10 Presentation Writing Tips

1. Decide your primary message this is the main focus/ objective/ question that your presentation will tackle.

2. Consider your audience are they experts in the field? novices? Do they have a little knowledge that you can build on? This will determine the tone and complexity level of your presentation.

3. Write 5 key points that will communicate your message brainstorm all of the important elements of your primary message and choose five to focus on.

4. Write 3 facts which provide supporting evidence to each key point these could be points of interest e.g. how many tonnes of concrete it takes to build a bridge, the role of a stage manager… etc.

5. Research each point if you have gaps in your knowledge fill them by researching, but be disciplined and do not research more than you need to.

6. Gather any technical information you need with evidence to support it collate the stats, empirical evidence, theories that you need to support your key points.

7. Write a 300 word “story” to support each point depending on the nature of your main focus these stories might be experiences from your own work, chronological descriptors of processes or events, illustrative “thought experiments’, customer feedback etc.

8. Choose an image/ graph that illustrates each point (you will need one image and one summary sentence every 2 minutes) think carefully about an image that will grab attention as well as supporting your narrative. If you have any crucial information to share such as facts and figures or contact details, provide a paper handout or an electronic version of a handout with space for notes.

9. Summarise each point in a sentence your presentation should make sense when condensed into 5 sentences, it should not be too convoluted, you should easily be able to recall each sentence in sequence.

50. Arrange your presentation into an overall story play around with your presentation to get a sense of flow.