Presentation Planner Tool

5 Steps to a Successful Presentation

One of the major secrets of a successful presentation, along with proper visual aids and speaking confidently, is a well thought-through structure. Writing a presentation plan or outline will save a lot of time and help you deliver a memorable (for all the right reasons!) speech or presentation.

To assist with your planning download our easy to use Presentation Planner. This model is based on the NLP (neurolinguistic programing) process developed by Gary De Rodrigues and is helpful in bringing clarity when creating successful presentations.

Step 1: Small What?

Create a one sentence statement that provides the audience with an understanding of the topic. Keep it clear and concise.

This step is particularly important to engage visual learners who want to decide quickly if this session is in line with their expectations and/or in line with their personal interest.

Step 2: Why?

This is where you (briefly) build the need for listening/participating.

Provide relevant statistics or a story that illustrates how critical this information is to the attendees or describe a scenario that highlights the importance of what they are about to hear.

In this section, build the case from the business perspective however ensure that the 'why' is personal (why is this important to them personally).

Step 3: Big What?

In this section you can include the theory or background information as the audience now sees it as important to them.

Limit yourself to 3 Key Messages by asking what are the three (3) essential points that the participants must know when they leave your presentation? Focus only on these 3 points and provide a maximum of 3 supporting facts/pieces of information per key point. If time is short, chose only one Key Message and reinforce it in 3 different ways.

In this section the 'less is more' approach is essential.

Step 4: How?

At the 'how' stage, the focus is on how to use/apply the new knowledge.

Use the time to summarise the key points of the presentation and encourage the actions you want participants to take. It is also important to reinforce the WIIFM (What's in it for me?) factor as they see how important your presentation is and memorise the key points.

Step 5: What If?

The 'What If' section is sometimes called 'future positioning'. It is the final section in the presentation and leads people to imagine a better future using the new information/skills.

By linking the implementation of what they have just heard with solving their particular problems (as identified in the 'why' section), the participants 'see' and 'feel' themselves better off for applying the new knowledge/ taking the actions back in the workplace.

This section appeals to the emotional needs of the audience and provides an anchor for the required behavior.

The skill of the presenter here is 'painting the picture' and 'joining the dots' for the participants so that they experience positive emotions when thinking about taking an action or implementing the new process.