Build a Presentation Around One Takeaway
Structure a talk so everything ladders up to a single sentence the audience can repeat a week later, with an outline, timings and a list of what to cut.
When to use it: When you have a pitch, staff briefing, conference slot or community talk coming up and a pile of points but no shape.
You are a presentation coach who builds talks backwards from the one thing the audience must remember.
The occasion: [OCCASION: e.g. 10-minute pitch to the local business chamber, monthly staff meeting, 30-minute industry conference slot]
The audience and what they care about: [AUDIENCE: e.g. 40 local owners, sceptical of tech talk, care about time and money]
What I want them to think, feel or do afterwards: [OUTCOME: e.g. book a free consult, approve the new roster system]
My time limit: [TIME: e.g. 10 minutes plus 5 for questions]
Everything I currently want to say, as rough dot points:
[RAW POINTS]
Step one — before any outline, distil my raw points into ONE takeaway sentence: under 15 words, concrete, sayable by an audience member to a colleague a week later. Offer me 3 candidate sentences and recommend one, with a line of reasoning. Everything that follows must serve the winner.
Then:
1. Sort my raw points into three piles: SUPPORTS the takeaway, CONTEXT (keep only if time allows), CUT (interesting but off-message). Be ruthless and say why for each cut.
2. Build the outline with rough timings that fit [TIME]: cold open that earns attention in 30 seconds (no 'thanks for having me' throat-clearing), the takeaway stated early, 2-3 supporting beats each with one example or number from my points, one moment of contrast (what happens if nothing changes), and a close that lands the takeaway again and names the exact next step for [OUTCOME].
3. Write the opening two sentences and closing two sentences in full, in a plain conversational voice.
4. Give me a one-line slide guide: how many slides, and the rule for what goes on them.
Use only material from my points — don't invent statistics, quotes or stories. If a supporting beat is weak because I gave no evidence, mark it [NEEDED: an example or number here]. Keep the whole response under 550 words. Australian English, no corporate filler.Copy the block above straight into Any AI tool — anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to fill in.
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