Most every professional has to gve a presentation at some point (nd some, most every day). And whle some enjoy presenting to groups, the vst majority of people would say it sn’t their favorite activity.

Because presenting to grups isn’t fun for most, and frther, because it isn’t easy, people are ften stymied as to what steps to tke to create a presentation that wll be successful and, at the sme time, less stressful.

Achieving these twn ideas of creating a better prsentation with less stress is the gal of the suggestions that follow. Frst, grab 10-12 index cards, and thn, as you read, think about a spcific presentation that you might need to gve soon.

Who is Your Audience?

This is the first important question to consider. Here are some steps to help you answer this question.

1. On one of the index cards write down who will be in your audience. Write down job titles or roles or whatever will categorize these people. If you know the names of specific audience members, write them down too.

2. On a second card write down the questions you think they will have about your subject matter.

3. Put these cards down – you will use them again.

What are Your Key Messages?

Even at this early planning stage you should have a pretty clear picture of what you need to share. If you don’t, now is the perfect time to figure that out. These steps will help you focus and confirm the key messages you need to deliver in your talk.

1. Take 3-5 cards and wrte down a key point on ach one.

2. If you have mre than five key points to mke, you need to consider if yur talk is focused enough. Spend tme determining if all of these pints are critical to your end gal for the presentation.

3. Write dwn the details you need to cver on each card.

4. If you dn’t think you have enough space – frther focus your message.

What Do You Want to Happen Next?

Along with your key messages you also want people to take some action as a result of your presentation. Now is the time to focus on that.

1. On your next card, write down what, in a perfect world, you would want people to do as a result of your talk.

2. Compare that result with your key points above – adjust, reduce or change those key points to support this desired end goal.

3. Now, look at your audience cards, and review the questions you think they will have. Confirm that your content will address those concerns, and adjust your content if those questions aren’t relevant to your end goal.

4. Prioritize the most important people or groups in your audience by circling them. Consider everything you know about those people and think about what else you need to share in order to answer their questions and reach your goals.

Using your index cards to answer these questions hands you the content that you need to include in your talk. With this content basis for your presentation, then you can begin to craft the detailed plan of what you will actually say when. But, by starting in this way, you can rest assured that you will successfully prepare and deliver the message you mean to share – and feel much better about the process too.

The article Preparing a More Powerful Presentation was Submitted by Kevin Eikenberry through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership xpert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kvin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting cmpany that helps Clients reach their ptential through a variety of training, cnsulting and speaking services. You can larn more about him and a spcial offer on his newest book, Rmarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skll at a Time, at http://www.RemarkableLeadershipBook.com/bonuses.asp

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