A presentation should have one clear objective.
Think about the last presentation or speech you heard. How much of the content do you remember? If the presentation was any good at all, you may remember a theme or two plus a few facts and figures. You may also remember a story that the presenter shared, if the story resonated with you personally.
However, can you answer these two questions about the presentation?
1) What was the presenter’s main point?
2) What did the presenter want me to do with the information presented?
We do a lot of presentation coaching. Most of the presentations we see are interesting but not effective. In other words, the presentations are enjoyable to listen to and include a lot of interesting information and visuals but lack focus. I find myself listening to the presentations and wondering, “Why are you telling me this?”
There are steps you can take to make sure this doesn’t happen to you. First, learn as much as you can about your audience. What is important to them? What do they already know about your topic? Second, find the intersection between your content and your audience needs and interests. Third, think about the action you want them to take following your presentation. What do you want your audience to do with your information?
Write your answers down. You can do this by completing the sentences below:
1) My audience cares about:
2) Therefore, my main point should be:
3) As a result, my audience will be motivated to:
Build your presentation around your responses to these questions, and you should have no problem delivering a focused presentation.