INSIGHTS

Gary Genards

7 Key Components of Successful

Presentations
Want to increase your visibility? Become a recognized leader in your industry?
Sell your product or service? Motivate or inspire your audience? Deliver a toast or
introduce a speaker at an important event?

To succeed in any of these situations, you need to know how to deliver a powerful
presentation. Youll find plenty of advice, including among my articles, on developing
dynamic presentation skills. And those skills are important. But if you want your
message to resonate and move audiences toaction, you need to understand what
goes into crafting a successful talk.
Here are what I consider the 7 key components of effective presentations. Follow this
road map, and youll be well on your way to speaking effectively when its your turn to
take center stage.
#1:Greeting.Speakers often pay scant attention to their greeting. But thats a mistake.
Your greeting is an essential element of your presentation, for all of these reasons: (1)
Its your first and best opportunity to establish rapport with listeners; (2) Your audience
is paying maximum attention at this point; (3) Your credibility and the audiences trust
in you start here; (4) Your tone and flavor as a speaker are established now; and (5)
You either demonstrate youre going to be interesting ... or not.
Establish solid eye contact (dont keep glancing down at your notes as nervous
speakers do). Know exactly what youre going to say so you get off to a strong start.
#2: Grabber!You need tocompelyour audiences attention as you begin your
speech. That means avoiding what I call the Today, Im Going to Talk About DOT DOT
DOT Syndrome. What could be more boring? Instead, launch your presentation with
something original, intriguing, and slightly creative. Here are12 foolproof ways to
open a speech by using an effective grabber.

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1. Question

7. Personal anecdote or experience

2. Story

8. Humor

3. Quotation

9. Expert opinion

4. Visual

10. Sound effect

5. Statistic

11. Physical object

6. Startling statement

12. Testimony or success story

Use one of these or come up with another way to begin that you think will
hookthisaudience. Do this well and your audience will be rapt at your every word.
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#3: Preview of Your Speech.Let the audience know what youre going to talk about
and where youre going with this topic. Ever listen to a talk that has you wondering
5 minutes into the presentation what in the world the topic is? Audiences are much
more receptive if they think theyre in good hands with a speaker who knows where
he or she is going. As the old advice reminds us: Tell em what youre going to
say, say it, then tell em what you said. Listeners need to know thedirectionyoure
going in so they can follow you there. Heres an acronym that might help: B-L-U-F,
orBottomLineUpFront.
#4: Main Points, with Evidence.Make sure you clearly lay out the main points youre
going to talk about. Big topics need a place for you and your audience to land. And
when you deliver those points,back up each one with evidence.Otherwise, its just
your opinion, and why should your listeners believe you over the person who tells
them something different? Evidence can take many forms: expert opinion, personal
anecdote, statistic, story, client testimonial, report, experimental data, photographic
evidencethe list is as long as what is credible and supportive for your talk and your
area of expertise.
#5: Vivid and Visual Language.If theres a forgotten child in the family of effective
speaking skills, its this one. Words can either denote (refer to explicitly) or connote
(suggest an association). Of the two, connotations are much more evocative and,
usually, powerful. For instance, myNew World Dictionarytells me that female
parent is explicit and serviceable enough; but the wordmotherconnotes love, care,
tenderness, etc.
Added to this is the fact that some aspects of language work best in writing; and
others are better for speaking. Generally, short impactful sentences employing AngloSaxon (not Latin) words, and that include images and metaphors, will bring your
presentation to life. And dont forget emotional words!
#6: Transitions.Its surprising how many speakers neglect transitions, and so harm
their presentations. How many times have you heard these phrases: The next slide...;
My next point is...; Okay, now...; and the infamous, Moving right along... The
translation of each of these desperate pronouncements is: I dont know how to get
from what I was just talking about to the next main point, so Ill just baldly announce
whats coming next. For your presentation to be a logical and organic whole, you
must create effective transitions.
One good way to do this is by using aninternal summary [Weve just taken a look at
the most outdated practices in supply chain management],followed by aninternal
preview [Now Id like to show you our approach, which we think eliminates the worst
of these problems]. Transitions can and should contribute to your talks logical shape.

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#7: Clincher.Just as your opening needs a Grabber, your closing will benefit from
a Clincher. You must do more, in other words, than simply recap your main points,
which is all that many speakers do. You must ensure that your conclusion is strong
by making it sticky. Whatever you say at this critical time mustcontinueto resonate
with your listeners long after youve finished speaking.
How can you accomplish this? Ask yourselfkeeping in mind your audience and the
speaking situationwhat you could say that will help keep your message in the minds
of audience members.

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Every speaking engagement is situational, depending upon the audience, the event,
and other possible factors. There are few rules which can always be applied.
But if you keep in mind the 7 components above, youll create well-constructed
presentations that engage, influence, and perhaps entertain audiences.

Key takeaways:

INSIGHTS

Its important to put together a well-constructed talk to influence

listeners.
Greet your audience warmly then grab their attention right away.
Preview your speech so your listeners know where you and they
are going.
Use vivid language and pay attention to your transitions.
End vividly and memorably so your talk sticks in peoples
minds.

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Deeper!

Get the complete guide to dynamic public speaking.

Gary Genard covers it all in How to Give a Speech,
from calming your nerves to mastering Q & A.
Available in paperback and e-book editions.

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more

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