• Part 1 symbol pink circle
    getting started
  • Part 2 symbol blue triangle
    fundamentals
  • Part 3 symbol green square
    content
  • Part 4 symbol purple triangle
    delivery
  • Part 5 symbol three blue circles
    engaging your audience
  • Part 6 symbol orange asterisk
    speaking to inform
  • Part 7 symbol pink diamond
    speaking to persuade
  • Part 8 symbol green star
    speaking occasions

Sequencing Key Points

Some of the organizational arrangements we've described (like scientific method arrangement) more or less dictate the order of your key points. Others (like comparison-contrast or telling stories) don’t. The following general considerations can help you decide which key points should go first, next, and last.

STRENGTH AND FAMILIARITY

If one of your points is not as strong as the others or may be less familiar to your audience, place it in the middle position. For example, how would you order the stories in the presentation that focuses on Elon Musk, Jan Scruggs, and Harriet Tubman? Whereas most US audiences would be familiar with the first and third person, they may not recognize Jan Scruggs, a disabled Vietnam veteran who founded the Washington Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Put the least familiar story in the middle of the presentation in order to start and end with better-known examples.

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

Whether you “put your best foot forward” by leading with your strongest point or “save the best for last” will depend in part on your purpose and what you learn during AUDIENCE ANALYSIS Part 2 symbol blue triangle (90–96). If potential clients come to your sales presentation wanting information about pricing options, satisfy that need early on in your presentation. An audience motivated to hear something very particular shouldn’t have to wait for it—and they might get distracted or interrupt you if they do. On the other hand, if an audience is not very interested in your topic, don’t begin with your most technical, detailed point. You may be better off beginning with a point that explains why understanding the topic is important and then build up to your strongest point at the end.