Public Speaking and Presentations

Parent: Writing and Documentation · researched 2026-05-29T19:22:38.336Z· 7 sources · 9 concepts · skill public-speaking-and-presentations

Answer four questions before touching a slide tool:

Audience Analysis Before You Open PowerPoint

Answer four questions before touching a slide tool: [source]
Who is in the room? Job function, seniority, and domain expertise. [source]
What do they already believe? Start from their current position. [source]
What one action do you want them to take? Name the action. [source]
What is the one thing they must remember? Write that sentence before slide 1. [source]

Slide-Doc vs Presentation Slides

Presentation slides (Reynolds / "Presentation Zen" model) exist to support a live speaker. The speaker carries the argument; the slide carries visual reinforcement. One idea per slide. Minimal text. Large images or diagrams. [source]
Slide-docs (Tufte-influenced) are standalone documents formatted as slide-shaped pages. They contain complete sentences, dense supporting data, footnotes. They can be emailed and read without a presenter. [source]
The core failure mode: the slidument - bullet-heavy slides that are too dense to look good on screen and too sparse to be useful to a reader. [source]

Kawasaki 10/20/30 Rule

10 slides - humans can't absorb more than ten concepts in a single sitting [source]
20 minutes - even if you have a full hour, present in 20 minutes [source]
30-point minimum font - if you cannot fit your message in 30pt type, you have too many words [source]

Nancy Duarte's Resonate Framework

The central insight: every great speech moves back and forth between "what is" and "what could be." [source]
The contrast pattern: [source]
Establish the current reality (what is) [source]
Describe the future possibility (what could be) [source]
Repeat this oscillation; each cycle raises the stakes [source]
End with the "new bliss" - the world after the audience acts [source]
The STAR moment (Something They'll Always Remember): one designed moment of high contrast, surprise, or visceral demonstration. [source]

Three-Act Talk Structure

Act 1 - Setup (10–15% of total time): Establish stakes; define the problem; signal what the audience will be able to do differently by the end. [source]
Act 2 - Exploration (70–75%): Develop the argument. Front-load complex material; place a re-energizing moment two-thirds of the way through. [source]
Act 3 - Resolution (10–15%): Do not introduce new material. Synthesize, do not summarize. [source]

The Headline-Deck Approach (McKinsey / BCG)

Every slide title is a complete, standalone sentence stating the takeaway, not a topic label. [source]
Bad title: "Market Analysis" [source]
Good title: "The North American market is growing 12% YoY and outpacing EMEA in every segment." [source]
A reader who reads only slide titles should follow the full argument. [source]

Talk Openings — Five Patterns

Startling fact or statistic: drop a number the audience does not expect [source]
Story: open with a specific scene - one person, one moment, sensory detail [source]
Contrarian claim: state something the audience believes that you are about to challenge [source]
Direct question: ask a question the audience cannot immediately answer [source]
Scene-setting: describe the world as it will look after your idea is adopted [source]
Do not open with: your name and title, an apology, "great to be here," agenda slides. [source]

Talk Closings — Five Patterns

Callback to opening: return to the story or question you opened with [source]
Call to action: one specific, concrete thing the audience can do in the next 48 hours [source]
Single image or quote: full-bleed slide with one sentence [source]
Summary triple: three short phrases that encapsulate the talk's three main points [source]
The future vision: describe the world three years from now if the audience acts [source]

Q&A Handling

The bridging technique: acknowledge the question, then bridge to your main message. [source]
"I don't know" as a complete answer: say it cleanly, then add "I'll find out and get back to you by [date]." [source]
Hostile questions: do not match the energy. Lower your voice slightly. Answer the question beneath the question. [source]

Rehearsal Discipline

Minimum effective rehearsal for a 30-minute talk: [source]
Three times out loud, alone - full volume, full sentences, full transitions [source]
Once to a real human - their confusion is signal [source]
Video review of yourself - watch on mute first (body language), then with sound (pace and filler) [source]
Pacing target: 125–150 words per minute. Time your talk at 90% of the slot. [source]

Virtual vs In-Person Calibration

Virtual: look at the camera lens, not at faces on screen. Place the camera at eye level. [source]
Audio quality (virtual): audio quality matters more than video quality. A USB condenser microphone, a quiet room, and a soft surface behind you. [source]
Energy calibration (virtual): increase vocal variety noticeably above what feels natural in a room - the camera flattens affect. [source]

Anti-Patterns to Eliminate

Reading slides verbatim. [source]
Walls of bullets. Each bullet resets the audience's attention to near-zero. [source]
"As you can see here..." - If it is visible, do not narrate its existence. [source]
Apologizing for slides. [source]
Running long. Going over time disrespects every person in the room. [source]
The vague closing. "So, in conclusion, we looked at X, Y, and Z..." [source]

Sources

Reynolds, Garr. "Presentation Zen" (2nd ed., New Riders, 2011) [source]
Duarte, Nancy. "Resonate" (Wiley, 2010) [source]
Kawasaki, Guy. "The Art of the Start 2.0" (Portfolio/Penguin, 2015) [source]
Anderson, Chris. "TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016) [source]

Children

Slide-Doc vs PowerPoint Structure (frontier)
Kawasaki 10/20/30 Rule (frontier)
Duarte Resonate Framework (frontier)
Talk Arc Design (frontier)
Q&A Handling (frontier)
Rehearsal Discipline (frontier)
Demo Prep (frontier)
Virtual vs In-Person Calibration (frontier)
Opening and Closing Hooks (frontier)

Frontier under this node: Demo Prep, Duarte Resonate Framework, Kawasaki 10/20/30 Rule, Opening and Closing Hooks, Q&A Handling, Rehearsal Discipline, Slide-Doc vs PowerPoint Structure, Talk Arc Design, Virtual vs In-Person Calibration

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