Choose your presentation’s key points before preparing the slides. Clarify what the audience needs to understand or do; assess candidate messages for their relevance to the purpose, supporting evidence, and how clearly they can be explained during the presentation. The result should be one main takeaway and supporting messages that make it clear. This helps bring the main idea the audience needs to follow to the forefront, rather than trying to convey every detail of the presentation.
Start by defining your purpose and audience
Answer this question in one sentence: “What should the audience know, think, or do by the end of the presentation?” This sentence is not a slide title; it is your criterion for choosing content. For example, “Explain to new employees how we report customer feedback” is a broad purpose. “The team should be able to show three customer trends in the weekly report, with supporting evidence” is a more specific goal.
Also consider how familiar the audience is with the topic and what they expect from the presentation. Experts may need details about the method; for another audience, the results and why the topic matters may be the priority. These are not fixed rules for every presentation, but questions you can ask to select content for your audience. Harvard Medical School’s presentation advice emphasizes identifying the audience’s needs, explaining the topic’s importance at the outset, and keeping the main idea of the presentation visible.
List candidate messages
Before you start shortening slide text, write down separately the claims that could be included in the presentation. Each candidate should be an idea whose truth or falsity can be assessed, rather than just a section heading such as “results.”
For each candidate, ask: How does it serve the purpose of the presentation? Why does it matter to the audience? What data, observation, or example supports it? Can it be explained clearly in the time available? Combine ideas that repeat one another; do not merge claims pointing to different conclusions into one sentence without explaining the difference between them.
Rank messages by importance
You can group candidates as the main message, supporting messages, and information that can be left out of the main flow. The main message carries the presentation’s central conclusion. Supporting messages show what evidence helps the audience understand that conclusion. Removing details that are interesting but do not contribute to the purpose, or saving them for questions and answers, is one way to make choices; which details are necessary depends on the topic and audience.
When making your selections, consider relevance to the purpose, importance to the audience, clarity of the evidence, and presentation time together. If you use scoring, treat it as a practical tool for comparing options, not an objective measurement. A claim being interesting is not, by itself, enough to make it the main conclusion.
Hypothetical example: choose one main takeaway from three candidates
Hypothetical scenario: A team has classified weekly customer feedback during a six-week trial period and is preparing a short presentation for managers. The numbers below are made up solely to illustrate the example; they are not real findings.
Candidates: A) “Delayed responses are the most frequently repeated complaint.” B) “Complaints about delayed responses fell from 40 to 25 during the trial.” C) “The new classification approach increased customer satisfaction.” The team can show the record count and period comparison for B; the same records also support A. Since customer satisfaction was not measured, C cannot be concluded from this data.
If the purpose is to help managers decide which issue to track in the next trial, B can be selected as the main message: it reports a concrete change and can be compared against the stated records. A can serve as a supporting message explaining the nature of the recurring complaint. C should not be presented as a conclusion unless satisfaction is measured separately. This avoids drawing a broader conclusion than the data supports while describing the observed change.
Move from the main message to the presentation flow
Write the main message as one clear sentence. Then match the messages that support it with the evidence you will use for each. In the example, the flow could be: 1. Purpose: identify the recurring issue in feedback. 2. Method: classify six weeks of records using the same criteria. 3. Finding: in the hypothetical example, complaints about delayed responses fell from 40 to 25. 4. Limitation: this count alone does not measure customer satisfaction. 5. Next step: track the same measure and assess satisfaction separately.
To show this flow on an agenda slide, see the guide to preparing a presentation agenda slide. If you need to support the finding with a chart, the guide to creating explanatory visuals for a presentation may help. Whether to use a chart depends on the nature of the finding; if you use one, it should be clear what it shows and which period it covers.
Review contradictions, uncertainty, and timing
If two messages conflict, compare their definitions, scope, and supporting evidence. One may describe all records, while the other covers only a specific period. If the difference remains unclear, do not present both as definitive conclusions; state the uncertainty or limit the message to the scope supported by the evidence.
When time is limited, review repetitions and details that contribute little to the main conclusion. Keep the evidence needed to understand and evaluate the main claim. Oberlin College’s guide to research presentations recommends focusing on why the work matters and the big picture rather than trying to explain everything. This does not mean leaving out context needed to understand the claim.
Final checklist
- Are the purpose and the audience’s needs clear?
- Does the main message serve the purpose and match specific supporting evidence?
- Do supporting details overshadow the main idea?
- Does the presentation claim a cause-and-effect relationship or broader conclusion that the evidence does not show?
- Are important limitations and uncertainties stated?
- Does the presentation flow support the main message clearly?
Frequently asked questions
How many key messages should there be?
Choose one main conclusion and add the supporting messages needed to make it clear. The right number depends on the presentation’s length, topic, and audience. Rather than setting the number in advance, assess how each message contributes to the main conclusion.
What should I do with an interesting finding that has weak support?
Do not present it as a proven conclusion. If it is relevant to the purpose, share it as an observation or question, clearly stating its limitations; otherwise, leave it out of the main flow. Compare claims with their supporting evidence and check whether the final wording fits the data you have.
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