In previous posts we covered how to decide the main point of your presentation and how to structure it so your audience can follow along. Now we will go over the types of evidence you can include in each segment of your speech. If done correctly, these will support your main point so effectively that your audience will be primed to accept your call to action. That’s when you will be most effective when public speaking.
You don’t need to use all of these types. Choose the ones that best back up your assertions and forget the rest. Also, don’t feel you have to overload each segment of your speech with a lot of supporting evidence. Usually, one or two pieces will suffice.
Here are the types of evidence you may want to include, based on the goal of your presentation.
· Case Studies
These work best when they are well-documented and are in a field that is relevant to your audience.
Say your company is weighing whether to move its main research facility from New Jersey to another state and you have been put in charge to present your team’s argument for moving to Texas. You might research and find a similarly-sized New Jersey company that moved to Texas a few years ago.
You could detail what that company did to prepare for the move, what assistance it received from Texas and local officials, and the timeline it took. Then you would present the benefits and advantages it has enjoyed since it arrived in Texas.
Note: You do not have to explain every detail of the company’s move. Just enough to back up your point.
· Testimonials and Quotes
Statements from relevant experts and sources can lend authority to your argument.
Only choose experts and sources that you can be reasonably sure your audience will see as credible to your point. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman may be a credible source when analyzing football, but if you are making the argument that your pharmaceutical company should move to Texas sharing a quote about how much Aikman loves living in Texas probably won’t carry any weight.
The expert or source doesn’t have to be well-known outside your field. For example, in the case of your pharmaceutical company, comments from Wall Street analysts or CEOs of other drugmakers may be relevant.
Note also that when I say sources I don’t just mean people. These sources could be publications in your field or articles in the mainstream about the topic.
The key is to make sure they are credible and back up your point.
· Visual Aids
Graphs, tables and PowerPoint slides are commonly used in company presentations. In large part, they are used because when done correctly they can be effective in conveying data in ways that are familiar with business audiences.
But for speeches and presentations outside the business arena they might not be the most effective way to get your point across.
For instance, say you are a firefighter who has been asked to make a presentation at the local high school about what firefighting entails. Rather than graphs and tables, you might want your visuals to be photos and illustrations of some of the blazes you have dealt with. You might present maps that show danger spots in a home.
And remember, a visual aid can be anything that makes your point. A firefighter might want to bring some equipment in to display. Or perhaps some charred pieces from a home to reinforce how destructive fire can be.
I once saw a scientist make an argument about how complicated her job was by showing all the beakers, flasks, funnels and burners that she used on a regular basis. She had a table set up on the stage and as she talked about each thing she did she picked up the equipment used and held it aloft. Very effective.
In the next post we will explore some other ways to present the evidence supporting your main point.
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