A Simple Presentation Framework

Have you ever been on the spot to create a presentation and didn't know where to start? Here is a simple presentation framework to ensure you cover the important stuff.

Problem Statement - This is the What part of the presentation. Be sure you have a good understanding of the audience motivation by reflecting on the problem you will solve. Reflecting on the problem statement explains the need for your proposal. Sometimes this is done in an overview or background to the presentation, but regardless what you call it, reflect on the need. Also, keep it simple. Ideally, this would be a 1-2 slides.

Solution Overview - This is the How part of the presentation. It is the most important part. The solution overview should explain how you will solve the problem. Here are a few tips to help keep your content in-line for your audience:

• Too much detail can lose an executive's attention
• Insufficient detail leaves experts feeling there is no depth to the solution
• Consider creating a detailed presentation, then move details into an appendix and create summary slides for high-level executives
• Switch to the appropriate appendix slide if the audience wants details

Solution Benefits - This is the Why part of the presentation. Similar to the solution overview, be sure the content is aligned to your audience. When presenting to executives, be sure to use quantitative benefits. When talking to experts, focus more on qualitative benefits. This can be another section to use supporting detail in your appendix.

What Is Needed - This is the place to cover the Who and How Much parts of the presentation. If your presentation does not cover what you need to deliver the solution, you run the risk of setting expectations of a benefit without being able to get the resources to deliver. This can take the form of timelines, budgets, commercials, key person or stakeholder support, external dependencies, etc. Just be sure to let people know what it takes to be successful. Here' some tips:

• Every slide covering this erodes the confidence built in the prior slides
• Do not have more slides of "need" than you have of "solution"

Next Steps - This is the When part of the presentation. Be sure to have a plan in place for follow-up actions. Think of this slide as 3-5 bullets. It is not the time to pull out a project plan. The dialogue during your proposal should help drive the audience to this point. It is helpful to close the meeting with a brief recap of the takeaways.

That's it! These 5 basic concepts will help you explain What, How, Why, Who, How Much, and When. Good presentations can create new opportunities. Good luck!