The reports keep coming in.  There are a lot of mediocre to bad speakers out there.  And every poor presentation adds to the frustration – the sense that “this is a waste of time.”

There really are some simple fixes.  If each speaker would simply remember, and follow, some simple rules, the audience would be less frustrated and more engaged.

In this post, I will focus on the structure, the organization of the presentation.  And the structure is this:

Beginning, Middle, and End. 

I think I heard it put in this simple formula first by Frank Luntz, but it is in every speech textbook since the beginning of time, using the more old-fashioned wording.  Speeches should have an:

Introduction
Body
Conclusion

In other words, a

Beginning
Middle
End

Start with an inviting, engaging Beginning
Have a substantive Middle
And, have a call-to-action End

This menu/template/formula calls for the following:

Beginning:
• You need a “Hook” to grab the attention of the audience.  As you look your audience in the eye, tell some story, use some quote, to engage, to grab, to “demand!” their attention.  Make it powerful, as you pull your audience into your presentation.
This part of your speech should include this compelling Hook, then your thesis statement – the speech in one clear, compelling sentence — then a preview of what’s coming next.

Middle:
• The body of your speech should be substantive, and very, very easy to follow.  Simple, but not simplistic.  Probably with main points – more than two, but not too many.

End:
• Review what you have said, then end with a clear call to action.  A “This is what you should do with what you have learned here” call.  Make sure your audience knows what they can do with this material.

One preacher put it this way.  Every sermon (for our purposes, every speech, every presentation) should have a clear “what,” and then a “so what?”

Here’s my observation.  The better speakers have pretty good “middles.”  But the very best speakers have superb “Hooks,” and really clear “Calls to Action.”  So, here’s my suggestion – start working a lot more diligently on these two aspects.

You might want to read these earlier blog posts:

Arouse and Fulfill – Formula For Effective Presentations (wise counsel from Dr. Tom Hollihan, the USC Annenberg School)
and
Hillary Clinton, the Master of Repetition and Parallel Structure – Your Communication Tip of the Day

And, here is a “speech preparation sheet” that I use in my Speech Classes and in my Presentation Skills Training Classes.  It includes key reminders on the left side of the page, and I include the six elements of “stickiness” from Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath at the bottom.  You might want to print this out, and use it for your next presentation(s).