A presentation is not a dry list of disconnected facts. Like lab reports or essays, it makes a specific point. There are several steps involved in completing a presentation; it may help to remember the acronym PACT(S) as you work through the steps.
- make a Plan,
- get to know your Audience,
- determine Content of your presentation,
- and decide on your Take-Home message.
- These decisions inform the Structure you choose to ensure your presentation has a logical flow.
Below is a breakdown of this method.
After reading the details for each step, try out this PACTS template to help you organize as you prepare your presentation.
Make a PLAN
During your presentation, you will need to tell the audience information. When you begin planning, you can think of this acronym, TTELL:
- the Type of presentation you are giving,
- the Tools you have at your disposal,
- the Expectations of your audience and yourself,
- the Length of the presentation,
- and the presentation Location.
Type
Consider the goal of the presentation; for example, are you teaching your audience something, simply sharing information, or showcasing your research or contribution to a field? How does your goal play into what you will be speaking about? What type of presentation does your audience require?
Pick your presentation type based on why you are presenting and how much time you have. Some common presentation types, lengths and their general goals are below. Keep in mind these are the common examples and remember that the presentation is yours to adapt!
- Lecture
- Usual Length: 1+ hour
- Typical Goals:
- Teach your audience something in detail
- Hands-off format
- Can cover general or specific topics
- Seminars / Workshops
- Usual Length: 30 minutes to 1 hour
- Typical Goals:
- Teach or share information
- Often focused on a specific topic
- Can be hands-on or include an activity
- Final Paper / Thesis Defence
- Usual Length: 15 to 25 minutes
- Typical Goals
- Showcase your work
- Demonstrate what you've learned
- Highlight your contribution to the field
- Short Content / Proposals
- Usual Length: 5 to 15 minutes
- Typical Goals:
- Provide an overview of key information
- Introduce topics, questions, thesis, or project goals
- Direct / Specific Presentations
- Usual Length: Less than 5 minutes
- Typical Goals:
- Complete a specific task quickly
- Examples include a 3-minute thesis or an elevator pitch
Tools
Presentation tools include slides, posters, demonstration materials, music, videos, handouts, or notes/cue cards, as well as the equipment in the room (i.e. computers, projectors, microphones, recording devices). What tools do you have at your disposal for your presentation? What tools are required? What tools are not permitted (i.e. are you allowed notes or slides)? Consider what you need and what you have when planning your presentation.
Expectations
Presentations can range from casual to professional. What are you professor's expectations for the presentation? What are you expecting from yourself? How do you want to be viewed by your audience?
For example, if you are delivering a talk at a conference, you might prepare a professional presentation that requires formal language or dress. On the other hand, presenting to a class of 9th graders might mean using simpler language, including interactive materials, and tailoring the content to their needs and knowledge.
Length
Knowing the length of the presentation will help you decide how long to spend on the different points in your presentation. You should also consider whether time is allotted for questions, and whether the question period is included in your total presentation time. Lastly, consider the time needed to setup your presentation tools.
For example, let's say you are presenting at 10AM and have a 25-minute time allowance. Your total time might include arriving 5-10 minutes early to set up your slides, presenting for 17-20 minutes, and leaving 5-7 minutes for questions.
Location
Where you are presenting will play a role in how you prepare and deliver your presentation. Whether it is a lecture hall, a classroom, a conference venue, or a competition auditorium, you should prepare accordingly. If you can, visit the space beforehand. Make note of the tools available, the space you will be in before you present, the "stage" you are presenting on, and the size of the space available for an audience.
Get to Know your AUDIENCE
Plan your presentation to suit your audience. Consider their familiarity with the subject and their purpose for listening to your presentation. Classmates will likely have some background on the topic, and because they are keenly aware that they will eventually present to you, they are usually quite generous in their reception of your talk. You may not need to explain foundational information to this audience. As a result, the questions you receive might be very specific, since your audience has a background in the topic.
By contrast, an unknown, non-specialist audience may be meeting and hearing from you for the first time. This audience might need more information on your topic than your classmates. They may ask questions that are challenging and more general than a specialist audience.
To prepare for your audience, you will want to ask yourself the following questions:
- Who am I presenting to; for example, are they students, professionals, faculty, etc.?
- What is their knowledge of the topic?
- What does the audience need from me?
- What information and impression do I want to leave with them?
Are you presenting to an audience with little to no background in your area? Check out our guide on Presenting to Non-Specialist Audiences.
Determine the CONTENT of Your Presentation
When preparing for your presentation, your first question should consider the content; in other words, what you plan to talk about.
Use Instructions: Your assignment instructions and/or rubric are a great place to start mining presentation content. What must you include in your presentation? Are there any questions you need (are required) to answer? These points can help you create an outline for your presentation. If you are using slides, you can create one slide per item/bullet on your assignment instructions. Then, fill in these slides with content that addresses the items.
Use source material: Your presentation may be based on an assigned reading or on written work as part of a larger project (like a proposal or thesis paper). In this case, you already have the content! Consider using the headers, paragraphs, and/or themes to guide the topics/questions you present from this source material.
No Info? No Problem!: If you do not have specific instructions or source material, start thinking about the key points the audience would need to know to understand your project. Think about the 5Ws (what, when, where, who, why, and how), the hypothesis you are testing (why, how, etc.), or the thesis you are arguing (what, how, so what, etc.). If you are using slides, create one slide per topic/idea. To start, these slides can include just a title on the topic. Once you have all your ideas laid out, you can then reorganize the order, fill in the information, and decide how much time to spend on each idea.
Decide on Your TAKE-HOME Message
The "Take-Home" message is the main point you want to leave with the audience. To determine the most important point, ask yourself "Why should the audience care about this as much as I do?". Another way to think about it is: if you only had a 10-word sentence to summarize your presentation what would that sentence be? A strong presentation will weave the take-home message throughout the presentation to make it memorable for the audience. You can also choose to allot a section of your presentation to address the importance of your work.
STRUCTURE Your Presentation with Logical Flow
A well-structured presentation has a logical structure that supports a clear and focused message; it stops you from leaping from idea to idea, which can make it difficult for your audience to follow your talk. Presentations should "tell the audience what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them again". Refer to the following which explains this phrase.
Introduction (tell the audience what you are going to tell them)
- Tell the audience who you are and present your main argument with key background information.
- Explain why your presentation is important (your take-home message).
- Build a rapport with the audience to help them follow what comes next.
Body of your Presentation (tell them)
- The largest section of your presentation.
- It supports your main argument with specific examples.
- Visual aids clarify your points and lend credibility to your presentation.
Conclusion (tell them again)
- A strong conclusion summarizes your main points.
- Use key words from your introduction to briefly re-state your argument.
- End your presentation with a simple, strong statement.
When assembling your presentation, consider all the information in your PACT. While all presentations have an Introduction, Body, and Conclusion, there are various ways to organize this information. This short video explains some different presentation structures you may want to consider and ideas for when you might use them.