Presentation outline: [Title]
Key message: the one sentence you want people to repeat afterward
When | |
Audience | |
Goal | |
Slot | |
Setting | |
Pace |
Rules of thumb
Write the goal as what the audience will do once you sit down: approve, try, remember.
Speech runs at 120–130 words a minute, and a slide takes about a minute.
The opening and the close take about a tenth of the talk each. Keep another tenth spare, for a late start or a slow clicker: a 20-minute slot is about 15 minutes of talk and 5 of questions.
Write each headline as the takeaway, not the topic: not “Q3 results” but “Q3 revenue grew 12%, almost all from the new plan.”
Time budget
Section | Slides | Starts | Length |
Opening: hook, key message, roadmap | 0:00 | ||
Section 1: | |||
Section 2: | |||
Section 3: | |||
Close: summary and the ask | |||
Spare | — | ||
Questions | |||
Total |
Slide-by-slide outline
One row per slide. Correct the start times after every rehearsal.
# | Starts | Length | Headline (the takeaway) | On screen |
1 | 0:00 | |||
2 | ||||
3 | ||||
4 | ||||
5 | ||||
B1 | Q&A | — |
See an example outline
Talk: Answering customers overnight. Fifteen minutes for the leadership team, then five of questions.
Key message: A follow-the-sun support rota would answer every customer within an hour, for less than we pay in overtime now.
# | Starts | Headline (the takeaway) | On screen |
1 | 0:00 | Last Tuesday, a customer in Sydney waited 14 hours for a two-line answer. | Her email, name removed |
2 | 0:45 | We can answer everyone within an hour, for less than our overtime bill. | Speed · Cost · Plan |
3 | 1:30 | A third of our tickets now arrive while the office is closed. | Tickets by hour, nights shaded |
4 | 2:45 | Customers who wait overnight are twice as likely to cancel. | Cancellations by first-reply time |
… | |||
11 | 12:00 | Faster answers, lower cost, live by March. | The three section headlines |
12 | 12:45 | Approve two hires in Manila by Friday, so they start in January. | Approve 2 hires by Friday |
Speaker notes
Copy the block for each slide. Opening, bridges and close in full.
Slide [1]
Say:
Must land:
Name aloud:
Bridge to the next slide:
If late, skip:
Close
Summary:
The ask:
Last line, word for word:
Hand-off:
Questions and backup slides
Likely question | Short answer | Backup slide |
If time runs short
Cut first:
Cut next:
Keep whatever happens:
Rehearsal log
Run | Date | Total time | Fell behind at | What changed |
1 | ||||
2 | ||||
3 |
Before the day
Rehearsed out loud at least three times, standing, with the real slides and a timer
The start times on the outline match the last rehearsal
Presenter view, notes and clicker tested on the screen or call software you will use
A PDF copy of the slides on a second device
The opening and the last line memorized
A clock or timer you can see without turning around