125 Making a Presentation The close of the presentation is the most memorable
moment. Whatever else happens, the audience will almost
certainly remember this! This is your last chance to ‘tell ’em what
you’ve told ’em.’ Summarise your key points, and your message.
Give a call to action. Add feeling: this is the place for you to
invoke
pathos
. (Look back at the start of Chapter 5 for more on
this.) Be specific in your call to action: what
exactly
do you want
the audience to do?
Thank the audience for their attention. You might also
formally guide them into a question session, giving them time to
relax after concentrating and perhaps pre-arranging a ‘planted
question’ in the audience to set the ball rolling.
Putting it on cards Put your ideas on to cards. These are useful memory devices and
will help you to bring the presentation alive.
The best presentations are given without notes. But few
people will always have the confidence or experience to be able to
deliver without any help. Nevertheless, any notes you create
should aim to support your memory, not substitute for it.
Don’t write your presentation out in full unless you are an
accomplished actor. Only actors can make recitation sound
convincing – and nobody is asking you to act. Use cards. Filing or
archive cards are best; use the largest you can find. Cards have a
number of key advantages.
• They are less shaky than paper – they don’t rustle. • They are more compact. • They give your hands something firm to hold. • They can be tagged with a treasury tag to prevent loss of order. • They look more professional. • They force you to write only brief notes. ( c) 2011 Kogan Page L imited, All Rights Reserved.
