There are many ways to build your speech or presentation. Here is one of them.
You start by saying I am going to talk about three things, X, Y, and Z. Map it out for them. Make it crystal clear and focused. As you must know, the number three evokes so many things, such as Mo, Larry, and Curly, the good the bad and the ugly, and of course Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address where he said Government of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE (And when you say those beautiful words you should come down hard on the word PEOPLE because the PEOPLE are the audience, and the audience holds the cards.)
Get hold of a prop, something concrete, something in your talk. Maybe a photograph, a tool, a letter–something that will ignite their curiosity. Suddenly, you are not just a talking head. Get them to lean in, pay attention.
I remember when I was graduating from high school the invited speaker brought a little black doctor’s bag on stage and held up a light bulb, encouraging us to follow our own bright future. Corny, for sure, but I was only sixteen, and I still remember the bulb. He lifted it high in the gymnasium, and dust mites danced in the air all around us.
Use this line in your speech or presentation. If you only remember one thing from our talk today it should be. And here you tell them what you think is the most important thing they should remember. Then pause, look around the room, wait for the silence, share your main message and drive it home.
Finally, ask this question somewhere in your speech one or two times: What does this mean for you? Pause before answering. See if you can get some listeners to actually talk to you about their needs. Stir the pot. Most people are timid when they attend a public event, but I am sure you can get a good dialogue going. Your audience will get much more out of your talk when they get a chance to express their opinions.
In fact, it is a fact that people consider a presentation good if they have a chance to talk to the speaker. A good Q and A at the end of a presentation is almost always the best way to go. But be prepared to defend your ideas. If someone in the audience wants to harass you, keep calm and simply say we have little time and many more people who would like to join in, but I respect your passion and your approach.
Presentations require structure, hard thinking, and weeding out all extraneous details that smudge and smear the glass of your crystal clear windshield. Tell them again you have told them three things–whatever those things are–and your presentation will pack a well-earned wallop.