Ever felt lost while listening to a presentation? Or worse, lost your own audience as you present? You can create clarity by establishing structure in your talk.
The human brain loves to categorise. When presented with information, it likes to tuck it away neatly into buckets. This happens in the background without a conscious effort. Trouble is, audience members are often left to categorise and file information on their own, thereby utilising valuable processing space that should be focussed on what you're actually saying. 
By creating a clear structure, you make it easier for your audience to follow along and take in what you have to say. Here's how you can use structure to create clarity:
To start, break your talk down into clear segments, or buckets. Group ideas together in a way that makes sense and then organise those groups into a logical flow. Depending on your topic, there may be a few different ways to divide or order your information. Go with the one that makes most sense and best addresses your objective.
Next, you've got to share that structure right at the start of your talk – in other words, present an agenda. Let people know what to expect. Tell them how many buckets there will be and what they’re called. A visual agenda (e.g. on a slide or flipchart) can be helpful, but not always necessary. Be sure to attach an element of time.
“Over the next 30 minutes, I’ll talk to you about A, B and C.”
It’s great to tell the audience where they’re going, but the next step is to tell them where they’re at. Make it clear as you move from one bucket to another so that your audience moves with you. Similarly, you can indicate as you move from one point to another in a bucket. You can certainly get eloquent in how you do this but a simple transition statement is all you need.
“Now that we’ve looked at A, let’s move on to B.”
"First…Next…Finally"
Transition statements provide clarity. They also eliminate choppiness and awkward silences, creating a smooth flow for a more polished, professional presentation.
The final step is to repeat the main points that you discussed. This might be done at the end of a slide, a section (bucket), or at the very end of your presentation.
When done in the conclusion, your recap usually mirrors the agenda. You may wish to repeat a key message from each bucket if you'd like, but be careful not to elaborate or introduce any new ideas. Again, use a transition statement to begin your conclusion - that prepares the audience for this next phase of your talk.
“To conclude, we have talked about A, B and C.”
"In summary, we began with a look at A, and then moved on to B and C..."
By reinforcing the structure of your talk, you are in fact helping to reinforce your communication overall.
Clarity is important, whether you’re talking for 5 minutes or 5 hours. By conveying a clear structure, you make it so much easier for your audience to follow along - it even makes them want to hear you out. And remember, when your audience actually gets what you're saying, you're more likely to get what you want from the audience!
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