time fund to new investors had a clear intent of “getting onto their radar screens and securing a second meeting”
• A company looking for a trade buyer had crystallised their intent into “creating excitement about the potential value of buying this business and demonstrate the risk of others buying it.”
• An accountant at a well known firm had the intent with his monthly board reports to “Get them to recognise the value my team adds.”

Having a clear intent will make it easier for you to plan your presentation. Identifying that intent is also one of the harder parts of planning a talk.

“A talk is a voyage with purpose and it must be charted. The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there.” Dale Carnegie

• Be absolutely clear on the intent of your talk.
• Summarise your intent in one line
• Use your intent as your North Star to guide everything you say and how you say it.

4. What’s your one big take-away message?

Summary : Your presentation needs a take-away message . This means one simple message so when someone asks “What was that talk about?” a listener can confidently answer.

What typically goes wrong : Many presentations have titles such as:

• “Quarterly strategy report”
• “Project X”
• “Manufacturing update”
• “Annual results”

These are all topics, not messages

Why does this matter? These titles don’t help the audience. They only tell them something they already know. With a topic title you miss the opportunity of preparing your audience and getting them in the right mindset to be ready for your talk.

What to do instead : Identify a message that summarises your talk that you can use as its title. Keep improving the title until it properly captures what you want to say. For example:

• “Our strategy remains on track”
• “Launching Project X by December could double revenues next year”
• “Manufacturing: three problems we must address”
• “Profits up 5% this year despite Covid headwinds”

Then test your title on other people. Check if it generates the reaction you want.

“If you can’t write your idea on the back of my calling card, you don’t have a clear idea.” David Belasco, theatre producer

Next Steps in planning a presentation

• Decide the title of your talk early.
• Check it generates the reaction you want.
• Use this to build the rest of your talk.
• Re-test your message against A.I.M.

5. How to plan a presentation – What are the three parts of your talk?

Summary : Your brain Is naturally tuned to hearing things in sets of three . If you can break your presentation into three parts then it’s more likely to be a success.

What typically goes wrong : Many presentations are like shopping lists: covering multiple topics and jumping from one idea to the next.

Why does this matter? In the end, a huge amount of information has been transmitted but little has been received.

What to do instead : Less is more in a presentation. Help your audience by giving them a structure. A three part structure is one of the most useful planning shortcuts that you can use.

Once you are completely clear about your intent and your message, start developing a three part structure for your talk. For example, if I wanted to give a talk that shared advice on how to present, I would consider using one of the following structures:

• Mistakes other people make / Tips you can use / How to become a great speaker
• How to define your messages / How to structure your talk / How to deliver your talk
• What bad looks like / what good looks like / what you can do differently

“ In writing and speaking, three is more satisfying than any other number.” Carmine Gallo, author

• Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
• Liberté, égalité, fraternité ;
• A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play;
• Stop, Look and Listen;
• Faster, Higher, Stronger;
• Veni, vidi, vici ;
• “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”
• Find your three part structure early.
• Use the structure to focus your efforts and guide your planning

6 . Presentation planning – What is your story?

Summary: Use a story to underpin your talk. No matter how dry your subject, when you use a story you will make it more memorable and more effective.

What typically goes wrong As an expert, a typical presenter wants to share knowledge.

For example: A few years ago, I helped a lawyer give a talk to investors. This audience consisted of private equity executives who sat on their investee company boards. The subject was the 2006 Companies Act and the Duties and Responsibilities of a Company Director. A dry subject.

In her first draft, she reviewed sections of the Act and highlighted problems that directors may face. For example, “Section 172 of the Act, sets out your overarching duties as a director. You must act in the way you consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole.”

As you can imagine, it was not the most exciting of talks.

Why does this matter? A precise talk may not be an interesting talk. Your job as a presenter is to make the talk interesting and easy for your audience.

What to do instead Find a story that fits what you want to talk about.

For example, for the investor director talk above, we decided to title the talk “How to keep your nose clean and yourself out of jail” Then the talk was based around a series of situations that anyone in the audience might face. She did not refer to any particular section of the Companies Act at all. Her text was:

“Imagine this situation. You turn up for a board meeting. You are a 10% shareholder and you are a director. At that board meeting the CEO announces that the company is near bankrupt and needs more funding. What should you do? Do you absent yourself, having a connected interest. Or do you declare your interest as a shareholder? Or do you carry as normal assuming business as usual?”

By framing it as a story you involve your audience and you make it easier for them to process what you say.

“Sometimes reality is too complex. Stories give it form.” Jean Luc Godard, film director

• Find stories to tell, narratives to bring your facts to life.
• Tell the story behind the numbers.
• The dryer your subject matter, the more important stories become.

7. How to plan your presentation – Have you asked WHY?

Summary : ‘Why’ comes before ‘What’ comes before ‘How’

What typically goes wrong : When a speaker knows a subject well, it is easy for them to assume knowledge and talk about the nuances of what they know. I often describe this as the ‘How’ of a subject.

For example, when speaking about a new engine you have developed, you might say that you made the pistons more accurately, that you mix petrol more precisely and you have added a new technique of managing engine performance.

Why does this matter? This is one of the most common mistakes that experts make when giving talks. They spend too much time explaining HOW something works, rather than explaining WHAT it is they are talking about and WHY it is important.

What to do instead : “We have designed a more efficient car engine that will get 100 miles to the gallon.”

“Start with Why” Simon Sinek

• Ask yourself “So What?” to everything you say
• Check that you are clear why the audience will be interested.
• Imagine someone in the audience asking “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM)

8. How to plan a presentation – Can you give a 90 second summary of your presentation?

Summary : The best way to plan your presentation is by speaking a c 100-200 word summary of your presentation. This summary will test the rigour of your thinking, the clarity of your ideas and the robustness of your plan.

What typically goes wrong : The average poor presentation meanders from topic to topic and is more like a data dump than a well organised talk. It is rich in information but poor in story, structure and planning. It will be hard to summarise that talk easily.

Why does this matter? Lack of planning = Lack of story = Hard for your audience.

What to do instead : Create a short summary of your talk to test your thinking

• You can use your summary early in your presentation planning to test your ideas.
• If you are working with colleagues you can share your thinking using your summary.
• If you are planning a presentation for someone else, you can share your summary to test their reaction.
• If someone else is preparing your presentation, you can use a summary to check they are on track.

Creating a summary is one of the most powerful ways to plan a presentation and will save you a huge amount of wasted time.

“If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.” Dianna Booher, Autho r

Next Steps for Presentation Planning

• Test your ideas with a short summary.
• Use a critical audience.
• If it is not tight enough, keep refining your summary.

Summary – how to plan a presentation for success

Start by planning, not by writing. This may feel counter intuitive, but you’ll make progress faster.

How do you plan a presentation for success? Try these steps:

• Use AIM as the first stage of preparing any talk
• A – Audience: Analyse your audience and understand their needs
• I – Intent: Be clear on the single purpose of your talk.
• M – Message: Decide your one take-away message from your talk
• Decide the three parts of your talk
• Create and perfect a 90 second summary of your talk before fleshing it out
• Answer the WHY questions in your talk before the WHAT or HOW questions.
• Imagine your audience asking So What? and What’s in it for me? throughout.
• Check your talk summary against your Audience, Intent and Message.

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Giving Presentations

Understanding your assignment, planning your presentation, organizing your presentation, signal words and transition phrases.

• Group Presentations
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• Engaging your Audience
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As with any assignment, it's important to first check the assignment requirements before you start planning your presentation. Read over the assignment requirements and make sure you understand the following:

• Is it a group or individual presentation?
• Is there a time limit or requirement? 
• Are you allowed to use videos? If so, how long can videos be? Instructors generally do not want videos to take up a big portion of your presentation, but short videos can help to illustrate a point
• What's the topic you will be presenting on? Do you get to choose? 
• Are you required to prepare a visual component such as a PowerPoint or a poster?
• What is the purpose of the presentation? Are you summarizing an issue to inform your classmates? Are you presenting a paper you wrote? Are you trying to convince them of a particular argument related to an issue? Are you leading discussion on a reading?

A good presentation requires careful planning. In general, you will need to follow these steps to plan a successful presentation:

• Brainstorm and outline: What's your topic? What do you know about the topic? What do you want your audience to know? 
• Research: Use research to support your argument, find examples and statistics, or to learn more about your topic.
• Write an outline . 
• Write a draft.
• Plan any visual aids such as PowerPoint or any activities you want your audience to participate in
• Practice, practice, practice!  Make sure your presentation is not too long, and edit it down as needed.

A good presentation should be well organized, with a beginning, middle and end. 

Beginning :

The beginning of a presentation is very important! This is when you have an opportunity to grab the audience's attention, and set the tone for your presentation.

• Use an attention grabber. Some attention grabbing techniques include: asking a thought-provoking question, showing the audience am intriguing picture, telling a story or use a real life example related to your topic, sharing a shocking statistic related to your topic, sharing a powerful quote, playing a short video
• Introduce yourself and the topic you will be discussing
• Outline what you will be talking about. 
• Discuss your main points in a logical order
• It should be clear to your audience when you are moving from one point to another
• Use examples to support your points

Conclusion:

• Summarize the main points
• Avoid providing new information at this point, but you can state any additional questions that you think your research has led you too
• Use language that lets your audience know that your presentation is coming to an end
• Avoid ending with "that's it!" or apologizing for your presentation
• Thank the audience for listening and invite questions

Using transition and signal phrases throughout your presentation will help keep it organized and ensure your thoughts are communicated clearly. Try using some of the phrases below to introduce ideas and structure your presentation.

Introducing your presentation:

• The topic/question I will be discussing today is...
• This presentation will investigate/examine... 

Providing an outline:

• I want to start by..., then I will... 
• This presentation is divided into [x number] of parts. First I will... then I will..., finally I will conclude by...
• There are [x number] of points I will discuss: A, B, C and D
• Let's begin by looking at... before examining... 

Introducing your main point: 

• A significant issue is...
• A major concern is...
• The central problem is...

Rephrasing your main point:

• In other words...
• Another way to think about the problem is...

Moving to another point:

• Now let's consider...
• I'd like to move on to examine...
• Now, turning to the issue of...

Introducing an example:

• A case in point is...
• Take the case of...
• This is illustrated/demonstrated by...
• An example of this is...

​Introducing images or explaining visuals: 

• This image/diagram illustrates...
• As you can see here...

Introducing and integrating videos:

• We will now watch a short video that illustrates...
• In the video we've just watched, it is important to note that...
• As the video demonstrates...

Conclusions:

• ​ To sum up...
• In conclusion...
• In summary...
• To summarize...
• To conclude...
• Therefore... 

Inviting and Answering Questions:

• I am happy to take questions now.
• That's a very interesting question. In my opinion,...
• Thanks for your question. What my research shows is that...
• That's a relevant question, but it is out of the scope of my research.
• I'm afraid I cannot answer that question, but that's an interesting topic.

The above tips have been adapted from RMIT University Study and Learning Centre's  " Oral Presentations: Signalling and Transition Phrases."

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How to make a presentation outline: a step-by-step guide

Georgina Guthrie

April 07, 2021

Whether you’re building a house, baking a cake, or writing an essay — having all the necessary pieces in place before you begin will make the task much easier.

It may seem counterproductive to spend time sorting things out when you’re in a rush… After all, why spend time organizing when you could dive straight in? But the fact is, the opposite is true: Planning saves time, and the same goes for creating a business presentation. Start with a presentation outline.

A presentation outline is a bare-bones version of your talk. It should take the general direction of your pitch, plus summaries of your key points. Its purpose is to help you shape your thinking, organize your thoughts, and make sure your material is presented logically.

In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at what a presentation outline is, how storytelling can help engage your audience, and how to create a flawless outline of your own. Let’s get stuck in.

