Principles of
Presentation Design
Tips on how to think like a designer
Developing Your Message
John Consultant
Fallon
Presentation Skills

For Aristotle, a great presentation was
based on Ethos, Pathos and Logos
(Soul, Passion and Reasoning)

A persuasive argument must be a
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“Whole-Brain Experience”

got purpose?

Without a clearly defined purpose,
your presentation will deteriorate
into a sharing of ideas and data

Define your purpose…
is it to
inform, educate, persuade or
entertain

Determine your
audience
response

Stimulate a change in
behavior…
a call to action

Your purpose can not be broad or
vague

A purpose keeps
us focused and
specific

A purpose acts
as a filter

As a filter, purpose will help
determine what information is useful
or useless

A purpose builds commitment to the
material…
Commitment is infectious

Information…

Select your
information on
relevance

Make facts relevant
to the purpose

25% will be forgotten in 24 hours
50% will be forgotten in 48 hours
80% will be forgotten in 4 days

Point Support
Purpose
At most, make 3 to 4 points

Accompany statistics
with examples

Four message structures…

Categorical: organize /
present information in
categories

Problem / Solution: state the
problem, then provide the solution

Compare / Contrast: states problem, then
provides merits of various solutions

Sequential: establishes a belief then
builds on it

Six Stages of a Persuasive presentation
Aristotle’s structure…

Introduction: overview of
the presentation

Narrative:
current state

Partition: organize topics discussed

Confirmation:
deliver arguments

Refutation: refute arguments

Conclusion: summary / call to action

Presentation
Delivery
Process…

Housekeeping: inform the audience of
the essentials… facilities, length of
presentation, etc.

Opening Hook: capture
your audience’s attention

The Promise: define what the
audience will gain by listening to you

Points: introduce and identify each
that will be discussed

Content / Support: argument for
points

Take Away: revisit each point; spoon
feed the audience what you want
them to hear and remember

Promise revisited:
show that you
delivered on your
promise

Call to Action: tell your audience how
you want them to act and respond

Make your presentation a
“Whole-Brain” experience

Presentation should be: 40% visual,
40% aural and 20% kinesthetic
Aural Visual Kinesthetic

Visual aids are really visual support: use
technology, flipcharts, whiteboards and
charts

While delivering your
presentation, remembe
r:

Six common reasons for failure…
Dorothy Leeds- Powerspeak

An unclear
purpose

Lack of clear
organization /
leadership

Too much One Two Three
information •A •C •E
•B •D •F
Category 4
Category 3
Series 1
Series 2
Category 2 Series 3
Category 1
0 5 10 15

Not enough support for
ideas and concepts

Monotonous voice / Sloppy speech

Not meeting the
real needs of the
audience

Rehearse

Correct information + organization +
proper visual support + proper public
speaking techniques + rehearsal =
Successful Presentations