What is actually the best presentation structure? The short answer: there isn’t one.
Some presentations call for a direct opening, where you put your main message on the table straight away. Others become stronger when you first make your audience curious and gradually work your way towards your point. So yes, there really are many roads to Rome.
Still, there is one thing every good presentation needs: a plan. Thinking about the structure of your story beforehand gives you, as a speaker, calm and confidence. And that sense of calm ultimately leads to a stronger message.
Keep the basic structure of your presentation intact
The basic structure of a presentation is simple: an opening, the main part and a conclusion. Add a good call to action and you’re done. Or you are, in this case.
In your opening, grab your audience’s attention and give them a reason to keep listening. In the main part, tell your story and support your message. In the conclusion, wrap things up and make clear what you want your audience to do with your story.
Sounds straightforward, and it is. But see this structure as a foundation, not a rigid formula. Within that structure, you can take all kinds of different routes.
Keep your story on track
One of the biggest pitfalls when presenting? You know so much about your subject that you keep coming up with new things to tell. One more example. Another interesting fact. Oh, and this really needs to be mentioned too.
Before you know it, you’re all over the place.
If you don’t think carefully about the flow of your presentation beforehand, you have little to hold on to. And your audience notices it too: they can lose the thread of your story.
A good structure helps you stay in control. Not only of what you tell, but also of how your message reaches your audience.
You don’t always have to get straight to the point
Happy Good Talk trainer and one of the company’s first trainers, Maarten van der Schaal, often reminds his participants of this: you don’t always have to get straight to the point. Sometimes, it can work really well to hold back your main point for a little while. Especially when your presentation lends itself to a more narrative structure.
For example, start with a situation, a personal experience or a question. Give your audience a piece of information, but not the whole answer yet. Gradually build towards the point you want to make. That creates tension. And tension makes people want to know where you’re going. Especially when you add emotion, you can really take your audience along for the ride. But remember: building up slowly isn’t automatically better.
Sometimes you do want to get straight to the point. For example, when you’re explaining fairly dry or technical theory. In that case, it can help to give your main message first. Your audience immediately understands why it’s worth listening to what comes next.
Essentially, you’re saying: this is my point, and this is why it matters. Now let me show you how we get there. That can be a very strong structure too. So the question isn’t: What is the best presentation structure? A better question is: which structure best supports my message?
Choose a route that works for you
Your structure mainly depends on two things: your message and what feels comfortable for you as a speaker. Want to move your audience with a personal story? Then slowly building towards your point can work really well. Want to explain a complex theory clearly? Then it may be more effective to make your destination clear from the start. And perhaps even more importantly: choose a way of presenting that feels like you.
You don’t have to imitate another speaker or perform a trick. Your structure should serve your story. You can put all the right facts, figures and examples on your slides and still create very little connection with your audience. A story does something different. It takes people along with you. It gives meaning to the information you share and helps people not only understand what you’re telling them, but also feel why it matters.
And that’s where impact begins.