What’s the purpose of your presentation?

This is the foundation on which you will build your whole presentation — so make sure you know the answer to this question. A good starting point is to think about the overall purpose. There are six possible purposes your presentation might have:

• Inspire action
• Inspire or motivate

In a business setting, it’ll usually be ‘to inform,’ along with one or two others. If you’re there to talk about quarterly results, then you’ll want to inform and motivate. If you’re a business coach, your goals will likely be to inspire, motivate, and entertain.

Once you’ve worked this out, you’ll be one step closer to working out the purpose of your pitch. Here are some questions to help you find an answer to this question:

• What do I want people to take away from my presentation?
• How will what I talk about help others in the room?
• What do I want people to do after my meeting?

Note down your ideas and start creating a topline summary of your presentation purpose. Summarize it into one or two sentences, then put that on your first slide. You can change it later, but this is a good starting point.

Create a story arc for your presentation

As humans, we love a good story. We’ve been doing it since, well, forever. The earliest cave paintings helped the painters and those who saw the paintings make sense of the world.

Interesting things happen when you start telling a story. Your brain’s auditory cortex (aka the bit that helps you listen) switches on. This helps you imagine the activities being described. Meanwhile, the frontal and parietal cortices are fired up, which helps us emotionally engage with what’s being said.

Stories have been, and will always be, a powerful tool for bringing people together. Great stories persuade and inform; the best stories inspire and stay with us. But we don’t often see this happening in the boardroom, where graphs and quarterly results preside.

Stats and numbers suck the life out of a presentation. We think these details will speak for themselves. But… they don’t because, well… they’re boring, and they make us switch off. If you want to inspire your audience, you need to weave those stats into a story . But where do you begin, and how do you start?

Storytelling isn’t something only a few select people are good at. Anyone can master the art with a little practice. It doesn’t even require heaps of creativity because the truth is, stories are formulaic, and once you’ve got the formula down, the rest runs on autopilot.

Let’s look at how to build your notes and ideas into a compelling story using one of the formulas below.

1.Fact and Story

Mixing storytelling with facts works in a kind of mutually supportive cycle. Facts add substance to the story; the story adds interest to the facts.

In this structure, you weave the two together and move back and forth between the two.

• Start with a ‘what if’ question. For example, if you were pitching a vacuum cleaner, your initial sales pitch might be ‘what if you didn’t have to lose suction?’
• From here, work in facts that illustrate the way things currently are. To continue with our example, it might be current stats on traditional vacuums losing suction. Keep alternating facts with fiction throughout the body of your presentation.
• End on a high note that makes the listeners feel like they learned something and want to move to action because of it. For example, to invest in your new product, or to sponsor your new app .

2. The hero’s journey

From Odysseus to Chihiro , adventure stories typically feature a hero who goes on a journey fraught with peril and learns a vital lesson at the end of it. It’s a formula employed by thousands of writers — and you can draw from it to add some drama to your presentation.

This structure works really well for inspirational personal stories, or tales about a company from its humble beginnings to the success it is today.

• Begin somewhere neutral. The situation is neither ideal nor unbearable.
• Introduce a challenge — one that needs to be solved.
• Present a worsening situation. The problem is being addressed, but things are still getting worse.
• Talk about rock bottom. The situation seems impossible; there is apparently no way forward and all seems lost. Until…
• Talk about a new discovery that offers hope.
• Armed with your new abilities, you can tackle the issue head-on.
• Talk about resolving the problem, but instead of returning to the way things were before, the hero (you) discovers an even better way of living.
• Finish with a lesson, which you can share to inspire your audience.

3. The Pitch

The ‘pitch’ style of presentation is commonly used by salespeople. The goal is to show how a product or idea can help an individual overcome a hurdle toward a positive outcome. The story should be relatable, so the audience can picture themselves in the situation and, therefore, benefitting from the solution.

• Start with a summary of the way things are in a way that’s easy to relate to.
• Introduce the problem or hurdle that you need to solve. Make it relatable to further help your audience put themselves in the situation.
• The solution: give your audience a glimpse into a possible solution.
• The fork in the road: Give your audience a couple of options for solving the problem. Offer an average option first, then follow up with a better one.
• Close: Choose the better option and explain why that’s the best one (and only real suitable choice).
• Finish up by telling the audience exactly how to solve the problem, step by step.
• But that’s not all: Before you finish, talk about extra benefits that extend beyond simply solving the problem. Finish on an uplifting high.

4. The explanation

This presentation format is for when you want to teach your audience something — whether that’s a process, a new skill, or a way to overcome a problem. It has similarities with the fact and story structure, insomuch as facts should weave into the story.

• Explain how things are at the moment, what the goal looks like, and how you plan to get there. You can even start with a story to add emotional interest from the get-go.
• Take your first step on the journey toward the final destination.
• Add more steps that build on this.
• Take a moment to recap on the points you’ve covered so far while tying them into the main point. This will help your audience visualize the ground you’ve covered and see where you’re heading.
• Add the finishing pieces to the puzzle and lead your audience to the end.
• By the end of your journey, your audience should feel as though they’ve learned something new.

5. The Opportunity

A close relative of the pitch, this three-part structure swaps a hurdle for an opportunity. Here, you want to show your audience that a problem they thought they had actually has an easy fix.

• Start with the situation as it is now.
• Next, add a ‘but’ — this could be a small hiccup that stops things from being as good as they could be. For example, our chocolate pudding company is doing really well. But we could be doing better if we changed supplier.
• Talk about the opportunity, with as many facts and stats as possible to make it feel achievable and real.
• Add a conclusion.
• Explain why the product or service meets the challenges raised. Add more stats and facts to support your point.

How to plan your presentation

Now you’ve worked out your structure, it’s time to start building your presentation, pulling in all your points and forming them into a story.

Storyboarding is the best way to do this. Directors use storyboards to map out their films scene-by-scene — you’re going to use it to map out your presentation, slide-by-slide.

(Don’t worry, you can do stick people and squiggles if drawing isn’t your strong point.) Image Source

The trick here is to use broad strokes without adding too much detail. Make it too wordy and you’ll lose your top-level view, which is important for assessing the arc of your story. Ideally, have one or two sentences on each slide summarizing what each one will address.

You can do this with pen and paper, but when it comes to final drafts and editing, it’s a good idea to move your drawings over to a digital format. It looks far neater, and it means that if you need to change something, it’s as simple as deleting or editing a cell or slide rather than you having to start over.

Once you’ve got your rough storyboard more or less ready, it’s time to start building your presentation.

Your presentation outline

Using a presentation template will be a big help here. First, choose your template — then start adding pre-made slides according to your storyboard. For those who didn’t plan, this can be a bit of a nightmare that usually ends up with you shuffling slides around indefinitely. For those who planned, it’s simply a matter of putting all your hard work in place, then spicing it up with pictures, video, and audio.

Top Tip : If your slides are there to support your spoken words, try not to make them too wordy. Talking too much will distract your audience, whose attention will be split between what’s on screen and your voice. Instead, opt for images and video. If you’re sharing your presentation slides without presenting them, keep your communication simple and succinct. A wall of text is never engaging.

Finally, rehearse your presentation. According to experts, 10 is the magic number when it comes to practicing speeches . The more you practice, the better it’ll flow, the easier it’ll be for your listeners to get sucked into your story. And when it comes to persuading, inspiring, informing, or selling — having a captive and engaged audience is half the battle.

How to close the deal with a sales whiteboard

5 ways to use diagrams to visualize your ideas

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How to Prepare for a Presentation, with Examples

February 15, 2021 - Dom Barnard

This guide covers everything you need to know to prepare for your presentation. including what you need to think about beforehand, during and after the presentation.

1. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse (always aloud)

Once you have your presentation worked out, you will need to practice it, but even though you might think it’s the best way to have a flawless presentation, don’t memorise what you’re going to say.

That might sound like incredibly bad advice, but here’s why:

• If you memorise your speech, you’ll get stuck in thinking you can only deliver your ideas in that way, and that stifles your creativity, and the chance for new thoughts and ways to put things that come up as you speak.

Not only that, but every  audience is different . Sometimes they laugh out loud, sometimes they sit and smile, and you never know which type of audience you’ll have until you’re live.

Practice Presentation Skills

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If you’re going off a memorised presentation, it’s much more difficult to break away from that to go with the flow on the day, and respond naturally to your audience.

• If you forget your speech in the middle of it, you will be thrown, and you’ll have more chance of complete brain freeze, which really will knock your confidence.
• Memorising your presentation gives you a false sense of security, which could leave you high and dry if something goes wrong. If you’ve only got your memorised speech, for example, what will you do if your PowerPoint freezes or your props break, and you can’t do what you were going to do?

Rehearse in front of colleagues, friends, a mirror, in virtual reality – always aloud. Make sure you spend plenty of time practising your presentation, it will make you feel much more relaxed if you know your material.

Courses where you can rehearse with interactive exercises:

• Essential Public Speaking
• How to Present over Video

Video showing how you can prepare for your presentation using virtual reality.  Learn more about virtual reality training .

2. Memorise your opening line

Do, however, memorise your opening line. If you know how you’re going to begin, you’ll get a strong start and that will build your confidence.

Many speakers and stage actors find that the minute they’ve actually delivered their first line, the nerves are gone and they’re well into their stride.

3. Practise your speech from written notes

Writing your presentation out in your own handwriting will help you clarify your ideas and may well bring you new ones.

• How to Write a Speech to Engage your Audience

4. Practise presentation flow

As well as practising for the ideas and what you want to say, practise how you want your presentation to flow. Think of it almost as a symphony, with high points, slow movements and crescendos. If it’s important, think about how you want your audience to feel, what emotions you want them to have, and when.

5. The power of silence

Don’t be afraid to pause and use the power of silence. A good pause can have a huge emotional impact. It allows people to really absorb what you are saying and react, and it’s vital to pause if you’re using humour so that the next part of your presentation doesn’t get lost underneath people’s laughter.

For more on the ‘Power of the Pause’, watch this short from video Brian Tracy:  The Power of the Pause

• 10 Effective Ways to use Pauses in your Speech

6. Have a backup

There’s nothing worse than the projector dying or finding that your laptop won’t communicate with the projector for some reason. If you know you have a backup, even if it’s only a pre-prepared flip chart, you’ll feel better, and you’ll be more confident.

7. Arrive early

Following on from that, arrive at least half an hour early so you aren’t feeling rushed, and so you have time to check your equipment and get your notes laid out ready to go. That gives you time to breathe and relax before you go on, knowing everything is as set as it can be.

8. Use physical props for a demo

Use physical props, if possible, for a demo. This can make you stand out and be more memorable among all the other speakers who only use PowerPoint, and it can add greatly to the impact of your presentation.

Video showing an example of using physical props during a live demo.

9. Structure your presentation

First, find out how much time you have to present, is it 10 minutes, 15, an hour? Prepare enough material for this time and have a couple of extra slides as backup – we tend to speak much quicker when nervous so you might find you finish your presentation too early. At some large conference events, timings may change on the day, be aware of this have a shorter version of your presentation in mind (i.e. know which slides to skip over).

• How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples
• Examples of Corporate Presentation Structures

10. Prepare for questions

Have a few backup slides for questions you think will arise from your presentation. It is sometime a tactic to explain a section briefly in your speech, so that you get a question about it afterwards. If you don’t understand the question, ask for it to be rephrased.

If there are no questions, it is not an indication how good or bad your presentation was. You many have explain your material extremely well, or simply that people are tired at the end of the day and want to go home.

• Guide for Handling Questions after a Presentation

11. Prepare for where you are presenting

If you can, go to the room you are speaking in before the actual event. It gives you an idea of furniture layout, podium height, location, room size, audience size and lighting. You can then visualise the room while practising and avoid the shock of suddenly being faced with a huge room when you expected a tiny one.

