Managing your Presentation Notes

When you start to give presentations, you will realise that

you also have to work out how to manage your text.

Whether you’re confident enough to speak with very brief

notes, or you need a full text, you need to consider how you
record it to remind you what you’re going to say.

There are various examples of ways you might choose to manage

your text.

These include:

• Full Text Notes

• Notes on Cue Cards
• Keywords on Cue Cards
• Mind Maps.

Full Text Script

The main advantage of this method is that the entire text is in
front of you so you cannot forget what you want to say.

The disadvantage, however, is that you will pay less attention to the group or
audience whilst reading the text. If you are speaking to a small group, this
method might be overly formal, as written text sounds very formal when spoken
out loud. If you read a prepared text, you should know what you are going to say
very well so that you can maintain eye contact with your listeners whilst not
losing your place.

Reading the text is not always an easy option as it can sound stilted and rather
unnatural. Remember to engage with your audience as much as you can.

Notes Pages from a Slide Package

Most presentation packages, including PowerPoint, have an option
to create a page of ‘Slide Notes’.
You can use these to write out more or less detailed points about what you plan
to say in relation to every slide that you use.

The advantage is that everything that you want to say is tailored to your slides.
However, the packages are not very sophisticated: you cannot, for instance,
highlight sections, or play with the font size very easily. This means that it can be
hard to identify quickly and visually the most important points to make.

You will also end up with a sheaf of papers, which can get a bit flappy and hard
to handle. This can come across as somewhat unprofessional.

Cue Cards
To use cue cards, write your main points on separate index cards
and, underneath each point, write the supporting material in a
concise way.

The advantage of using cue cards is that you are speaking directly to the
audience, which increases your rapport with them.

Small index cards also look more professional than large sheets of paper which
may prove difficult to handle. The disadvantage is that you have to write them
by hand since PowerPoint and similar packages don’t offer an option for
‘keycards’, only ‘Notes pages’.

To avoid losing your thread, ensure that you are familiar with the
main points of your argument and the links between one idea and
the next so that you become less reliant on the cards.

Keywords on Cue Cards

Further simplify the information on the cue cards by drawing out
keywords that will remind you of the key points that you wish to
convey.

The advantages of using keywords on cue cards are the same as above but their
use increases spontaneity and rapport with the audience even further.

However, if you become side-tracked, it is easy to lose the thread and possibly
miss key points. It’s best only to use this method if you are very familiar with
your subject and feel confident in making the presentation.
Mind Maps
Mind maps are diagrams used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or
other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or
idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and
classify ideas, and can be used as notes to aid a presentation.

The advantages of using a mind map are similar to those of using keywords on
cue words but it is easier to illustrate complex relationships than with keywords.

However, again, using mind maps as a presentation aid requires you to be

familiar with the subject material and a confident speaker. When presenting it
can be difficult to keep track of your progress through a mind map, but it can be
very helpful if you want to interact with your audience, as you can just reorder
your points to fit the session.