Four Easy Formats for Organizing Your Presentation

Four Easy Formats for
Organizing Your Presentation

One of the first things to remember in delivering effective presentations is that purpose and content are two different animals. Your purpose is what you hope to accomplish in your presentation; and your content is whatever you’re going to say, show, or do to achieve that purpose. If you think in these terms and separate the two in your mind, your content will always grow appropriately and organically out of your purpose.

But what about a theme that you can build your speech around and a logical framework to get there? Theme-based speeches and presentations are inherently powerful and persuasive. And when they proceed logically, listeners can stay with you every step of the way.

Here are four classic formats for organizing presentations and speeches. Which of these you use depends on the nature of your audience, your purpose with those listeners, and the content you choose to accomplish that purpose. Any one of those variables can change from a previous situation, and your chosen format should also change accordingly.

The four formats:

Chronological. Perhaps your presentation lends itself to a chronological approach. A talk on handling change, for instance, might take a look backward at company practices up to now then present the reasons why new procedures need to be put into place. Talks on historical subjects readily lend themselves to this format.
Problem-Solution. Do your listeners need to be educated about a problem before you can discuss possible solutions? A problem-solution format would work well in that situation. If your audience requires a more in-depth examination, you might choose a variation of this format: the Problem-Cause-Solution style of organization.
Pro-Con (or Alternate Solutions). If on the other hand your audience is already acquainted with the issues, you may elect to skip the discussion of the problem and go right to possible solutions. Now you can talk about the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, i.e., Pro and Con instead of giving your listeners information they already have.

A speech on urban gang violence, for instance, might benefit from a Problem-Cause-Solution format when given, say, to the charitable giving committee of a corporation. On the other hand, a group of social workers who deal with gang violence every day and understand its causes well might appreciate the more direct Pro-Con approach instead.

Tell a Story. People love stories, and will listen to them eagerly. Can you organize your presentation around a compelling story? We all have stories to tell — companies and organizations no less than individuals. If you frame your message in the context of a story, with all the drama, conflict, and emotions that people bring to their actions, you will have a very captive audience.

The great advantage of using any of these easily accessible formats is that once you make your decision, your content almost writes itself. Think about any of the organization methods I’ve just described: In every case, the first piece of information delivered by the speaker almost automatically suggests the next bit of content.

To give examples for each of the formats: What happens first in time is of course followed by what comes next. If you have described a problem, it is natural for you to offer a solution. Delivering one side of an argument — the “Pro” position — begs the offer of the other side, the “Con” argument, and then a resolution of some kind. And in any story, events unfold in an organic fashion that’s driven by a narrative with human motivations and actions at the center.

These four formats, then, offer an efficient and painless way to assemble a presentation. Along with your grasp of two other key factors in a successful presentation — your audience’s needs and your strategy to meet those needs — that’s an advantage any speaker can benefit from.

(This article originally appeared in Dr. Gary Genard’s book How to Give a Speech, which is available at http://www.publicspeakinginternational.com/how-to-give-a-speech.html.)

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GARY GENARD is an internationally known speech coach and corporate trainer. A former professional actor, he is the founder of Boston-based Public Speaking International, one of the world's premiere presentation skills and media training companies. PSI offers communication skills improvement including public speaking training, executive speech coaching, speech improvement, presentation skills and using PowerPoint, sales presentation training, and media appearance training. Public Speaking International can be found online at http://PublicSpeakingInternational.com.
Call (781) 643-2095 or email gary@pubspeak.com.