Ask the organiser if you need any particular props, for example a table to help with your live demo.

Additional planning to think about before your presentation:

1. Purpose  – what outcome are we trying to achieve? How can results be measured? What will success look like?

2. Topic  – Novelty? Complexity? Technical?

3. People  – Who should attend? What do they already know? How are they going to help?

4. Timing  – When will it happen and how long will the presentation take?

5. Location  – Where will the presentation be held? Do you have access to the correct facilities for the presentation?

6. Papers  – Who is keeping minutes? Do you need to send out an agenda before the presentation? Background information required?

7. Visual aids  – Is a  projector required ? Boards?

8. Style  – Structure or unstructured, discussion style? How assertive should you be? How should the meeting items be organised?

12. Choose the signals to give to your audience

Before the presentation, think about these 5 topics:

• Eye contact
• Facial gestures
• Body language

Decide how you will use each of these to reinforce your message. Use the table below for help.

Additional courses to help you prepare for your presentation:

• Presentation Skills Training Courses

Example from Steve Jobs

Think about these 10 techniques while you are preparing your presentation..

• Planning in Analog.  Tell a story, create stunning visuals and videos to complement video, use demonstrations and other speakers, keep the audience engaged.
• Creating a Twitter-Friendly Description  Single description sentence, condensed his message into 140 characters.
• Introduce the Enemy  Story needs villains or a problem to be solved. Jobs highlighted IBM and useless mobile phones (during iPhone release) as his villains.
• Focusing on Benefits  Keep reinforcing the benefits of your product, create top 10 lists, understand this is what customers care about.
• Sticking to Rule of Three  Classic Literary technique, things are best remembered and reinforced in threes. Read this article on  Literary Techniques  for more detail.
• Sell Dreams, Not Products  Create a vision people believe in, create a vision which will make people’s lives better
• Create Visual Slides  Use as few words as possible and use colourful graphics on the slide to highlight points.
• Make Numbers Meaningful  Compare large numbers to things people understand.
• Use Plain English  Use easy to say and easy to remember words, keep it simple.
• Large Reveals  Due to Apple secrecy, Jobs was able to deliver unexpected products to the world at his product launches.

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How to Structure a Presentation

Choosing the best format for your audience.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Have you ever sat through a rambling, disorganized presentation? If so, you probably found it hard to follow what the speaker was saying.

When presentations don't flow well, it's easy for audiences to get lost. This is why it's important to think carefully about the structure and organization of your presentation.

In this article, we'll explore some common structures that you can use next time you speak in front of other people.

The Importance of Structure

Without a defined structure, your audience may not be able to follow your presentation. When this happens, your opportunity is lost, the communication fails, and your reputation takes a hit. For example, if your aim is to persuade people, you'll want to use a different approach from the one you'd use if you wanted to demonstrate how a product works.

Many factors can influence your choice of structure, but the most important consideration is your presentation's purpose or goal. You need to identify what you want to achieve – do you want to inspire, motivate, inform, persuade, or entertain people?

Your audience's needs also affect the structure you choose. For example, those who are new to your topic need more background information than people with more expertise and experience. So, in this case, you'd want to choose an approach that gives you ample time to explain the context of your subject, as well as to reinforce your main points.

Structures to Consider

Below, we outline several structures that you can use to organize your presentation.

1. Open – Body – Conclusion

The Open – Body – Conclusion approach is one of the most practical structures you can use for presentations. (Click here to download a worksheet that helps you use it.)

People often call it the "tell 'em" approach, because you:

• Tell audience members what you're going to tell them (introduction).
• Tell them (body).
• Tell them what you told them (conclusion).

This structure is simple, effective and easy to remember. Its repetitive nature allows you to reinforce your points, which helps others remember them. It is also flexible: you can adjust the introduction and body to persuade, motivate, educate, or entertain them.

One downside, however, is that repetition can quickly bore people. The approach is also "old hat" to many, which can cause them to lose interest. If you choose to use it, balance repetition with plenty of interesting facts, images, anecdotes, or stories to hold your audience's interest.

Let's look at each stage of the Open – Body – Conclusion structure in detail and discuss the elements that you need to include in each. We'll start with the body, rather than the introduction, because the rest of your presentation will be based on that.

The body of your presentation needs to contain your key points. You should present these in a logical order, so that your audience can follow them easily.

Keep in mind that the body should comprise a limited number of ideas: the more you try to include, the fewer people will remember. A good guide is to cover three to five main points, but no more.

When organizing your ideas, use the chunking principle to put the information into specific units. This will make the concepts easier to grasp, and help people remember what you have told them.

Make sure that you back up your main points with facts. Use good information-gathering strategies in your research, and consider citing the sources that you use. To add credibility to your presentation, consider using the following information to support your ideas:

• Data, facts or statistics.
• Images or diagrams.
• Stories and examples.
• Quotes or testimonials from experts or industry leaders.

Reliable sources will strengthen your credibility , and build trust with your audience.

Your opening, or introduction, has two main purposes: to grab your audience's attention, and to cover the key points that you intend to talk about.

Instead of telling people what you plan to say, you can use a different approach and explain why they are there. What will they learn from your presentation, and how will the content benefit them?

It's also important to get their attention right from the beginning. You can do this in several ways:

• Tell a story.
• Ask a rhetorical question.
• Play a short video.
• Make a strong or unexpected statement.
• Challenge your audience.
• Use a quotation or example.
• Appeal to people's self-interest.
• Request a specific action.
• Use suspense.

If you plan to answer questions at the end of your presentation, it's a good idea to mention this in the introduction, so people don't interrupt you mid-flow.

Many presenters overlook the importance of a conclusion – but the statements you finish with are what many audience members will remember best.

With the "tell 'em" approach, your conclusion summarizes the main points in the body of your presentation. If you want people to take action, be specific about what you want them to do.

Think carefully about how you want them to feel once you've finished; your conclusion is a great opportunity to reinforce this. Why not inspire them with a great story, a quote or a compelling call to action?

2. The Sandwich Approach

The Sandwich Approach is a variation of the Open – Body – Conclusion structure. This three-part structure covers:

• Advantages and/or benefits of your message or idea.
• Risks and concerns.
• How the benefits manage or eliminate those risks.

This approach is effective when you want to persuade audience members, or change their minds.

Having evidence to support your position is critical. However, factual data and reams of spreadsheets and charts are not highly persuasive. What people respond to is "vivid" evidence that brings your concept or argument to life.

To brush up on your persuasion skills, look at The Rhetorical Triangle . This tool asks you to consider your communication from three perspectives: those of the writer, the audience and the context. It's a method that builds credibility, and helps you ensure that your arguments are logical.

3. Monroe's Motivated Sequence

Monroe's Motivated Sequence is another good structure to use when you need to motivate or persuade. This sequence consists of five key steps:

• Getting your audience's attention – Use an interesting "hook" or opening point, such as a shocking statistic. Be provocative and stimulating, not boring and unemotional.
• Creating a need – Convince the audience there's a problem, explain how it affects them. Persuade them that things need to change.
• Defining your solution – Explain what you think needs to be done.
• Describing a detailed picture of success (or failure) – Give people a vision; something they can see, hear, taste, and touch.
• Asking the audience to do something straight away – Get them involved right from the start. If you do this, it's then much easier to keep them engaged and active in your cause.

4. Demonstration Structure

Use a simple demonstration structure when you are unveiling a new product or service.

Start by explaining why the product or service is so good. What makes it special? What problem will it solve for people?

Next, demonstrate what it does. How you do this will depend on your product but, whatever you do, make sure it works! Bring any important points to the audience's attention and provide helpful tips, where appropriate. Show them the results, and finish by giving them useful information, a good understanding of your topic, and something to remember.

Don't get too wrapped up in the detail; remember to keep it simple. Your presentation will be more powerful and your audience will remember more if you highlight just a few of the most important features. This will whet their appetite, and leave them wanting to know more.

5. Opportunity, Benefits, Numbers Structure

The Opportunity, Benefits, Number (OBN) structure is useful when you face busy people who want to hear what you have to say in the shortest time possible.

To use this structure, give audience members a quick summary of the opportunity that they need to consider, and outline the benefits that they can expect. Then, show them the numbers that back up your claims. [1]

For example, imagine you are explaining why your company should implement a new performance management system. First, you might give some background on the proposal – for example, you want to drive a high-performance culture. Then, you could explain the benefits, such as improving organizational performance and profits. Finally, you could compare the cost of bringing the system in with the predicted return on investment, based on a similar system at another organization.

Presentations that lack a clear flow are confusing and ineffective. This is why it's important to pay careful attention when choosing the most appropriate structure.

Different structures fulfill different purposes. Before you begin, think about why you are giving your presentation. Do you want to inform, persuade, inspire, or entertain your audience?

The most common structure for presentations is Open – Body – Conclusion. This is often effective because it gives you the opportunity to repeat your key points a number of times. However, other structures can be more appropriate, depending on the circumstances, such as when you're trying to persuade an audience, demonstrate a product, or provide information in the most time-efficient way.

Download Worksheet

[1] Martinuzzi, B. (2013). '11 Ways to Structure a Knockout Presentation,' from American Express OPEN Forum [online]. Available here . [Accessed 7 August 2014.]

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• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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The formal presentation of information is divided into two broad categories: Presentation Skills and Personal Presentation .

These two aspects are interwoven and can be described as the preparation, presentation and practice of verbal and non-verbal communication. 

This article describes what a presentation is and defines some of the key terms associated with presentation skills.

Many people feel terrified when asked to make their first public talk.  Some of these initial fears can be reduced by good preparation that also lays the groundwork for making an effective presentation.

A Presentation Is...

A presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team.

A presentation can also be used as a broad term that encompasses other ‘speaking engagements’ such as making a speech at a wedding, or getting a point across in a video conference.

To be effective, step-by-step preparation and the method and means of presenting the information should be carefully considered. 

A presentation requires you to get a message across to the listeners and will often contain a ' persuasive ' element. It may, for example, be a talk about the positive work of your organisation, what you could offer an employer, or why you should receive additional funding for a project.

The Key Elements of a Presentation

Making a presentation is a way of communicating your thoughts and ideas to an audience and many of our articles on communication are also relevant here, see: What is Communication? for more.

Consider the following key components of a presentation:

Ask yourself the following questions to develop a full understanding of the context of the presentation.

When and where will you deliver your presentation?

There is a world of difference between a small room with natural light and an informal setting, and a huge lecture room, lit with stage lights. The two require quite different presentations, and different techniques.

Will it be in a setting you are familiar with, or somewhere new?

If somewhere new, it would be worth trying to visit it in advance, or at least arriving early, to familiarise yourself with the room.

Will the presentation be within a formal or less formal setting?

A work setting will, more or less by definition, be more formal, but there are also various degrees of formality within that.

Will the presentation be to a small group or a large crowd?

Are you already familiar with the audience?

With a new audience, you will have to build rapport quickly and effectively, to get them on your side.

What equipment and technology will be available to you, and what will you be expected to use?

In particular, you will need to ask about microphones and whether you will be expected to stand in one place, or move around.

What is the audience expecting to learn from you and your presentation?

Check how you will be ‘billed’ to give you clues as to what information needs to be included in your presentation.

All these aspects will change the presentation. For more on this, see our page on Deciding the Presentation Method .

The role of the presenter is to communicate with the audience and control the presentation.

Remember, though, that this may also include handing over the control to your audience, especially if you want some kind of interaction.

You may wish to have a look at our page on Facilitation Skills for more.

The audience receives the presenter’s message(s).

However, this reception will be filtered through and affected by such things as the listener’s own experience, knowledge and personal sense of values.

