Organization of One's Notes is Key to an Effective Presentation - Articles - Andrew Schwartz

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Organization of One's Notes is Key to an Effective Presentation
by Andrew E. Schwartz

There is an art to doing effective training. One of the keys is proper planning and organization of material. Many people simply create an outline before the event. Unfortunately, this approach creates enormous room for slip-ups. For more professional and effective presentation, program notes make the most out of the time you have with your audience. If you start out not as completly solid as your material, notes help maintain your focus. If you are very familiar with your topic, they keep you honest by preventing you from going off on a tangent. And afterwards, really well structured notes become a documented lesson plan which is duplicable, and may be modified with ease.

The Fewer Notes, The Better: The function of presentation notes should be to help one remember information and ideas already committed to memory, or as directions to do something that you might otherwise forget. Notes should be used more as cues or stage directions than a script read verbatum.

Podium notes are personal, so whatever works for you in delivering your message and maintaining contact with your audience should be incorporated in them. Some of the following guidelines will provide you with a foundation upon which to build or improve your own system.

What Delivery Notes Must Contain: Delivery notes should include the entire sequence of what you will do and say during your presentation. These comprise:

The subject matter in outline form
Directions for movements, gestures, readings, passing out handouts, use of
the flipchart and similar activities.
- Sample of information to be written on a blackboard, easel chart, or similar
  medium during the presentation.
- Sample of each individual aid

Do not memorize your presentation word for word, only memorize its concepts and critical points. As a result, your podium notes become mnemonic keys. Keep samples of material to hold up, and similar aids separate from your actual delivery notes, and key your actions in the notes.

Directions And Reminders: Each training aid is a sub-component of your presentation’s message. It will increase the general flow of your delivery if you include concise aid reminders within your podium notes. This frees you from attempting to decide where you and your aids ought utilized while in the process of delivering the presentation.

Rehearse With Your Equipment: Using equipment during a presentation can often be a stumbling block for a person. The solution is a practice-rehearsal. In this way, one avoids appearing unprepared or foolish. As far as visual aids are concerned, rehearsals should include some of the following:

Familiarization with the content of each indiviual device.
Hands-on practice using all of the equipment.
- If utilizing an overhead projector, one should be familiar with how to
  display the materials, where the switches are and if the cord reaches the
  outlet. All aids should be practiced with at least once.
- Demonstrations should be rehearsed from beginning to end at least once.
- Preview videos, demos, movies, film strips, and similar materials prior
  to there use.
- Time each aid and other activities to be sure that they are neither too
  long or too short.
- Proofread all handout materials. Check number of handouts against your
  anticipated attendance roster.

Tiiming The Presentation: It is good practice to end slightly early. Remember that your presentation runs over the alloted time in rehearsal, it will run over during your presentation. Presentations should be planned to run just slightly under their time restrictions. Since rehearsals tend to compress the same information, allowing a margin of safety ensures that the actual presentation will not run over.

Consistency - A Standardizing Method: Symbols and other “mnemonic devices” can and should be used in your notes. They may be of your own creation, which adds a personal touch. Standardizing your system will help you. You may use color codes or symbols as a reminder to write on the flipchart. Similarly, if you always bold face major points or key concepts in your lesson plan, you will have far better transitions. A colored circle might indicate an overhead projector button. In this way, you will always be able to see ahead in your notes and remain on target.

Flip Chart Notes: If you’re using “flip charts,” you can write your delivery notes very lightly right on the chart and appear as if you’re not using your notes at all while up at the easel. In this way, your easel charts can themselves serve as your delivery notes.

Podium Notes Must Not Include:

Handout materials
Material to be read, held up, shown, or demonstrated to the audience.

All supplemental material should be numbered and kept in a separate pile in the sequence in which they will be utilized. When your presentation includes thess types of support, you will work with two sets of material. Carrying notes in addition to bulky demonstration or reading material in a single file folder may be both confusing and awkward. It is far better to keep the presentation outline seperate as a single sequence of events and to key yourself to the supportive material.

Summary: There is no point in needlessly complicating training/speaking - note procedures, but there is great value in proceeding systematically. The fact that most presentors/pre enters do not, has prompted me to offer the preceding suggestions. They should be utilized as an organizational framework only. These ideas should be viewed only as suggestions. Each presentor/presentor might select or combine any one that suits their particular need(s).

Andrew E. Schwartz, CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates of Boston, MA a comprehensive management training and professional development organization offering over 40 skills specific programs and practical solutions to today's business challenges.

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