Tip 649: Separate Your Points

From the Public Speaking Workshops: Separate Your Points

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

In the last two weeks, we’ve talked about having a point and supporting that point.

This week, we’ll talk about separating—marking—our supporting points. Defining for our listeners each supporting point we’re making.  

In Text

When we write, we separate our supporting points with lists, paragraphs, headings, and chapters. (We just did that with the “In Text” heading.) 

Our type and our white space separate our ideas into understandable chunks. Separate pieces. 

The Problem

But when we speak, we don’t have visible lists, paragraphs, headings, or chapters. Except for an occasional pause, our ideas run together. (Think of Charlie Brown’s teacher: “Wahwahwahwahwahwah.”)   

We suggest four workarounds: 

• Preview your supporting points. “In this presentation, I’ll address three (or two or four or five) supporting points.”

• Announce your supporting points. As you present, explain the separations—the transitions—to your listeners. “My first supporting point is . . . .” “My second supporting point is . . . .” “My last supporting point is . . . .”

• Gesture to mark your supporting points. This is one of the reasons you have fingers. As you announce your first supporting point, hold up an index finger. As you announce your second . . . well . . . you know what to do. Your visual gesture supports your spoken word.

• Use separating Powerpoint slides. Include a preview slide that announces each of your supporting points and a separate slide with what you’ve covered and the new supporting point as you move to each new supporting point.

Discrete sections. Clear breaks. 

We love this stuff.