See our page: Barriers to Effective Communication to learn why communication can fail.

The message or messages are delivered by the presenter to the audience.

The message is delivered not just by the spoken word ( verbal communication ) but can be augmented by techniques such as voice projection, body language, gestures, eye contact ( non-verbal communication ), and visual aids.

The message will also be affected by the audience’s expectations. For example, if you have been billed as speaking on one particular topic, and you choose to speak on another, the audience is unlikely to take your message on board even if you present very well . They will judge your presentation a failure, because you have not met their expectations.

The audience’s reaction and therefore the success of the presentation will largely depend upon whether you, as presenter, effectively communicated your message, and whether it met their expectations.

As a presenter, you don’t control the audience’s expectations. What you can do is find out what they have been told about you by the conference organisers, and what they are expecting to hear. Only if you know that can you be confident of delivering something that will meet expectations.

See our page: Effective Speaking for more information.

How will the presentation be delivered?

Presentations are usually delivered direct to an audience.  However, there may be occasions where they are delivered from a distance over the Internet using video conferencing systems, such as Skype.

It is also important to remember that if your talk is recorded and posted on the internet, then people may be able to access it for several years. This will mean that your contemporaneous references should be kept to a minimum.

Impediments

Many factors can influence the effectiveness of how your message is communicated to the audience.

For example background noise or other distractions, an overly warm or cool room, or the time of day and state of audience alertness can all influence your audience’s level of concentration.

As presenter, you have to be prepared to cope with any such problems and try to keep your audience focussed on your message.   

Our page: Barriers to Communication explains these factors in more depth.

Continue to read through our Presentation Skills articles for an overview of how to prepare and structure a presentation, and how to manage notes and/or illustrations at any speaking event.

Continue to: Preparing for a Presentation Deciding the Presentation Method

See also: Writing Your Presentation | Working with Visual Aids Coping with Presentation Nerves | Dealing with Questions Learn Better Presentation Skills with TED Talks

How to Outline a Presentation: A Complete Guide From a Pro

• Filed under: Public speaking articles , Speaking tips , Speech preparation

When you’re writing an important speech, you must start with a clear outline. However, I find that many speakers are uncertain of how to write a good outline for their presentation. This is why I decided to write a guide for you, in hopes that learning to perfect your outlines will help you give better presentations in the future.

How do you outline a presentation? Always start with your introduction and end with your powerful closing. Flesh out the body by listing topics in the order that you want to cover them in. Never skimp on the important details of your speech. Remember that an outline is only a draft.

I know at this point that you still have questions, and that you still be confused at how to write the best outline for your speech. But writing a good outline for your presentation does not have to be stressful! This is my complete guide from a pro for you, in hopes that you can take the stress out of this important step.

Table of Contents

How to Outline a Presentation

Outlining a presentation can be done with a regular piece of paper, or on a word processing program on your computer. If you are hosting a PowerPoint presentation, you may prefer to do the entire thing from the comfort of your computer. But if you do decide to write your outline on a piece of paper, make sure you use a pencil and eraser so that you can make changes as you go along.

The very first step in creating an outline is to ask yourself what the purpose of your presentation is.

Write your main message or a one-sentence summary of your thesis at the top of your outline when you get started. This may help you stay on task, and it will keep the purpose of your speech right in your eye’s sight. After all, you don’t want to stray too far off the main topic of your presentation !

Remember, a quality outline is meant to enhance the purpose of your presentation. If you do not write a proper outline, you may risk not properly conveying the right message to your audience.

Or you may even forget to cover essential points that you wanted to talk about. A thorough outline is especially important if you are planning to speak without notes.

You should remember to properly summarize what you want to say with every sentence of your outline. After all, this is not a full script, so a summary is all you really need. Remember to rehearse and practice with your outline, so that you can remember what you have written.

Start With a Strong Beginning

Your introduction is where you start strong by grabbing your audience’s attention from the very beginning. But if that makes you feel stressed out, just remember to stay calm! Creating a great first impression from the beginning of your speech is not as difficult as you might be worrying.

When you create a strong beginning, you should try some of the following:

• Start with an attention-grabbing statement that captures your audience from the start. If you have a few ideas but are not sure what to use, try running your ideas by a trusted friend or mentor.
• Give a strong signal that you are beginning your speech. You don’t want your audience unsure of whether you’ve actually begun or not.
• Give the main thesis statement about the purpose of your presentation.
• You could start by giving a brief preview of all of the things that you are going to talk about in the body of your speech.
• Talk about your credentials at the beginning. However, you should make sure to find a way to do it that is entertaining. You don’t want to risk boring your audience from the very beginning of your speech!
• Thank your audience from the very beginning! This is not only a good way to begin your speech, but a good way to end it, as well.
• If there are any current events or famous historical events that relate to the purpose of your presentation, you can start by talking about these. However, pick only one so that you do not draw your introduction out too long.
• Ask your audience a question at the beginning. You could draw out their interest by answering this question at a later point in your speech.
• Whenever possible, make sure you begin your speech on a positive note . This sets a good tone for the rest of the presentation.
• Start by telling a story that relates to your presentation. A good reason to start with a story is that it helps you form a strong connection with your audience from the beginning. Write some of the main details of your story in your outline so that you remember them.

Be reminded thought, that sometimes it is wise to write your introduction last as only you know what you’ll be introducing. This way, you’ll also avoid including something in your introduction that you won’t be actually talking about.

Once you have written out your introduction, you have completed the first step in creating an excellent outline for your presentation.

Create a Powerful Ending

In my experience, it can be easier to create ending before you flesh out the body of your presentation. However, it is up to you if you prefer to create your outline in a different order.

If you are a regular reader, you might have realized that I already posted an in-depth article here about how to end a presentation in a powerful way . Right now we are going to talk about the same thing in somewhat less detail.

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Just like with your beginning, make sure that you’ve made it obvious you are ending. After all, few things are more awkward than your audience sitting there long after you’ve finished, feeling confused about whether they should leave or not.

If the point of your speech is to motivate your audience to do something, you might consider ending your speech with a call to action . A call to action is simply an instruction that you give your audience about something you want them to do.

You could also potentially end your presentation with a powerful quote or an entertaining story . And if you have a unique tagline that exists to help promote your personal brand, consider ending with it.

But if you are planning to have a question and answer period at all, make sure you are not directly ending with one. Plan to wrap up your question and answer period before delivering your speech’s closing at the end.

This is because ending with a question and answer period is not only not memorable, but a negative question from an audience member can leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth . This is not the last thing you want your audience members to remember as they’re leaving!

And as always, you should thank your audience at the end of your speech. This will make them feel valued, and impressed with your gratefulness.

Flesh Out the Body of Your Presentation

So, you’ve got your beginning and ending all figured out, but now what else do you do with your outline? This is the stage where you work on the body of your speech. That is, you will want to think about what you want to say in between your beginning and end. Here are some speech writing tips I have written about previously.

Write the main points of your outline in order

It may be easier for you to write bullet points or even a numbered list. List your main points in order of what you want to talk about. If at first glance the topics don’t seem to flow, it is okay to re-arrange them.

You can also decide at this point if there is anything you want to add or subtract. If you feel like you’ve made a mistake, don’t worry! It is okay to make any changes along the way.

Add sub-points and transitions to your topics

Add sub-points to your main points in order to further flesh out your outline. Even if you want to keep it simple, sub-points may help you to stay on track and remember what you were going to say.

You can also add to the ideas that your main points present. Make sure that the transitions from one point to another flow smoothly from one thing to the next.

Don’t forget the essential details!

Are there any special details that you need to remember for your presentation? Put these in your outline so that you don’t forget them. This can include important names, dates, and locations that you need to remember.

Write down how long will it take

If your speech is supposed to cover a certain amount of time, try listing times for each of your main points. This may help you not go over or under your time.

Also, take a look at these articles:

• 11 Great Tips How to Write a Great Persuasive Speech
• How to Deliver a Perfect Elevator Speech

How to Outline a PowerPoint Presentation?

You may be thinking that you don’t need an outline for your PowerPoint presentation. However, don’t rely on your slides alone ; you need a proper outline, too. An outline for a PowerPoint presentation should also include images that you intend to use for your slides.

Fortunately, the PowerPoint program itself also allows you to view an outline of your slides. This can help give you a visual of your overall presentation.

Remember, This is Only a Draft!

If your outline isn’t the way you want it to be, remember that it is only your very first rough draft. Your outline doesn’t have to be perfect, because it is not your final product. While you should work hard to make your outline as good as possible, you don’t need to stress about it.

And remember that if you finish your outline, and you are not satisfied with how it looks? It is okay for you to scrap it and start all over again. There is no reason that you should stick with an outline that you don’t feel confident about.

An outline is a great place to start whether you intend to read from a full script, read from cue cards, or speak without notes. If you are an avid reader of Speak and Conquer, you’ll remember that I recommend creating an outline in many of my articles.

Get Feedback From Others About Your Outline

There is no reason that you have to go any of this by yourself. If you have a friend or mentor who is experienced with public speaking , why not ask them to take a look at your outline for you? They may see something that needs to be changed that never even occurred to you.

You could also give a practice round of your speech in front of a friend, family member, or mentor. Give them a chance to make suggestions about whether or not there’s anything that you should change. After all, it’s better for you to realize if something needs to be done differently before the actual day of the presentation.

If you don’t have someone who you can rehearse in front of in person, try recording your presentation in front of a video camera . Show it to someone you trust via email or social media. If they have any suggestions for change, you can alter your outline accordingly.

Why is a Presentation Outline so Important, Anyway?

While reading this article, you may be wondering why you even need an outline for your presentation. This may be especially puzzling to you if you are planning to give a speech without notes . But I find that an outline can be incredibly useful no matter what kind of presentation you are planning to give to your audience.

Like I said before, the main point of an outline is to enhance the main purpose of your speech further. But I’m also going to give you a list of some more reasons why I believe an outline is absolutely essential.

Some other good reasons for creating an outline for your presentation are:

• You will have an easy visual to look at the order of the topics you are talking about. This way, you can see if anything looks out of place.
• The proper outline will help to keep your speech organized.
• You will be able to look at the connections between your ideas . This may even help you realize you need to add or subtract certain things from your speech.
• A good outline will help you remember to t ouch on every important point that you need to cover in your presentation.
• Outlining helps you see whether or not your main points and sub-points flow smoothly . If you create your outline and realize that some of your points do not flow, you can easily re-write key parts.
• Using an outline instead of a full script will give you more freedom to improvise during your presentation. This is why creating an outline is a great first strategy if you are speaking without notes, or trying to memorize a speech in a short period of time.
• If you’re not sure where to start preparing for your speech, then writing a loose outline is a good first step to help you out.
• Practicing with an outline will help enhance your memory about the main points and sub-points of your presentation.

No matter what kind of presentation you are planning to give, a solid outline with help you be prepared and ready to go.

Conclusion: How do you make an outline for a talk?

Today, I have compiled a thorough guide about writing a quality outline. We discussed creating a good beginning, ending, and body of your presentation. We have even talked about why a good outline is important, too. If you have any other tips to share about creating an outline for your presentation, make sure to share them in the comments section.

If you are looking to improve your public speaking and presentation skills, check out the rest of my articles on Speak and Conquer. The purpose of my site is to help you succeed in becoming a better public speaker. For example, I have covered popular topics such as how to memorize a speech in less than an hour , and how to use hand gestures effectively during a presentation .

Related Questions

What software should I use to outline my speech? Preferably, you should have a program that allows you to use bullet points or numbered lists. Bullet points and lists are a good place to start when you are outlining. Microsoft Word, Word Processor, or Notepad are acceptable for basic outlines.

