Transitions
Something that separates poor public speakers from good ones is transitions. Good public speakers understand, even consciously or intuitively, that listeners need all the help they can get. It is vital to give listeners directions on how to listen to one's presentation.
It starts, of course, with a decided plan that you are committed to following. It's called an outline. You may balk at the old "Roman numeral thing." Fine, but there has to be a way of enumerating points and letting yourself see that some ideas are "main" and others are "minor" or subordinate or explanatory. Being excessively left-brained, I think in Roman numeral outlines, but understand some people don't (although I don't understand how they get anything done).
Then the outline has to be pretty well cemented in the speaker's mind. Not memorized, just solidly clear. That's why all textbooks rightly say no more than five main ideas or sections. And that would only be true if you absolutely have to have it that way because of the nature of the subject. Three or four is better. Simple, elegant structure is what matters.
Now, the transitions. You need a transition between the introduction and first main section (called a preview statement of all the sections or points), between each main sections, between each point that appears in a list (more on that below), and one between the last section and the closing statement (called a summary). Yes, lots of transitions.
If you have a section with a long list of parallel ideas, such as steps or "to do" or examples, there should be a short transition between each one. However, between major sections of the presentations, transitions should be more like a sentence or two.
Transitions are not for data, stories, or new information. They are simple guideposts to let the audience follow you as a speaker since we are not good listeners and our attentiveness falters so much. Transitions bring us back into focus, help us see logical connections, and remind us of what we have heard so far.
Finally, don't fall into the "next" trap. A transition needs to point backward and forward. What has previously been "covered" must be summarized and connected to what's to come.
It starts, of course, with a decided plan that you are committed to following. It's called an outline. You may balk at the old "Roman numeral thing." Fine, but there has to be a way of enumerating points and letting yourself see that some ideas are "main" and others are "minor" or subordinate or explanatory. Being excessively left-brained, I think in Roman numeral outlines, but understand some people don't (although I don't understand how they get anything done).
Then the outline has to be pretty well cemented in the speaker's mind. Not memorized, just solidly clear. That's why all textbooks rightly say no more than five main ideas or sections. And that would only be true if you absolutely have to have it that way because of the nature of the subject. Three or four is better. Simple, elegant structure is what matters.
Now, the transitions. You need a transition between the introduction and first main section (called a preview statement of all the sections or points), between each main sections, between each point that appears in a list (more on that below), and one between the last section and the closing statement (called a summary). Yes, lots of transitions.
If you have a section with a long list of parallel ideas, such as steps or "to do" or examples, there should be a short transition between each one. However, between major sections of the presentations, transitions should be more like a sentence or two.
Transitions are not for data, stories, or new information. They are simple guideposts to let the audience follow you as a speaker since we are not good listeners and our attentiveness falters so much. Transitions bring us back into focus, help us see logical connections, and remind us of what we have heard so far.
Finally, don't fall into the "next" trap. A transition needs to point backward and forward. What has previously been "covered" must be summarized and connected to what's to come.
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