Tip 647: Have a Point

From the Public Speaking Workshops: Have a Point

We’ve been talking about speaking in public. About giving presentations. 

How many times have you sat through a presentation and wondered, “What’s this about?” or “Where’s this going?” How many times have you asked yourself, “What’s the point here?” 

And you’ve wasted ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes of your life. 

The presentation didn’t have a point. Or, at least, the presentation didn’t appear to have a point. The point wasn’t obvious. 

So. 

As you plan your presentation—whether it be to the nation or the company board or the PTA, plan your presentation around a single, declarative sentence of what you want your audience to do or know.

A single, declarative sentence. The point of your presentation. 

For example, when you want your audience to do something: 

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” (President Ronald Reagan; June 12th, 1987)

“If you can find a better car, buy it.” (Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca; 1982)

“I ask you to recommend a calculus option for freshman and sophomore years.” (You to the PTA, next spring) 

Or, for example, when you want your audience to know something: 

“I have a dream.” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; August 28th, 1963)

“We’ve never been a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and always will be, the United States.” (President-elect Barack Obama; November 5th, 2008)

“Last quarter was the most profitable quarter we’ve had in history.” (You to the Company Board of Directors, next month)  

So afterwards, if someone were to ask your audience what your point was, they can say, “She wanted a calculus option for freshmen and sophomores” or “Last quarter was the best we’ve had.” 

A clear point. A productive presentation. 

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