Both in work and out of work, we are often asked to deliver presentations. We often spend many hours carefully crafting slides without a thought about what the other party wants out of the presentation. All we think about is the message we want to get across.
The first question that we need to ask ourselves before sitting down with Powerpoint or Keynote and typing up some slides is do we actually need a presentation? Sometimes a presentation may not be the best way to get your message across. Maybe a meeting or a memo might be a better way.
But, if you actually need to give a presentation, and a meeting, memo or email won’t do, then you can improve your presentations by using the WOMBAT Technique.
> W – Who are the audience, what do they want, what motivates them?
> O – Objectives why are you speaking?
> M – Material – think about who and what material is most likely to get the message across
> B – Brainstorm ideas and then rank the ideas as Essential, Desirable and Filler. Only include the essential in the presentation. Keep re-ranking until you’re left with 1-2 points you want to make.
> A – Arrange into 5 logical parts 1) Opening 2) Introduction 3) Mainbody 4) Conclusion 5) Close
> T – Test Test it out!!
Most people forget the last bit, but Testing it out even in front of the mirror, will ensure that you presentation is more memorable and gets our message across most effectively.