Let Content Drive the Presentation 

By Ellen Finkelstein

For a presentation to be effective, you need to consider three components — content, design, and delivery. Each of these components has to be of the highest quality and they all have to work together, as well.

Good content is the core basis of an effective presentation. Start by reducing your content to two or three main points and then expand on those points, making sure that all you write is directly related to those points. Write clearly, logically, and simply.

When the time comes to design your presentation, you need to think about color, layout, and font. Your main focus should be legibility so that your message doesn’t get overshadowed. For maximum legibility, keep the contrast between the text and the background high and reduce the amount of text per slide to the absolute minimum possible. When you synchronize your design with your content, your main points look like main points. They stand out in some way — by their size, color, or placement.

Your delivery also needs to support the main points of the presentation. When you match your delivery with your content, your main points sound like main points. Make them stand out with your tone of voice and how much time you spend on them. Or you can simply say, “This is a very important point.”

A trainer was recently telling me how often presentations are created by more than one person. For example, a writer or technician in the home office writes the content. Then that person sends the presentation out to a designer. Finally, a consultant or sales rep in the field delivers the presentation. What great opportunity for the point to be lost!

In this situation, the only solution is thorough and careful communication. The writer needs to explain the main points to the designer so she can create a design that emphasizes those points. Then these main points need to be explained to the presenter so he can bring them to the fore during his delivery. Without this type of coordination, the message easily gets muddled. But with an explicit explanation of the purpose of the presentation and the most important points, the process of creating an effective presentation can easily succeed.

Learn more about Ellen Finkelstein in our Contributor's section.