8 Different Ways to Structure your next Presentation

1. Modular – A sequence of similar parts, units, or components in which order of the units is interchangeable (Think of this approach as a plug and play approach. Eg Financial presentations fall under this category. You can easily rearrange items at will but it makes it challenging for your audience to follow)


2. Chronological – Organises clusters of ideas along a timeline reflecting events in the order in which they occurred or might occur (Telling a story that deals with change is the most important objective. Eg HR director of a company that has to bring new staff up to speed about company.)


3. Physical – Organises clusters of ideas according to their physical or geographic location. (Distribution operation whose points of presence around the country/world represent its major competitive advantage. Eg DHL)


4. Spatial – Organises ideas conceptually, according to a physical metaphor or analogy, providing a spatial arrangement of your topics. (Providing a spatial view of topics from top to bottom or vice versa. Eg. Spatial Flow Structure is the physical metaphor of constructing a house. The foundation = platform product or service, the beams = organisations and partners, The wires/pipes = technology, Glass/Brick = Marketing and Branding)


5. Issues/Actions – Organises the presentation around one or more issues and the actions you propose to address them. (Describe issues and tell them what actions you and your company propose to address them. Eg. Used by companies in a Turnaround mode)


6. Case Study – A narrative recounting of how you or your solved a particular problem or met the needs of a particular client, and in the telling, covers all the aspects of your business and its environment. (Provides a central spine that connects multiple diverse components. Stories are always captivating. Excellent way of capturing and keeping audiences)


7. Argument/Fallacy – Raises arguments against your own case, and then rebuts them by pointing out the fallacies that underlie them. (Prempt any objections in the minds of hostile audience, thus creating a level playing field for a positive representation of your company’s real strength. Risky Flow Structure to use. It tends to sounds defensive or contentious)


8. Features/Benefits – Organises the presentation around a series of your product or service features and the concrete benefits provided by those features (Eg. Apple product presentations)