How do I decide what the purpose of my speech is? Decide if you are there to inform, educate, motivate, or entertain your audience. When you have narrowed it down to just one of those, you will be able to decide the main idea of your speech. You should preferably speak about a topic that you are well-educated about.  

How do I write a speech? Start with a purpose, and then create a detailed outline. Flesh out the points and sub-points from your outline. Decide very early on if you want to give your speech with or without notes. Revise your drafts as much as possible until you have created a full speech. If you are going to speak with notes, write some of the information from your outline onto cue cards.

Useful reading

• 16 secret ways how to speak to a bored audience
• How to Use Your Voice Effectively in a Presentation?

13 Effective Ways How to Make Speech Pauses

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The Importance of Planning Your Presentation

Although you don’t need to memorize your presentation word-for-word, you do need to plan it out. With planning your presentation will have a logical flow and you’ll be better prepared to handle last-minute edits and on-the-fly tailoring queued by your audience. Read on to learn more ways that planning helps you deliver a better presentation.

When You Fail to Plan…

You know how the saying goes — you plan to fail. Although I’m sure you don’t literally plan to fail, by failing to plan out your presentation, you do set yourself up for potential failure.

Planning involves a systematic approach to a project that brings about the desired results. For instance, if you want a more visual presentation, you learn how to create slides that people can view, or create a slideshow of images they can relate to. Nothing happens automatically. There is some action involved. Without a plan, you may find yourself quickly floundering about on the stage.

Benefits of Planning

Here are some rewards of a presentation that are well thought out.

1. Your words flow naturally

Rehearsing is a part of the planning process. You decide how you will present the information and then practice running through the entire speech as many times as necessary to get the feel that you want. Most presenters strive for a conversational feel instead of a scripted performance, so word-for-word memorization isn’t necessary. But you do want to have your general beats down.

2. You stay on topic

Planning allows you to hone in on your topic, select a few essential bullet points and expand upon them. Chunking your speech in this way will help keep tangents away. And, it also helps you to remember what you want to say much more easily.

3. You can develop a Plan B

Suppose that your laptop crashes or your slides don’t load properly? What will you do now? Thinking about this ahead of time means formulating a backup plan just in case of emergency. For example, I always bring a print out of my slides. That way if PowerPoint is not cooperating, I can have the slides copied and distributed — or at least have a copy for me to use as notes. Devise a strategy for what you will do in the event of equipment failure, technology failure, power failure and the like.

4. You can better understand your audience

Planning gives you time to ask questions of the person or organization inviting you to speak. Find out what they expect as well as the likes and dislikes of the group. If started early enough, you can even survey or interview people who will be attending your presentation. Now you can center your topic on their interests.

5. You can anticipate questions, challenges and sticking points

What types of questions would you ask if you were in the audience? How would you respond? Questions like this prepare you for just about anything that the audience throws your way without getting flustered. It also increases your knowledge of the subject matter. Better yet, practice your presentation in front of someone else, preferably someone like the people in your audience, to find out what questions they might have about the topic.

6. Correcting mistakes

When you rehearse your presentation, ask a trusted friend or colleague to watch you. They can point out mistakes being made so they can be corrected in advance of the big day. I also recommend video recording your presentation, so you can uncover mistakes you might be making, as well.

As you can see, there are several advantages to planning your presentation, not the least of which is knowing what you will say to your audience.

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About the author

Carma Spence, is author of Public Speaking Super Powers. She is fiercely committed to guiding women to Owning their Superpowers and turning their knowledge and interests into a profitable business. She is masterful at helping her clients see what is possible for them and supporting them on the journey from where they are to where they want to be, releasing the Mind Goblins of self-doubt, self-sabotage and second-guessing that keep them stuck.

With 20+ years experience in marketing communications and public relations, natural intuitive skills and certification in using some of the most effective transformational coaching tools available, Carma’s mission and commitment is to unleash the inner power every woman entrepreneur possesses so they can boldly go out into the world, transforming the fabric of people’s lives in meaningful and positive ways.

You can find her on Facebook , Twitter , Google+ and LinkedIn . Her website is CarmaSpence.com .

How to Create an Effective Lesson Plan Presentation

Regardless of the subject or content you’re teaching, having a lesson plan in place prepares you for class by offering detailed guidelines for the session. The lesson plan doesn’t have to be lengthy or complex—it just needs to include elements about what you’re teaching, the method of presenting this material, and what objective and goals you wish your students to achieve as part of the curriculum.

Why Lesson Plans Are Important

It’s crucial for teachers to prepare their lessons in advance and implement the best teaching approaches. Attending a session without a lesson plan can be counterproductive for both students and teachers. Without the right preparation beforehand, classes can end up being unproductive or confusing.

Below are a few reasons why you should consider lesson planning:

Lesson Planning is Handy for Classroom Management

Developing the lesson plan from the learning objectives provides flexibility in adapting to different teaching methods and classroom management techniques. For instance, hybrid or online classes require a different delivery approach from the traditional classes, which means making modifications to any existing plans. With the right foresight and plan in place, classes can stay on topic and effective. Such circumstances underscore how crucial lesson plans are in ensuring that the class runs smoothly, regardless of the learning environment.  

Lesson Planning Creates Student Success

Various studies have shown that students benefit immensely from and appreciate well-structured lessons. Thus, success is more likely when students engage and show interest in the material being taught. Using a curriculum guide, teachers can develop valuable lesson plans based on specific objectives and goals (what’s intended for students to learn). 

​​Lesson Planning Is Central to Teacher Success

Teachers’ success is, to some extent, pegged on students’ success. Besides that, the documents you develop as part of the lesson planning process are often part of your assessment by school administrators. What’s more, as you advance your teaching career, your lesson plans serve as a repository for your expanding body of knowledge. Thus, the significance of lesson planning cannot be overlooked when it comes to advancing your career as an educator.

Lesson Planning is Vital in Student Assessment

Lastly, lesson plans turn the learning sessions into clear objectives for students and a way to gauge their understanding of the subject matter. One notable benefit of the lesson plan is tailoring the assessment to a particular objective while considering students’ specific needs. You can use common assessment methods such as quizzes, tests, and homework assignments.

How to Write a Lesson Plan

Lesson plans include different sections that clarify questions students might have about the subject on hand. What are the lesson objectives? What subjects will be covered during the session? How long will the course take?

• Introduction – As the lesson commences, it’s good to have a concise yet vivid introduction about what the lesson will cover. The ideal practice is to create a memorable title for every lesson to create a general understanding of the learning material students will be interacting with.
• **Lesson Objectives –**This section is critical as it allows the students to ascertain each lesson. When it comes to objectives, it is crucial to consider the acquired skills you expect the students to gain by the end of the session. Each objective should be measurable and actionable; meaning after every session, students should be able to apply what they’ve learned.
• Learning Activities – This should be a detailed account of how each activity will lead the class to achieve its predetermined goals. To create valuable activities, consider how each learning activity fits each objective, and the requirements students need.
• Practice – Practices are primarily intended to assess students’ comprehension of the material and aid in memorizing what they have learned in class. Therefore, it is crucial to include this in the lesson plan so that assessments can always be done at the appropriate time.

Today, lesson planning has been made less time-consuming and easier, thanks to smart whiteboards for the classroom . A digital whiteboard like the Vibe Board Pro provides unmatched performance that shows you know your craft and are way ahead of the pack.

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How Smart Whiteboards Simplify Lesson Plan Creation and Presentation

Not only does using a smart whiteboard make learning accessible , it’s also a great way of enhancing and enriching your lesson plans with interactive activities for the class. Smart whiteboards function as a touch screen for all; during class sessions, you and your students can use it as a digital whiteboard to create a space where students’ engagement, knowledge, and teamwork are appreciated.

While the smart whiteboard aids in making your lesson more engaging, interactive, and educational, you as the teacher can still customize your teachings to what you want them to be. This helps in foiling any hitches in your lesson presentation and makes switching from one topic to another seamless.

Below are more specific ways how smart whiteboards make your lesson plan presentation better:

Take Advantage of Built-in Templates

Once you invest in a smart whiteboard, make sure to take advantage of the wide variety of built-in lesson planning templates. You can use these templates to improve lesson plans while leveraging the technology associated with smart whiteboards. Even better, these templates can be easily customized for every lesson plan and cover different subject matters, allowing you to create new lesson plans without always starting from scratch quickly. How cool is that?

Organize and Present Lesson Plans Better

Smart whiteboards combine the power of the traditional whiteboard and a TV/projector into one hub, allowing you to write on the board while concurrently projecting it to the classroom. This allows you to conduct lesson plan presentations on a larger scale while also letting students see what’s going on.

For instance, if you’re presenting on an extensive topic involving multiple subtopics, a smart whiteboard will help you walk students through each subtopic with ease. Begin with the presentation divided into primary or main sections, highlight key definitions, and add infographics and videos to ensure that every student understands the tiniest detail.

Additionally, you can get students involved in the lesson plan presentation by asking questions, polling them on key points, or allowing them to follow along on their tablets or laptops.

Record Lesson Plan Presentations

Another benefit of using smart whiteboards in the classroom is that a lesson plan presentation can be recorded and accessed long after the session is over. This allows your students to access the material on their own time.

Final Words: Creating a Lesson Plan Presentation

Lesson plan presentation offers students the first interaction with the material they will learn. Take your time, appreciate the process, and create an attractive and comprehensive lesson plan that will encourage your students to have deep and thoughtful learning experiences. Even better, all of this can be made easier with smart whiteboard technology. Leave the spiral notebooks and sticky notes at home. A smart whiteboard is all you need.

What is the presentation stage in lesson planning?

Presentation is usually the core of the lesson plan. During this stage, theteacher introduces the topic and the key subject matter the students need to master. Presenting with smart whiteboards is exceedingly easy and less time-consuming.

What are the 5 steps in lesson planning?

The five steps are:

• Objective: A learning concept or objective is introduced.
• Warm-up: Revise the previous lesson
• Presentation: Present the material using suitable tools and techniques.
• Practice: Students try to apply what they have learned.
• Assessment: Evaluate whether the objectives were achieved

How does lesson planning help teachers?

Planning lessons in advance allows teachers to arrive at class each day prepared to introduce new concepts and facilitate engaging discussions rather than improvising as they go. In other words, without a lesson plan, teachers may be left scrambling, making students lose interest in the material to be learned.

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Federal Budget 2024: Winners and Losers

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed down the government's third budget, with a $300 power bill boon for every Australian household, but the purse strings kept tight on other measures.

There's pressure to provide cost of living relief on the one hand and pressure not to further fuel inflation on the other.

Have a look at this cheat sheet of what's new in this year's budget — and what's in it for you.

Winner: Aged care

Another half a billion dollars will be spent next financial year to release 24,100 more home care packages.

$610 million will be given to the states to assist long stay older patients to be discharged from hospital sooner. Those initiatives will be developed by states and territories.

Another $190 million will be provided on top of that to extend and redesign the Transition Care Programme to provide short-term care of up to 12 weeks for older people after a hospital stay.

These measures were agreed by National Cabinet in December last year. 

The Health Services Union said however its workers were "bitterly disappointed" at delays to historic pay rises, with the second half of those pay rises not due to begin until 2026.

No change: Child care

Reforms targeting the payment and accuracy of the Child Care Subsidy program, which became a reality in the last federal budget, will return savings of $410.7m over four years.

The government will reinvest $30 million of those savings over two years to provide funding towards a wage increase for the early childhood education and care sector.

A number of other measures to crack down on fraud and non-compliance were also listed in the budget, such as $84.2 million over four years to increase audits of providers in the sector and manage the collection of child care gap fees in the family day care and in home care sectors.

But funding for the sector remains largely unchanged overall.

