Presentations and talks
Find the main point of a presentation
Finish this sentence before opening slide software: after the talk, listeners should believe or do this. Choose the answer by looking at what the audience needs, then keep only the evidence that supports it. Everything else is a candidate for removal or for a separate session.
A text to start with
I am giving a talk to [audience] about [topic] in [time slot]. These listeners need [decision, skill or understanding]. My notes include [list of topics, findings or stories]. Propose three possible central claims, each written as one sentence. For each, name the evidence from my notes that supports it, the action I could ask listeners to take, and which topics would have to go. Use only my notes.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Main point worksheet
Audience: [ ] What they already know: [ ] What they need from this talk: [ ] Central claim in one sentence: [ ] Evidence 1 and where it comes from: [ ] Evidence 2 and where it comes from: [ ] Evidence 3 and where it comes from: [ ] Action I will ask listeners to take: [ ] Who controls that action: [ ] Topic considered: [ ] Supports the claim? [yes / no / partly] Decision: [keep / shorten / cut / save for questions] What one test listener repeated back: [ ]
Topics that crowd out the claim
Read the proposed claim aloud and ask whether each remaining topic helps a listener accept it. A side story, a history of the project or a long list of caveats often fails that test. Watch for claims that are really topic labels, such as a title with no verdict. Confirm that every piece of evidence comes from your own notes and was not added by the assistant. If the requested action depends on a decision someone else controls, say so in the claim instead of implying the audience can act alone.
Ask another agent to check the result
Compare my central claim with my topic list. Mark every topic that does not help the audience accept the claim or take the requested action, and explain why in one sentence each. Point out any evidence the claim relies on that is absent from my notes. Suggest cuts only, with no new content.
Test the claim on one listener
Choose one claim and tell it in one minute to a colleague or friend who resembles your audience. Ask what they would repeat tomorrow and which part confused them. Move cut topics to a parking list for questions or a follow-up. Then outline the talk, giving each section one job: set up the need, support the claim or request the action.