How To Format A Presentation

The next professional development opportunity is around the corner and you have to present again. You tell yourself this time it is going to be different. You wonder how to format a presentation so you can easily maintain your train of throughout, while your learners stay engaged without getting overwhelmed with information.

Last time you were a bit all over the place and ran out of time. So you resolved to take a step back and reassess how you have structured or not structured your presentations in the past. What has worked? What hasn’t? You care about your learners and their learning outcomes, so you want to be better.

Kudos to you. You are already so many steps ahead of your peers. By simply reflecting on and evaluating your past presentations you are doing more than most others. 

So let’s get to how to format a presentation correctly for next time. 

How To Write A Good Presentation

If you are using PowerPoint presentations (or Keynote or GoogleSlides) on a regular basis for your work you are asking the right question. 

I believe that writing a good presentation starts with knowing the scope of your content. Where does learning begin and end? As I mentioned above: Here is a guide to help with that. 

Once you are clear on your learning content and goal, keep your PowerPoint presentation two things: simple and structured. 

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Remember that your presentation is an anchor for your learners. The slide content should give your audience a summary of what you are verbally telling them. 

The entire PowerPoint presentation slide deck doesn’t need to be long or have a fancy design. More important is that the presentation is logical with a clear beginning, overview, middle part and end. To ensure your presentation has all these parts, start your presentation with an outline. 

How To Write A Presentation Outline

When writing your presentation outline, keep the end in mind. Remember that you already know the scope of your content meaning that you already know where the learning begins and where it will end. 

Where the learning will end is defined as your learning goal also known as learning target. 

Write your learning target down first, so you know exactly where you are going. 

Then you really only need 4 parts: 

• Your hook
• Your table of contents
• Your talking points or learning content
• Your summary
• Your call to action

Let’s go into a little more detail for each of these steps.

Step 1: Create A Hook For Your Audience

Your hook is maybe the most important part of your PowerPoint presentation. This should be the first slide after the title slide. 

Think about a question that your presentation will answer. Then think about a picture or a video or a quote that would trigger that question. 

Get your audience curious. Make them want to know the answer. Make them wonder. Because when you hook your audience they are invested in learning. And when your audience is invested in learning, they will do just that – learn!

Here is an example: 

If you are leading a workshop on how to properly recycle, you could start with a picture of a person holding a compostable cup in their hand with a plastic lid in front of 3 different bins reading organics, recyclables and trash with a frowning face…

The question would be: Where do I properly put my cup?

Finding a hook can be challenging, especially when training on compliance topics or other mandatory training. However, if you try to somehow make your hook about your audience or relate to them and their lives, you have a good chance of getting at least some investment into your content. 

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