Winner: Defence

The federal government will spend an extra $5.7 billion on defence over the next four years, and a projected $50.3 billion more in the decade to come as it continues reshaping Australia's armed forces.

The government predicts it will spend a total $330 billion on defence in the next decade, growing Australia's navy, preparing the army for shoreline warfare, enhancing long-range strike capabilities and strengthening the nation's northern bases.

Winner: Electricity bills

Every Australian household will get a tidy $300 rebate on their power bills, and eligible small businesses will receive a $325 rebate — a partial extension of bill relief agreed in negotiations with states and territories last year.

From July, all households will have a $300 credit automatically applied to their electricity bills. $75 dollars will be credited per quarter. 

Around 1 million businesses will receive a $325 deduction off their bills over next financial year, in quarterly instalments.

Treasury estimates this will directly reduce headline inflation by around half a percentage point next financial year, and argues increased spending from the cash injection will not contribute to broader inflationary pressures.

The government says it amounts to a 17 per cent reduction on the average power bill.

The measure is one of the key cost-of-living relief items being spruiked by government in this budget.

Loser: Sheep farmers

The government made a pre-election promise to stop the live export of sheep from Australia.

It's used the federal budget to set the date for the legislated ban, setting aside $107 million to help the industry end the trade by May 1, 2028.

It's a win for animal welfare groups that have lobbied for the ban, but farmers have broadly opposed the policy and say it is a legitimate industry that should be allowed to continue. 

Winner: Green manufacturing 

Critical minerals and products essential to transitioning to net-zero emissions have received a big funding boost in this budget.

Production tax incentives will be made available for critical minerals and for hydrogen from 2027, once the government has designed the scheme.

The incentive will be worth $2 for every kilogram of hyrdogen produced, and critical minerals will be valued at 10 per cent of relevant processing and refining costs, at an estimated cost of about $14 billion to the budget for both over the medium term.

$1.4 billion will also be provided over the next decade to support manufacturing of clean energy technologies, mostly to develop solar manufacturing capabilities.

And half a billion dollars will be given to Geoscience Australia to map Australia and identify potential new critical mineral sites.

The programs are part of the government's Future Made in Australia agenda, which will be guided by a new framework to identify priority industries for funding.

The framework, to be established in law under the Future Made in Australia Act, will guide future private sector investments and direct money towards projects that either make a significant contribution towards reaching net-zero emissions, or that help to shore up Australia against supply chain disruptions.

Winner: Gun safety campaigners

A national firearms register will be established, more than three decades since the Port Arthur massacre when it was first proposed.

The register will provide law enforcement with near-real time information on firearms and their owners, and link that information with other relevant police and government information.

Establishing the register will cost $161.3 million over four years.

Winner: Rental assistance

The maximum rate of money paid through the Commonwealth Rent Assistance payment will be increased by 10 per cent from September this year, which will benefit about 1 million recipients already receiving the maximum rate.

The current maximum payment for a single person receiving rent assistance is $188.20 a fortnight, and $125.47 for a single person in a share house.

That means the payment would increase by about $19 a fortnight for a single person before accounting for indexation.

It will cost the government an additional $1.9 billion over five years and half a billion annually after that.

Winner: Housing

The federal government will direct $1 billion of its National Housing Infrastructure Facility towards crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence and for youth.

The funding helps local government to build social housing and supporting infrastructure that otherwise may not go ahead.

Another $1 billion will also be given to states and territories to pay for roads, sewers, energy and water connections for new homes.

The government has also doubled the funding it provides for homelessness services through its five-year agreement with the states and territories — though the Greens claim that money is being taken from social housing funding under the agreement.

They also claim the $1 billion extra for crisis housing is the same money the government already promised in September last year in order to win support for its Housing Australia Future Fund.

Winner: Healthcare

The federal government says it is investing $8.5 billion in new money into health this budget.

The government will fund an additional 29 urgent care clinics, adding to the 58 already opened, which offer walk-in care seven days a week completely covered by Medicare.

The facilities are designed to help people receive aid for simple ailments, including many that would otherwise have required them to go to an emergency department.

But the Australian Medical Association says there is little new in this year's budget for health, counting it as a missed opportunity.

The AMA also did not get its requested tax on sugary drinks, which it says would have raised billions oif dollars and acted as a preventative health measure.

For the second year in a row, the government has also increased the Medicare levy low-income thresholds for singles, families, seniors and pensioners to account for inflation.

The threshold has been increased up to $26,000 for individuals while the family threshold has been increased to $43,846. For single seniors and pensioners, the threshold has been increased to $41,089 while the family threshold will increase to $57,198.

The family income thresholds will now increase by $4,027 for each dependent child, up from $3,760

Loser: Would-be migrants

The government will set the cap for next financial year's permanent migration program at 185,000 places, with 132,200 of those places being allocated to skill stream, limiting more permanent places to people who fit Australia's longer-term skills needs.

Net overseas migration is forecast to halve to 260,000 in 2024-2025.

And the number of places for international students is being capped, the details to be determined in negotiations with universities.

A $25 ballot for working and holiday visas will also be introduced for people coming from China, Vietnam and India from next financial year.

That ballot will help to cut down processing times for visa applications and help to manage demand.

Separately a new program will be established for 3,000 Indian graduates and early-career professonals to be able to live and work in Australia for up to two years. Indian nationals seeking to apply will pay $25 to enter a ballot, and then pay $365 for the visa if they are successful.

Loser: International students

The number of places for international students will now be capped, under legislation due to be introduced by the federal government.

The education minister will be able to require education providers to limit the maximum number of new international student enrolments each year.

If universities want to enrol international students above that limit, they will be required to build new purpose-built student accommodation to benefit both international and domestic students.

The details of the student cap will be determined through consultation with the sector.

Winner: Medication

The cost of PBS-listed medications will be frozen for everyone with a Medicare card for one year, one of the key cost of living measures committed by the government this budget.

For concession card holders and pensioners, prices will be frozen for five years.

It means the price will remain at $31.60, or $7.70 per medicine for concession card holders and pensioners.

It's set to come at a $310m cost over the five years, with an additional $166.4m cost in 2028-29.

Loser: Mental health

Australians experiencing mental health distress will soon be able to get access to support free of charge and without a referral, with the establishment of a national digital service.

The government will inject $588.5 million over the next eight years for the digital service, which it says will be designed so people can get the support they need before their health needs escalate to requiring higher-intensity services such as a mental health treatment plan, acute in-patient service or crisis line.

Free mental health support will also be delivered through a network of 61 Medicare mental health centres, which will have access to psychiatrists, psychologists and GPs on call, building on the government's already established Head to Health network.

But the ABC is marking mental health as a loser, because these supports are being announced nearly a year and a half on from the government halving how many psychology sessions receive a rebate from 20 to 10 in a year.

Independent senator David Pocock said these measures were a poor answer, and "hardly at the scale needed to confront the crisis we're in".

"While welcome, this won't put a dent in waiting lists or reduce pressure on hospitals who are seeing more mental health emergencies coming through their doors," he said.

The Australian Medical Association said it was also concerning that general practice's role in mental health was being "undermined" by the removal of specific Medicare items for the review of a mental health care plan.

A scathing Australian Association of Psychologists said the government needed to "grow a heart and start taking mental health seriously", suggesting realistic Medicare rebates would have been a better use of the money.

The government will also provide $71.7 million over four years to primary health networks to bring on mental health nurses and other allied health supports to provide free care and coordination in between GP and specialist appointments.

Winner: Family violence supports

The federal government will spend close to $1 billion to make the Leaving Violence Program permanent. The scheme offers people leaving abusive relationships up to $5,000 in financial support as well as referring them to social services and safety planning.

The $925.2 million will fully fund the scheme for the next five years. The scheme began as a pilot program in 2021 under the former government and has been accessed more than 45,000 times since it began.

Winner: Teaching, nursing and social work students

Students undertaking practical placement for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work courses will now be paid $319.50 a week for placement, solving a huge affordability gap for students required to do placement as part of their study but unable to work their regular jobs during that time.

The Commonwealth Prac Payment will be means-tested and in addition to any other income support students are already receiving.

It will benefit about 68,000 higher education students and more than 5,000 VET students from July next year.

Students Against Placement Poverty has criticised the measure as insufficient, saying the commitment amounts to about $8 an hour for a full work week, and many students will miss out because it's means-tested.

Winner: Treasury

It's not much of a surprise, but the federal government has again posted an expected surplus for 2023-24 on the back of its surplus in last year's budget, which was the first in over a decade.

Treasury has forecast a surplus of $9.3 billion for this financial year, meaning the government will receive more money than it will spend.

But the following three financial years will be deeper in the red than earlier forecasts suggested — a downgrade the government blames on unavoidable spending to continue programs that were due to expire.

The government says however there has been a cumulative $200 billion improvement in the six years to 2026-27 compared to forecasts made before Labor came to government.

Much of that is thanks to improved commodity prices and an increased tax take driven by inflation and better-than-expected employment rates.

Winner: Taxpayers

From July 1 every taxpayer will receive a tax cut following changes announced by the federal government earlier this year.

It means workers in every tax bracket will pay less income tax.

You can use our calculator to find out exactly how big the tax cut will be for you .

The stage 3 tax cuts were already legislated to take effect in July, but the government broke an election promise not to amend them in order to rebalance the cuts to more greatly benefit lower-income workers.

In short, the Albanese government's reforms mean anyone earning less than $146,000 taxable income will receive a bigger cut than previously legislated, while anyone earning over that will receive a smaller cut.

The reforms reduce the 19 per cent tax rate to 16 per cent, reduce the 32.5 per cent tax rate to 30 per cent, raise the threshold at which the 37 per cent tax rate applies from $120,000 to $135,000 and raise the threshold at which the highest rate of 45 per cent applies from $180,000 to $190,000.

Loser: High-income earners

The ABC is marking high-income earners as a budget loser, even though they are due to receive income tax cuts from July, because those people are strictly worse off compared to last budget.

Because of the federal government's changes to the already legislated stage three tax cuts, people earning a taxable income of more than $146,000 will receive a smaller cut than previously set out in the budget.

The highest income earners will pay $4,529 less income tax from July — but those people were previously expecting to pay $9,075 less from that date.

Overall it is a reduction in forecast benefit to those taxpayers when compared to the last federal budget.

Loser: NDIS top-ups

The automatic top-up of NDIS plans when a participant uses all their funds will be ended as part of a broader move to rein in the rapid growth in expense of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The NDIS is listed as the second-fastest-growing budget pressure, after national debt.

The government already laid out the need to get growth under control in last year's budget to ensure the NDIS remained viable.

The government expects to moderate growth in NDIS participant payments by $14.4 billion over the coming four years, once its reforms are passed by parliament.

A key element of this will be ending automatic top-ups of people's plans when they use all their funds — as the government attempts to curb what it calls "intra-plan inflation".

Millions more will also be invested in detecting fraud among providers.

Treasury forecasts expect NDIS Commonwealth-funded participant payment growth to average 9.2 per cent year on year compared to 10.1 per cent predicted at the Mid-Year Economic and Financial Outlook in December.  

Expect the government to quickly point out the NDIS remains demand-driven and the budget papers also included a further $468.7 million to support people with a disability through the establishment of an Evidence Advisory Committee, making it easier for people with disability to navigate services, reforms to pricing arrangements and a crackdown on fraud. 

It's part of a deal struck with the states to reduce annual growth to 8 per cent, with the states agreeing to jointly fund some supports outside the NDIS.

Winner: Last-minute travellers

Australian passports may already be some of the most expensive in the world but a new fee will give travellers access to fast-tracked applications from July 1.

People willing to fork out an extra $100 to skip the queue will get access to a five-business-day turnaround of their documents.

The government anticipates the added fees will rake in $27.4 million over five years.

