DEVELOP A PLAN FOR ANY WRITTEN OR ORAL PRESENTATION YOU MAKE

Dear learners, why is it essential to develop a plan for any written or oral presentation? 

This question is worth asking because, believe it or not, I still receive papers to mark under my responsibility as a teacher without any plan.

In this article, I'll explain why it's absolutely essential to make a plan.      

I always tell learners that I have had the honor of teaching over the years how fundamental it is to systematically develop a plan during a written or oral presentation. And it's not subject to negotiation, which means any type of presentation without a plan is doomed to a poor grade.             

Let me just get into the nitty-gritty of why and how you should design your presentations of all kinds with a well-organized plan.

Developing a plan is very important because it:

1) IMPROVES CLARITY AND CONSISTENCY

- A plan helps you, the learner, avoid rambling or going off topic by moving your ideas forward reasonably.  

- It ensures that your ideas flow logically from one point to another in an organized manner.

- This makes it easier for your audience to understand or for the evaluator to understand and remember the message because things seem crystal clear. 

2) REDUCES ANXIETY AND BUILDS CONFIDENCE

- When learners know what's coming next, they feel more secure in developing their ideas with confidence.

- A clear structure gives them a roadmap to follow, reducing stress during presentations. They just need to follow the path they set out from the start.

3) HELPS ORGANIZE COMPLEX IDEAS

- Planning requires them to prioritize the most important arguments or evidence while leaving out what is unrelated to the topic. 

- This avoids information overload so as not to confuse the audience: you say what needs to be said and to the right audience.

4) STRENGTHENS PERSUASION AND IMPACT

- A structured presentation can highlight key points at the right time, such as a strong opening as an introduction and a powerful conclusion to wrap things up. 

- This makes learners' arguments more convincing and memorable through detailed presentation.

5) SAVES TIME IN PREPARATION AND DELIVERY

- With a plan, learners waste less time wondering, 'what should I say next?' Everything is planned out from the start, and they just need to follow the steps.

- Learners can focus their energy on how to say it rather than what to say, because the goal is already defined by the plan.

6) REFLECTS PROFESSIONALISM

- In an academic, business or public context, a structured presentation demonstrates seriousness and preparation as well as it makes it easier to convey a message.

- An unstructured discussion can seem sloppy, even if the ideas are good, simply because we're not talking about trivialities here, which is convenient when we can let the details sink in. Here, however, we're talking about business, which means organization, rationality, anticipation, preparation – those kinds of words. 

To sum it up: a plan is not a restriction but a support, it frees up mental space to focus on style, delivery and connecting with the audience.