In my opinion, the most important part of organizing a talk is knowing clearly the story you want to tell your audience. The next step is sequencing your story — and any visuals you want to include — into a logical progression that fits perfectly within the amount of time you have been allotted for your presentation.<\/p>\n
Backward buildup<\/em><\/strong> is a way of thinking about your talk from the perspective of what you would like the audience to understand by the time you finish speaking. It is a technique for organizing your story back-to-front. Distributing your content in the backwards direction ensures that your story ends\u00a0where<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0when<\/em>\u00a0you intend, that each section is balanced and builds to the conclusion, and that the story in its entirety fits within the time you have been allotted. Let\u2019s look at how it works:<\/p>\n 1. Story<\/p>\n The first and most important step is to compose a logical story for your audience. Select the precise body of material you want your audience to learn and \u201cknow\u201d as a result of attending your talk or panel — include only the content that is directly applicable to this particular talk. Divide your story into the sections that you will cover, like \u201cintroduction,\u201d \u201cconcept 1,\u201d \u201cconcept 2,\u201d \u201cquestions and answers,\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n 2. Backward Buildup<\/p>\n Working backwards from the end of your talk, assign a chunk of time to each section of the story. Work all the way back to the first minute of the talk. Here is an example of backward buildup\u00a0for a 30 minute talk –<\/p>\n Section \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Time___<\/span><\/p>\n 6 \u00a0Questions and Answers \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a010 minutes<\/p>\n 5 \u00a0Conclusions \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02 minutes<\/p>\n 4 \u00a0Concept 3 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 5\u00a0minutes<\/p>\n 3 \u00a0Concept 2 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 5 minutes<\/p>\n 2 \u00a0Concept 1 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 5 minutes<\/p>\n 1 \u00a0Introduction \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03 minutes<\/span><\/p>\n TOTAL \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 30 minutes<\/p>\n 3. Fine-tuning<\/p>\n As you work through the backward buildup process, you may find that there is not enough time for all of the material you want to cover. Or you may have compressed your 60-minute talk into 50 minutes. Now is the time for fine tuning: Look at your plan from\u00a0front-to-back<\/em>\u00a0as well as from\u00a0back-to-front<\/em>\u00a0and make adjustments so that the sequencing and timing are perfect. Delete non-essential stuff or expand a section or two, and repeat the backward buildup process until you have a time plan that embraces all of the material you want to present. The sequence of topics in each section and the articulation across sections should have a logical flow.<\/p>\n 4. Timing<\/p>\n All of the sections, including the question and answer period, must add up to no more than the total number of minutes allotted for your talk. When organizing the timing, you must account for possible technical problems, appropriate anecdotes, and nerves, so leave some breathing room in your plan.<\/p>\n 5. Visuals<\/p>\n Now, go back to your story and the timed sections. Ask: \u201cAre there any visuals that will help elucidate this section?\u201d If no, move on and tell that part of the story without visuals — audiences love this approach. If yes, then select only the visuals that promote understanding and inspiration of your audience\u2019s experience. Each visual should be crystal clear and easy to navigate and understand from the point of view of the audience.<\/p>\n