Loser: Public service contractors

The federal government will save $1 billion by reducing spending on external labour, including consultants and contractors, as the government continues to cut back on the use of consultants and contractors within the public service.

Winner: Parental leave takers

Superannuation will now be paid on top of Commonwealth-funded paid parental leave from July next year.

It will cost the government $1.1 billion over four years, plus $623.1 million each year ongoing, in order to implement the scheme.

Superannuation has been raised as a key issue contributing to pay inequity between men and women, who typically access more parental leave, with the loss of the super payments during that time contributing to smaller savings on average at retirement.

It builds on the government's plan to increase the amount of paid leave new parents can take under the Commonwealth scheme to 26 weeks by mid-2026.

Winner: Student debts

People with HELP debts, VET student loans and Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans and other student loans will have their debts reduced as the federal government changes how the loans accrue interest.

Pending a legislative change that must be passed through parliament, student debts will grow each year at the rate of either the consumer price index or the wage price index — whichever is lower.

This change will also be backdated to June last year, meaning loans for that year will grow at the lower wage index rate of 3.2 per cent instead of the 7.1 per cent inflation rate they were measured at.

Debt repayments won't change, but it means for someone with a $25,000 debt it will be $1,120 smaller than without the change.

There was also no change to when debt accrues, meaning student debts will continue to grow each year before people's fortnightly loan repayments are actually applied.

The measure will cost the federal government about $3 billion in foregone revenue.

Winner: Social services

Around 4,700 single JobSeekers who are unable to work more than 14 hours a week will have their payment raised to the higher payment rate, currently available to single recipients with children and those aged 55 and over who have been on the payment for nine months or more.

It means they will receive an additional $54.90 per fortnight from September, according to the government.

The government will also continue to freeze the deeming rates for another year. If the government had lifted the deeming rates, it would have meant 876,000 income support recipients, more than half of whom are on the aged pension, likely would have seen a fall in welfare payments. 

And around 31,000 carers will be given greater flexibility to undertake work, study or volunteer from March next year, with existing weekly limits on participation hours shifted to be counted over four-week periods instead.

Another $1.8 billion over three years has also been committed to frontline staff at Services Australia, to help manage claims and clear backlogs.

Winner: Social media safety

The government will trial an age verification scheme for children online, which will test options to restrict children from being able to access pornography or other inappropriate content online.

Overseas attempts have found it difficult to implement an effective age assurance program, while some sceptics have raised concerns of adult sites holding people's personal data becoming a target for hackers.

But the government will push ahead with a "pilot" program as part of its broader response to recent prominent incidents of gendered violence.

$6.5 million will be committed to trialling the age verification scheme. 

Winner: People with endometriosis

Longer specialist consultations for women with endometriosis and other complex gynaecological conditions like chronic pelvic pain and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) will now be covered under Medicare from July next year.

Two new rebates will be added to the Medicare Benefits Schedule enabling extended consultation times and increased rebates for specialist care.

The $49.1 million investment is expected to provide about 430,000 more services to women across the country.

Including this new funding, the federal government has committed a total $107 million in endometriosis support for women since being elected, including establishing endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across the country and funding for research and awareness. 

Winner: Renewables

$3.2 billion will be spent over the next decade under the government's flagship Future Made in Australia initiative to accelerate investment in renewable hydrogen and solar and battery supply chains.

About half of that will be paid through a new innovation fund to support the commercialisation and rollout of new renewable technologies, including green metals, low-carbon liquid fuels and battery manufacturing.

On top of that, $8 billion will be invested over the next decade to support renewable hydrogen production, including a Hydrogen Production Tax incentive, which will provide a $2 incentive per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced from 2027, at a cost of $6.7 billion over the medium term.

Another roughly $100 million will be spent over the next four years to speed up approval processes for renewable projects, which have been taking as long as three years to be approved under federal environment laws.

And, recognising the cost blowouts of Snowy Hydro Limited, the corporation will receive another $7.1 billion over four years to continue construction of Snowy 2.0, much of which will be provided as a loan. 

Winner: Sport

The government will spend just under a quarter of a billion dollars to upgrade the Australian Institute of Sport, based in Canberra, ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

The funding will go towards a new high-performance training and testing centre, a multi-sport indoor dome and accommodation.

Queensland had sought for the Australian Institute of Sport to be relocated to Brisbane for the Olympics, but that was rejected. 

The 2027 men's Rugby World Cup and 2029 women's Rugby World Cup will also have taxation for their events exempted. It will mean income derived from the events and any interest, dividends or royalties will not be taxed.

Winner: Tradies

A tax break that makes it easier for tradies to claw back the price of a brand-new ute has been extended for another year.

The popular instant asset write-off scheme allows small businesses with an annual turnover below $10m to claim a tax deduction on new equipment (such as a new ute, an oven, or a coffee machine) up to the value of $20,000.

It was extended in last year's budget for the current financial year, but the legislation has stalled in parliament amid calls to increase the threshold to $30,000.

However, the Council of Small Business Australia has been urging the government to increase the threshold to $150,000.

The federal government will also commit another $90 million to cover the education costs of 20,000 more people seeking to study programs related to housing and construction.

Payments up to $10,000 over the course of a person's study will also be on offer for people willing to learn clean energy skills under the revamped 'New Energy Apprentice Payment'.

Winner: Ukraine

The government will provide an additional $100 million in assistance to Ukraine, including $50 million for "short-range air defence systems".

$30 million will go towards aerial drone systems and $15 million towards equipment such as combat helmets, inflatable boats, boots, fire masks and generators.

It tips to the total support to Ukraine since Russia's invasion over the $1 billion mark.

Loser: Universities

The ABC is marking universities as a loser because, while this budget sets out a likely future windfall for the tertiary sector, the concrete measures for universities for now are largely impositions.

University groups have already expressed concern at the government's plan to cap international student places, with institutions required to provide purpose-built student accommodation if they want to take students above those caps.

The budget has also laid out requirements for universities to direct 40 per cent of their Student Services and Amenities Fee, paid annually by students, towards student-led organisations from next year.

The Student Services and Amenities Fee for full-time students is currently set at a maximum of $351 for this year, with no minimum requirement for how much is paid to student-led groups.

However, pending final consultations, more funding is expected to come down the line for the sector from 2026.

The government has set a goal for 80 per cent of working-aged people to attain a degree by 2050, and in order to do that would have to boost the number of people from disadvantaged groups going to university.

That would require an effective doubling of university places by 2050, and the government has promised an overhaul of funding to achieve that, including a new demand-driven funding arrangement and needs-based funding to support disadvantaged students to complete their degrees.

But none of that will be settled until the government strikes a deal with the tertiary sector.

Winner: Women

The largest measure most closely targeted to supporting women was already announced by the federal government ahead of the budget.

That's an almost $1 billion commitment to make a $5,000 payment for women fleeing violent relationships permanent in the budget, a scheme first trialled by the Morrison government.

Another $1 billion will be put towards crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Superannuation will also be paid on Commonwealth-funded paid parental leave from July next year, a measure that will help to close the gap in men's and women's savings at retirement.

That will cost another $1.1 billion over four years, and $623.1 million each year after.

• Illustration: Emma Machan

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Home Blog Business How to Make a Transition Plan Presentation

How to Make a Transition Plan Presentation

Changes inside an organization can be triggered by both external and internal factors. When we mention external factors, we can picture new competitors or technological advancements, whereas internal factors most likely refer to organizational restructuring or process refinement. Regardless of the scenario, clear communication is necessary to ensure smooth functioning in the organization.

Transition plans play an important role in aligning organizational efforts toward strategic goals. They inform employees of the necessary steps for changes to occur while minimizing friction with the current operations’ expected performance. In this article, we will delve into the elements of a transition plan, guide you on creating a transition plan presentation, and outline the tools required for its execution.

Table of Contents

What is a Transition Plan?

What are the elements of a transition plan, what are the types of transition plans, importance of the transition plan in businesses, how to write a transition plan, what is a transition plan presentation, what is required to communicate a transition plan in a presentation, how to create a transition plan presentation, final words.

A Transition Plan (in the context of an employee) is a proactive method for recording and outlining the essential tasks, daily duties, professional connections, and resources held by an individual who will be transitioning out of their role. This documentation ensures a smooth transfer of responsibilities to a temporary backup or permanent successor, minimizing disruption when the individual leaves the position [1]. 

The transition plan applies to different scenarios where the employee can move inside the organization, leave the organization, or adapt to a new project or procedure. Both supervisors and the successor in the specific role are the target audience of a transition plan.

We can use the building block metaphor to think of a transition plan. The elements require inputs from different departments or documents, and we can list them as follows:

• Introduction and Overview : The “why” of the transition. It has to clearly state the purpose, its scope, and the overall objectives or goals.
• Stakeholders and Team Members : List all stakeholders and team members, mentioning their roles and responsibilities on ongoing projects. 
• Transition Schedule : A detailed task list of all ongoing projects, their milestones, and deadlines. Once that’s completed, we create the timeline for completing activities to secure a successful transition.
• Resource Allocation : Human resources, hardware, software, budget, and financial resources.
• Risk Management : Identify potential risks, develop risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans.

Although transition plans are typically considered for employee transition phases, there are multiple scenarios in which transition plans are required.

Employee Transition Plan

Designed for onboarding new employees or in cases where incumbents move into higher seniority roles within the organization. They include training schedules, knowledge transfer, ongoing project status, and role-specific goals.

Project Transition Plan

Required when a project is handed from one team to another or when it changes from one phase to another. We have to list detailed timelines, deliverables, and detailed project history.

Business Transition Plan

The most typical scenario involves mergers or acquisitions, but they are also implemented in organizational restructuring. A business transition plan includes strategic objectives, resource allocation, and communication strategies.

Technology Transition Plan

Required when an organization is rolling out large-scale technology changes (either for software, hardware, or processes). They must include the system integration steps, user training, and data migration procedures.

Client Transition Plan

A client transition plan is required when there’s a need to transfer client accounts or services from one entity to another. We can think of this in situations of mergers and acquisitions, where the client accounts need to be transitioned to the acquiring company. Contractual changes are another situation that requires client transition plans, and so is staff turnover – when a key account manager leaves the organization and their responsibilities must be transitioned to another employee.

Leadership Transition Plan

Used when transitioning leadership roles , like a new CEO or department director. Detailed planning on the succession strategy, stakeholder investment, and strategic alignment are commonly listed among the requirements of this transition plan model.

Career Transition Plan

Finally, this type of transition document can be classified independently, although it’s commonly considered a subset of the employee transition plan model. Career transition plans are used when a person changes their career path, for example: a technical SEO role transitioning into frontend development. They can represent changes between departments, as in the case we just exposed, or inside the same department but for a different technical role.

A transition plan is a practical guide for employers and employees during organizational career changes. By developing a structured action plan, both parties gain a clear and achievable outline for navigating career transitions effectively. This strategy helps maintain continuity in crucial business functions and enhances the clarity and confidence of all involved. Here are several key ways in which a transition plan benefits an organization:

Maintains Business Continuity

The plan ensures that the company runs smoothly, without disruptions, even during important projects [3]. This is crucial for maintaining the flow of work and meeting deadlines.

Facilitates Knowledge Transfer

It sets up a system for passing essential knowledge to new and current team members. This transfer is necessary to keep the team well-informed and efficient.

Reduces Uncertainty and Anxiety

The plan highlights each step of a transition. This helps reduce stress and uncertainty for employees and their colleagues moving to a new role.

Boosts Employee Morale

Involving employees in the transition process makes them feel valued and included in decision-making. It boosts their engagement and satisfaction at work.

Prevents Losses and Missed Opportunities

A well-defined plan keeps the organization focused on its objectives, even during significant changes. This focus helps avoid potential setbacks or missed chances.

