Why Your Presentation Needs a Main Message

“What is the main message you are trying to convey to your audience?”

Your presentation needs a main message for two reasons: to keep the presenter on topic and to keep the audience engaged. When you clearly focus on the core message, you can quickly identify which information in your presentation strays from it.

It will also help ensure that you begin with the most essential and relevant information to capture your audience’s attention. To hone your message, use these tips:

Start with a Word 

What is the one word that will sum up your entire message? If you’re giving a presentation at an annual meeting, that one word might be of hope, or success, or uncertainty. If it's about a new product, one word might be symbolic of the problem it solves, or the need it fulfills. Think about how successful speakers – from the stories they tell to the humor they use – drive toward a main point of inspiration, direction, or purpose. Every presentation you make should be as dynamic and engaging.

Let the Message Lead the Way

Identifying your main message and core theme, allows you to build the rest of your presentation around it and recognize when message creep occurs (the meandering that causes audiences to disengage). The visual aspects of your presentation will also be informed by the main message and should work to enhance the points you are trying to express.

Create an Outline

Before you choose to make visuals a part of your presentation, create an outline. This helps to not only ensure you stick to your message but also to keep you focused. Once you have a fully developed outline, it will be easy to integrate accompanying visuals as you prepare your presentation.

Choose Your Presentation Style

Your presentation needs a main message, but your delivery will likely be in one of two formats. You’re either presenting a three-part play or a pyramid. Which will work best depends on your message and your audience.

The Three-Part Play

This is best used for presentations where the main message is fairly simple to understand and just needs to be driven home. It requires a strong introduction, middle, and closing, all receiving about equal treatment. The introduction is where you clearly tell your audience what you will be presenting and what they can expect to get from it; in part two, you deliver on your promise; and in part three, you reiterate your main message and key points.

The Pyramid

The best use of a pyramid presentation structure is for presenting complex information. In the beginning, you will be explaining the main message in a bite-sized, easy-to-understand format, checking for understanding as you go. As the pyramid builds, you’ll continue to expand the message and fill in the details, building on the audience’s growing understanding of your idea. This is an effective presentation method for scientists and other industry-specific presentations that are being delivered to a broad audience.

Please, Prepare, Practice

At the end of the day, whether you have a captive audience who must attend your presentation or a willing audience of guests, your goal is to please them. You achieve that by speaking dynamically, remaining conversational, making eye contact, using humor, and speaking with passion. So to please your audience, you must prepare and practice.

A successful presentation requires a great deal of preparation; when you are not prepared, your audience knows it. (You will too, when you lose their attention). Practicing the delivery of your presentation is critical. Effectiveness is the key to a successful presentation – and success occurs when you recognize that every presentation needs a main message.