A presentation outline template gives you an overview of what encompasses an entire presentation. Based on the outline, you can start dealing with one slide at a time and then into the nitty-gritty of it. You may consider as a roadmap that leads to a successful final presentation and impress the attendees.
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Presentation Outline Templates
What is the outline of a presentation?
You can make a presentation outline template using just a sheet of paper or a word processing software of your choice. For instance, if you intend to make a PowerPoint presentation, it would be best to create the whole thing from your computer itself.
Using presentation outline examples and templates can make it easier for you to come up with a standout presentation. Moreover, the template helps you organize your ideas in a logical way. This method ensures that you will include all of the most important details of your presentation.
The template allows you to collect all of the information needed to communicate with your target audience throughout your presentation. You can use headers, bullet points, footers, and even graphics that you need in your presentation. The outline helps you create and put together the perfect message that you want to deliver.
Since you will use the presentation outline template as your guide when presenting, it is therefore important to organize the points logically. For instance, the outline must begin with an introduction where you will invite your audience to your presentation.
Here, you will highlight what your presentation involves. The introduction plays a crucial role in your presentation since this is where you grab your audience’s attention from the start. You might feel stressed at the start but just try to remain calm. Making an amazing first impression isn’t as difficult as you may think.
After your introduction, you will come to the substance of your presentation – and you can find this in the body. This section consists of your main points followed by their own sub-points.
After the body comes the conclusion where you will give a summary of your whole presentation. If you’re making a sales pitch, have to conclude with a CTA. Another great way to conclude your presentation is with an entertaining anecdote or a powerful quote.
Presentation Outline Examples
How do you write an outline for a presentation?
In analogy, you can compare your presentation outline template to a roadmap you will use as a guide to move your audience from where they are at the start of your presentation to where you want them to be by the end of it. Here are some points to consider when composing your own PowerPoint outline example:
- Determine your goal
When writing an outline for your presentation, the first thing you have to decide on is your goal. You should be specific with your goals and make sure these are highly achievable in the situation and timeframe you have. For instance, when making an oral presentation example, make sure you have enough time to discuss all of the points in your outline. - Analyze your audience
This determines the starting point of your presentation. Consider all of the aspects of your audience to help you determine where you should begin with your message. For instance, when making a sales presentation outline, you may want to present your audience with a problem that you know they all have. Then you can present the solution in the form of the products or services you offer. - Plan the content of your presentation
As soon as you have formulated your goal and analyzed your audience, you are now prepared to plan the content of your presentation. You can think about having 3 levels in your presentation outline template:
The highest levels consist of the topics that you want to discuss – usually about 3 to 5 topics
Break each of these topics into the points you want to make
Decide on the supporting information you will use to prove or support each point. - Ask for feedback and opinions
To deliver an impactful presentation, it is important to ask for other people’s feedback and opinions. These people could be a mentor or somebody who gives a lot of presentations.
These persons may help you make important changes that you might have overlooked. In the absence of this kind of help to criticize your outline, you may rehearse your presentation on your own then record yourself. Then send the recording to someone through email for their feedback and comments. - Include visual elements
Whenever possible, it’s a good idea to incorporate visual elements in your outline as they help greatly in improving your overall presentation. By nature, people understand visual content more than they do words.
Besides, even a simple illustration or diagram can potentially summarize a significant amount of written text. It pays to use graphs, images, diagrams, and the like in your outline. To make it more effective, use a clear and standard font that’s easy to read for the text. Also, make sure that everyone can read the size of the text that you choose. - Think about the most important information
Usually, in presentations, you cannot accommodate all of the details. As such, it becomes vital to include only special information that you can easily forget like as names, locations, and dates.
You should maintain a clear statement of what your presentation is all about. Remember that your thesis statement serves as a guide on what to include in your presentation. In addition, this also prevents you from straying away from your main topic. Also, you must keep your outline clear but simple. - Consider creating an alphanumeric outline
Consider the use of alphanumeric characters to organize your outline better. For instance, you can use capital letters for the main points and small letters for sub-points. Make sure to itemize each level of your outline. You can use Arabic numbers, Roman numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and so on. - Follow a clear and logical structure
There should be a logical sequence in the order of points or events in your outline. This enables your audience to easily understand your message without getting confused.
For instance, when you’re creating a narrative – this should begin with an introduction, a body of content, and a conclusion. You will have an easier time with your presentation if your outline has a clear and logical structure.
PowerPoint Outline Examples
