Go through these bullet points before your next presentation.
How well have you thought out your next presentation for internal stakeholders or employees?
If you don’t carefully consider the audience, the structure, and your narrative, your presentation may fall on deaf ears. Before you begin crafting your next presentation, use this checklist to make sure you’ve covered all your bases:
Know the Purpose
- What is the purpose of this presentation/report (i.e., what outcome am I seeking?)?
- To inform
- To convince
- To generate insight and discussion
- To drive action
Know the Audience
- Who is my (most important) audience? What context can I provide to make it easier for them?
- What are the individual’s job responsibilities and KPIs? How will he or she measure success?
- Are there personal motivations I should be aware of (internal politics, personal biases, etc.)?
- What is the audience’s familiarity with the topic? How much detail and background information should I include?
- How should I tailor my output to fit this business partner’s communication style?
Know the Message
- What is the business problem or issue I am trying to address?
- What are the (3 to 5) key teachings I want to deliver? Have I tied these teaching points logically and clearly to the original problem?
- Have I clearly linked my teaching points to key data and trends and explained how the data analysis supports, confirms, or refutes common management beliefs or assumptions about the problem and/or possible solutions?
- Have I limited the data to only what matters most?
- Have I clearly established relevance (e.g., Why should the audience care? Have I clearly highlighted how this aligns with their business objectives?)?
- Have I clearly established urgency (e.g., Why should the audience act now? Why is this critical for each individual as well as the organization?)?
Structure
- Is the presentation structure clearly marked with roadmap markers or sign posts?
- Is there an agenda that clearly identifies the different elements and how they fit together?
- Are the key findings and recommendations included up front?
- Are additional details about internal and external expert sources who were consulted for the analysis included in the appendix?
Narrative
- Does it include the insights that will be most influential to our audience? Is the scripting memorable and powerful?
- Does it identify the key assumptions and data that support the business recommendation?
- Does it clearly articulate immediate actions that I believe the business should take?
- Could it be replaced by a graphical depiction of the data or trend? Could it be broken down into bullets without losing the key message?
Graphics
- What is the purpose of each graphic (e.g., to show a relationship, comparison, composition, or distribution)? Is it tied to a teaching point or message?
- Does it present information in a logical, visually appealing manner? Are there other ways of interpreting the graphic other than our intention?
- Is the page balanced (i.e., is there sufficient white space after the narrative and graphics are added)?
- Do footnotes for graphics and data tables adequately explain sources, underlying assumptions, and other important background information about my methodology?
Formatting
- Does the presentation have a standardized look and feel (e.g., uses the same headings, colors, and fonts)?
- Are page elements consistent (e.g., background, title, body text)?
- Are colors used judiciously (e.g., only to emphasize, highlight, organize, and prioritize data and findings)?
This post first appeared on the CEB Shared Services Leadership Council Blog.