Saves Time and Resources

Having a clear plan in place during busy times means less scrambling. This helps save time and resources, allowing employees to concentrate on their primary tasks.

Standardizes Procedures

Transition plans create a uniform way to handle the handover of responsibilities when a job becomes vacant, planned or not. This includes setting clear goals, strategies, and priorities and ensuring all duties are noted to prevent any details from being overlooked.

Mitigates Risks

The plan reduces risks to business relationships, particularly related to roles that deal with clients or suppliers [3]. It can also serve as a training guide for backups or successors.

In this section, we will explain the process of writing a transition plan. These instructions will be generic and applicable to all transition plan models, but specifics for each kind of transition plan must be added.

Assessment and Goal Setting

Start by gathering and analyzing the data to understand the organization’s current situation and the necessity for a transition. In this, you are conducting a Needs Assessment study, in which you can implement a SWOT analysis to give a broader picture of where the organization stands.

Goals must be clear, measurable, achievable during the transition period, and aligned with the organization’s mission, vision, and strategic goals. Key stakeholders must be involved in this process to ensure their perspectives and needs are considered. Additionally, you ought to gather input from the departments and teams directly affected by the transition.

Identify Transition Points

The first step is to map out the current processes that will be affected by the transition. Flowcharts and process maps are ideal tools for visualizing the current workflows and easily locating the modifications to be introduced. Determine the start and end points of the transition, as well as any critical phase in between.

Managers must also evaluate the future impact on operations, employees, and stakeholders at each transition point. Depending on the industry, bottlenecks must be addressed with their respective mitigation plans or further studies in areas of concern.

Develop Transition Procedures

Break down the transition into specific, actionable steps. Each step has to be detailed to avoid confusion or resource usage conflicts between departments. For this reason, in our experience, it’s best to create a standard operating procedures (SOPs) document that can be shared as a handout in the presentation. 

Review the procedures with stakeholders or consultant parties to ensure the feasibility of the transition plan, then make adjustments based on feedback.

Assign Roles and Responsibilities

Identify all roles required for the transition, including team leaders, project managers, and support staff. The scope of responsibilities for each role has to be included as well.

Conduct a meeting to inform all parties involved of their roles and responsibilities in the transition planning. You can evacuate doubts by providing an FAQ section or hosting a brief question-and-answer session .

Define Activities

List all the activities required to complete the transition. This includes preparation, execution, monitoring procedures, success metrics, and follow-up activities. Each activity must contain a detailed description, including the objectives, procedures, required resources, and expected outcomes. 

Once the activities are drafted, we must prioritize them based on importance and urgency. First, focus on the critical path for the transition, then on the peripheral activities required.

Define Timeline

Develop a timeline that includes the schedule for each activity. Project management tools like Gantt Charts are particularly useful for this purpose, especially if overlapping activities are expected. Then, you can present the key milestones from the beginning to the completion of major stages in the transition plan. Each activity must include a deadline. 

Prepare Contingency Plans

A risk assessment study is needed to acknowledge the potential issues or obstacles that can impact the transition process for both internal and external factors. Then, teams have to create strategies to mitigate the identified risks, outlining the steps if the risk materializes and/or alternative plans.

Training sessions for risk mitigation readiness must also be included, especially if the organization opts for internal mitigation procedures rather than hiring third-party services. All stakeholders must be informed of the status of the contingency plan, and the document has to be updated after a specific time period.

A transition plan presentation is a communication tool used to inform stakeholders and team members about the strategy, structure, and execution of a transition plan. It can be used in two different instances: board meetings when fine-tuning details for the transition plan or company-wide when communicating the transition plan to the different teams involved and team members.

The primary goal of a transition plan presentation is to bring clarity and alignment toward the transition objectives, understand the roles and responsibilities, as well as inform the timeline for the process and resources required. 

A well-structured transition plan combines good content, appealing graphics, and a professional template.

Companies prepare various types of transition plans depending on the situation. These can include departmental transition plans during restructuring, leadership transition plans for executive roles, and individual transition plans for employees moving to new positions or exiting the company. Each type streamlines the process of change within the organization, minimizing disruptions and maintaining productivity.

The content of a transition plan includes all the essential duties, current projects, project timelines, and contacts associated with a specific position within a company. It records the tasks an employee is responsible for daily and includes ongoing projects they are involved in. Thus, daily operations will not be disrupted when an employee leaves or moves to a different role within the company.

Graphics are important in a transition plan because they help make the information clearer and easier to understand. When you use charts, graphs, or diagrams, you can show relationships between tasks, timelines, and responsibilities in a visual way that words alone might not convey as effectively. This visual presentation helps everyone see the big picture at a glance, making complex information more accessible and easier to remember. In short, graphics simplify complex data, enhance understanding, and make it easier for teams to follow the plan effectively.

For instance, you can use visual aids like flowcharts to present the transition process. In comparison, Gantt charts will help you to show the timeline. It will depict when different tasks should be completed and highlight overlapping activities.

PowerPoint Templates

PowerPoint templates are used for making transition plans because they provide a consistent structure that can be quickly followed and understood. Professionally designed layouts help the user save time and effort, as they don’t have to start from a blank slide. Roadmap templates , in particular, allow the presenter to disclose the stages of the transition plan with vivid visual aids. 

Transition plan templates also help in terms of building a cohesive slide deck. They are tailored to fit the company’s specific needs or the transition details, thus easily becoming an official communication channel for high-importance information. This structured approach helps everyone involved in the transition process to quickly grasp their roles and responsibilities, the timeline, and other key aspects of the plan, leading to a smoother changeover.

1. Transition Plan PPT Template

An ideal solution to illustrate the different phases of a transition plan in one slide. Presenters can apply this directly to small-scale projects, or work with auxiliary slides for large-scale transition plans.

Use This Template

2. Transition Plan Step Checklist Slide Deck

Ditch the old bullet list checklist idea and opt for a visual layout, with a forward-directed arrow to communicate the transition points or transition phases to cover in your transition plan.

3. 5-Step Transition Plan Diagram PowerPoint Template

Work with this neat transition plan template to present phases or activities inside a transition plan. You can customize this template in both light and dark theme.

4. 30-60-90 Transition Plan Slide

This template is a perfect fit for an employee transition plan in which we have to process the activities within a short time frame. Customize this template to add extra activities in addition to the 4 already offered.

For this case study, we will consider a mid-sized software development company named TechCo, which has decided to transition its primary application from on-premises to cloud services. The transition aims to enhance scalability, improve performance, reduce costs, and offer better recovery solutions for clients.

Goals of the Technological Transition

We can use multiple approaches to populate the Goals of the Technological Transition slide. 

First and foremost, we’ll use a SWOT analysis template to illustrate this case:

TechCo identified the following goals that justify the requirement of a technological transition process:

• Scalability : The application needs to handle increased load and user base without significant infrastructure changes. The organization is pushing a new marketing strategy to reach bigger companies, so improving scalability is necessary.
• Performance Improvement : By leveraging cloud resources, TechCo aims to reduce latency and improve application speed.
• Cost Reduction : Maintaining on-site servers incurs heavy monthly fees, which are often reflected in customers’ subscription plans. For this reason, TechCo wants to migrate to cloud servers and reduce bills to offer more affordable customer pricing.
• Disaster Recovery : Recently, TechCo was a victim of a ransomware attack. They seek to improve their security protocols and offer 24/7 disaster recovery for clients to ensure business continuity.
• Flexibility : Allow easy updates and feature rollouts without compromising the server uptime. 

Alternatively, we can represent these previously laid concepts extracted from the SWOT analysis in the format of bullet points with icons, an infographic, or opt for a flowchart that illustrates how an achieved goal turns into a benefit for the organization. Another take is to opt for a Goals & Key Objectives Slide .

Transition Points

We can consider the Transition Points slide as a checklist of elements that must be completed to ensure the success of the transition plan. For this reason, we will work with the  Transition Plan Checklist Timeline PowerPoint Template , which shall be populated with the information below.

There are three main areas of transition for TechCo. First comes the Processes, where data migration from on-premises to the cloud is one point, followed by modifying existing workflows to adapt to the cloud environment. Then we have the People, in which IT staff training and reassignment are required to manage the cloud infrastructure. Finally, we have Software that involves migrating the existing app to the cloud and integrating cloud-based tools and services.

Responsible Parties

In terms of graphical elements, we can work with a Responsibility Matrix to illustrate the roles and to which department they belong in this slide of the transition plan. We will refer once again to the TechCo case study to showcase this point:

To guarantee the success of this technology transition plan, TechCo has to identify the key responsible roles for the process.

• IT Team : They will conduct the transition’s technical aspects, including data migration, software deployment, and system integration.
• Chief Technology Officer (CTO) : In charge of overseeing the entire transition process, ensuring alignment with business goals and technology strategy. 
• Chief Operating Officer (COO) : Coordinates operational changes and manages the resource allocation.
• HR Manager : The person in charge of organizing training sessions and employee transitions between departments.

As mentioned before, the Activities slide describes all the actions that will happen in the transition plan. Process diagrams can be a valid method to present the flow and interconnections between different activities, although one process diagram per slide covering one activity is ideal. Working with all activities inside one process diagram will result in a cluttered slide with little value for the team.

Much like the Transition Points slide, checklists are valid as long as they carefully detail the subpoints inside each activity, meaning the steps to complete each activity. Otherwise, they can become lengthy checklists.

In our case study, we identify six main activities with their respective sub-activities:

• Assess current system
• Select the cloud service provider
• Update existing workflows for cloud services
• Migrate databases and application files
• Extensive testing to ensure functionality
• Set up parallel on-premise server
• IT department employee training
• Sales department employee training
• Marketing department employee training
• Feedback from all departments
• Support material/manual creation
• End-User training
• Deploy in a secure environment
• Testing phase
• Feedback on test
• Roll-out for end-users
• Monitoring customer performance data
• Implement a user collaboration program
• Update release to fix bugs
• Routine maintenance
• Performance operation
• Customer support service

Timeline for the Technological Transition

The total plan will be executed in 10 months. The timeline template below briefly describes the stages of this technology transition plan. 

• Conduct system analysis and select cloud provider.
• Develop migration and training plans.
• Redesign workflows and start training programs.
• Execute data migration and perform extensive testing.
• Implement the pilot version and gather user feedback.
• Deploy the new version to all users.
• Monitor system performance and address any issues.
• Conduct routine maintenance and provide support.

Risks or Contingency

Finally, we have to present both the risks and the contingency plan. For the risk, we can work with a risk matrix and lay out the points that our case study covers:

• Employee Resistance: Due to the drastic technological change, some resistance due to the steep learning curve is expected. The HR team is ready to mitigate any issues by conducting thorough training and maintaining ongoing communication with the marketing and sales department, as they must clearly understand the new app’s performance.
• Missed Stages: When some of the activities are delayed, the “child” activities cannot be initiated, thus delaying the overall transition plan.
• Data Loss: The hefty amounts of data required to be transferred in a transition to cloud services can cause information loss.
• Security Breaches: This is linked to employee training. Strong security measures and protocols must be implemented to prevent cyber attacks on cloud-based servers.

Transition plan presentations are a medium to communicate change in organizations, regardless of their scale. We ought to consider this tool as a complementary resource to the written transition plan, as it eases the understanding of complex transition processes. Think of how to start the presentation in an engaging format with an audiovisual element to present the case as clearly as possible. 

[1] https://dar.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/Transition_Plan.pdf

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2020/05/21/11-strategies-for-successfully-transitioning-responsibilities-to-new-hires/?sh=6cd3b1ca7090

[3] https://hr.nih.gov/sites/default/files/public/documents/workforce/workforce-planning/pdf/14-stafftransitionplanoverview.pdf

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