Many listeners get lost when presentations are long, so it’s better to split your information into smaller, well-organised pieces. Imagine a guided tour that walks them through your ideas.
To start with, decide on what you want your audience to remember. Those will become your main points.
Then, plan how you will structure your speech:
“First, we will go over my programme; secondly, we will see a practical case and, thirdly, we’ll finish with questions you might have.”
Here you have other words you might find useful:
- Initially; to start with; to begin.
- Besides; also; too; as well; then; next; in addition.
- To end; lastly; last of all; finally; to conclude; to finish.
The reason for this tip
One of my students once showed me a presentation. She had very interesting content but it lacked structure. I asked her to reorder her sentences and start every paragraph with one of the link words above. After hesitating on which points were the most relevant, she was able to organise everything and deliver a speech that listeners were able to understand effortlessly. A small change had delivered a huge impact.
Have a look at Andrew’s books on how to improve your business English: www.andymiles.com