If you have ever been tasked with writing a presentation that multiple people can use to present with, you know how complicated that can be.  Every person you are developing the presentation for has a different knowledge set, they have different experiences presenting and they ultimately all have different styles.  So what do you do?  Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to take presentation development to the next level.

1.            Make the Text on the Presentation Slide Simple, Short and Easy to Read.

No matter how tempting it is to just put every bit of important information that has to be presented directly on the presentation slide, do not do it. It seems like this approach would make it fool proof for every presenter to say the same thing the same way every time.  That is a fallacy.  When there is too much text on the presentation slide, presenters forget the main point they are supposed to get across and focus on the slides.  They end up sounding stale and boring.  The audience will tune them out and in the end no one will end up getting any benefit from the ideas that were supposed to be presented.  You don’t want to make your presenter obsolete, you want to make her like  Vanna White, revealing the tantalizing clues to the new information, only the bare bones of which are on the slides.

Only put key points on the presentation slide. 

Each key point should be one sentence or less. 

If you have more than four key points, edit them down to four or less.

2.            Create Speaker Notes.

You will need to create a guide or set of speaker notes that the presenter can follow when delivering the presentation. Think of this as the cheat sheet for your Jr. High Science test. The trick to this however, is not in providing a verbatim script. As we mention above, when told to read something verbatim the presenter sounds stilted and boring. You’re not trying to create color copies of yourself. Instead of following the scripted approach include the following in your speaker notes; key points (one sentence or less), questions people may ask about the key points and a simple one sentence response, questions the presenter should ask the audience to ensure they understand and stimulate interaction. You’re not a ventriloquist and your presenter is not your puppet!

Speaker notes should include key points (one sentence or less), questions people may ask about the key points and a simple one sentence response, questions the presenter should ask the audience to ensure they understand and stimulate interaction.

3.            Have a Train the Trainer Session

The best way to learn how to present new material is to follow a three-step process.  It may add a little extra time to the deployment cycle, but it will make the presentation seamless and consistent. Have people watch a presentation being given.  After that they should give the presentation to a set of peers, who will give them feedback and tips for making it better. Finally, have them give the presentation to the recommended audience with a partner who has delivered the presentation correctly in the past. It’s easier to jump out of an airplane the first time if you do it with a buddy!

Follow a three-step train the trainer process:

1 - Have people watch a presentation being given. 

2 - After that they should give the presentation to a set of peers, who will give them feedback and tips for making it better. 

3 - Finally, have them give the presentation to the recommended audience with a partner who has delivered the presentation correctly in the past.

Five Quick Tips to Creating a Presentation Everyone Will Deliver the Same Way

1.Only put key points on the presentation slide. 

2.Each key point should be one sentence or less. 

3.If you have more than four key points, edit them down to four or less.

4.Speaker notes should include key points (one sentence or less), questions people may ask about the key points and a simple one sentence response, questions the presenter should ask the audience to ensure they understand and stimulate interaction.

5.Follow a three step train the trainer process:

a.    Have people watch a presentation being given. 

b.    After that they should give the presentation to a set of peers, who will give them feedback and tips for making it better.

c.    Finally, have them give the presentation to the recommended audience with a partner who has delivered the presentation correctly in the past.