7 Aspects Of a Dynamic Presentation


Lenny Laskowski





There are 7 aspects people must deal with when preparing and delivering presentations. An effective speaker learns to deal with all 7 aspects at the same time. Failure to pay attention to all of these aspects can result in an ineffective presentation. Failure to pay attention to too many of these can result in disaster.

  1. Speaker
  2. Message
  3. Audience
  4. Channel
  5. Feedback
  6. Noise
  7. Setting


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ASPECT #1 – The Speaker
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One of the major components of any speech or presentation is the speaker themselves (the source of the message). Many people forget they THEY are the presentation and NOT the visual aids. Many presenters today put so much effort into the visual aids and they forget that those are just aids to the speaker.
There are three factors we need to consider about any speaker:
a. His / Her motivation in giving the presentation
b. His / Her credibility as a speaker
c. His / Her delivery or speaking style
a. A Speaker’s motivation can be approached in terms of two considerations:
==> Whether direct personal reward (e.g. $$$) or indirect rewards (feeling good about helping others) are involved.
==> Whether immediate rewards ($$ today) or delayed rewards (getting a college degree after 4 years of college play a part.
In essence, a speaker may be motivated by one or BOTH of these factors. Before speaking you should consider what YOUR motivations are.
b. Speaker’s credibility
A speaker’s ideas are accepted as believable only to the degree that the speaker is perceived to be credible. The speaker’s credibility depends on his or her trustworthiness, competence, and good will. The speaker who is well organized will usually be considered competent. The speaker who is attractive and dynamic will be seen as more credible than one who is not.
The most fundamental factor a speaker projects is the attitude they have toward himself.
c. Speaker’s delivery
The delivery, the way the message is presented, should compliment the speech’s objective. A well written speech delivered poorly can quickly lose effectiveness.
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ASPECT #2 – The Message
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The message refers to EVERYTHING a speaker does or says, both verbally and non-verbally. The verbal component may be analyzed in terms of 3 basic elements:

  • Content
  • Style
  • Structure


Let’s look at each of these elements.
a. Content – is what you say about your topic. The content is the MEAT of your speech or presentation. Research your topic thoroughly. Decide on how much to say about each subject. Then decide on the actual sequence you will use. It is important that you consider the audience’s needs, time factors, and other items as the content of your speech or presentation is prepared and presented.
b. Style – The manner in which you present the content of your speech is your style. Styles can vary from very formal to the very informal. Most presentations fall between these two extremes and in EVERY case, the style should be determined by what is appropriate to the speaker, the audience, as well as the occasion and setting.
c. Structure – The structure of a message is its organization. There are many organizational variations, but in each case, the structure should include:

    • An Introduction
    • A Body
    • A Conclusion


The introduction should include:
- an opening grabber such as a quote or shocking statistic.
- an agenda
- the purpose or main message of your presentation.
The body should include:
- your main points or ideas.
- points which support your main message.
The conclusion should include:
- a summary of your main points.
- a closing grabber.
- time for questions & answers, if appropriate.
When speeches and presentations are poorly organized, the impact of the message is reduced and the audience is less likely to accept the speaker or the speaker’s ideas.
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ASPECT #3 – The Audience
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As a speaker you should analyze your listeners and then decide how to present your ideas. This analysis might include considerations related to:
- Age
- Sex
- Marital Status
- Race
- Geographic location
- Group membership
- Education
- Career
For example, if you are making a presentation on “Future Careers”, knowing your audience’s average age is vital. A well prepared speech that is ill-suited to the audience can have the same effect as a poorly prepared speech delivered to the correct audience. Both speeches will fail terribly.
Proper audience analysis will assure that you give the right speech to the right audience. To properly customize the speech, most professional speakers send their clients a multi-page questionnaire in order to gather information about them and their speaking event. I will usually call some of the members who can find out what the current trends are in their industry and ask what people are looking for.
Using the word “A-U-D-I-E-N-C-E” as an acronym, I have defined some general audience analysis categories that your surveys should include:
A_udience – Who are the members? How many will be at the event?
U_nderstanding – What is their knowledge about the topic you will be addressing?
D_emographics – What is their age, sex, educational background, etc.?
I_nterest – Why will they be at this event? Who asked them to be there?
E_nvironment – Where will I stand when I speak? Will everyone be able to see me?
N_eeds – What are the listener’s needs? What are your needs as a speaker? What are the needs of the person who hired you?
C_ustomized – How can I custom fit my message to this audience?
E_xpectations – What do the listeners expect to learn from me?
NOTE: See my article on Audience Analysis for a more detailed discussion on this topic. Also, my new book, “No Sweat Presentations – The Painless Way to Successful Speaking” provides some specific questions you could ask along with a sample questionnaire you can use.
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ASPECT #4 – The Channel
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When we communicate with our audiences, we use many channels of communication. This includes non-verbal, pictorial and aural channels.
It is very important that you use as many channels as you can to communicate with your audience. The more channels of communication you can use at the same time, the better. I have provided a brief list of examples for each of these types:
A. Nonverbal
1. gestures
2. facial expressions
3. body movement
4. posture
B. Pictorial
1. diagrams
2. charts
3. graphs
4. pictures
5. objects
C. Aural
1. tone of your voice
2. variations in pitch and volume
3. other vocal variety
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ASPECT #5 – The Feedback
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By “feedback” I mean the process through which the speaker receives information about how his or her message has been received by the listeners and, in turn, responds to those cues.
The feedback process is not complete until the speaker has responded to the listener. This process includes the listener’s reactions to the speaker’s response and so forth.
You can ask your audience questions and even ask them what their understanding is of the point you have just made. Watch for non-verbal clues from your audience and be prepared to respond to the reactions of your audience throughout your presentation. It is your responsibility to provide the information your audience needs to hear. Many times, you may be asked by management to provide a specific message to their employees that they may not want to hear. Remember, it is the management that is paying your fee and you are responsible to deliver the message they hired you to deliver. At the same time, it is important that you are sensitive to the audience and try to establish a relationship with them through the use of your surveys, conversations during the social hour, and even discussions following your presentation