How to write a presentation

I’ve just finished writing a presentation for the upcoming STC Summit 2017. Putting together the slide deck and notes made me ponder on how I go about creating a presentation, and to wonder whether other people follow a similar path.

Here’s how I prepare a presentation.

Grab the idea when it floats by

Make a note of any ideas for a presentation, and keep the list somewhere handy. Some ideas sit around for months or years before a good occasion comes along.  I use an online document for my list of ideas, so I can add to them no matter where I am when an idea occurs.
Think up a title for the presentation. It’s often best to think up one or more names while the idea is still fresh. The title captures the original intention and mood of the idea.

Submit a proposal to speak at a specific event

Keep an eye out for a conference or other occasion where my idea will fit in. Conferences often have a theme. For example, the theme of the STC Summit 2017 is Gain the Edge to Get Results. Every conference has a target audience. It’s important to submit a proposal that suits the theme and audience.
Think about the title again. Sometimes I need to change it, to suit the event and audience.
Write an outline of the presentation, bearing the audience and theme in mind. Some conference committees want a full outline, others ask for a summary of what the attendees will learn from the presentation. This step takes a lot of time, because it determines the final content of the presentation. Usually, though, I find it reasonably easy to create the outline, because I’m keen on the theme of the presentation. It’s something I’ve been wanting to talk about for a while. I think about the audience continually: What do they want to learn from this session, and what can I promise to show them. Everything that I put in the outline must be achievable and reflected in the eventual presentation.
Write a session summary. This is more of a “blurb”, an inspirational invitation to people to attend the talk. It needs to contain factual details of what’s in the session, and it must also reflect my passion about the topic.
Submit the proposal, along with other information requested by the conference committee. This may include a bio, a headshot, audio-visual requirements, and so on.

Prepare the presentation

Grab more ideas as they drift by. At this stage, my brain is actively engaged in the presentation, and ideas pop up at all sorts of times. Don’t let them get away!
Extend the outline. Still working in a doc rather than a slide deck, I add the notes from those drifting ideas. I copy and paste stuff from everywhere. Often I don’t try to make the notes tidy. They don’t even need to fit in completely. The outline is at the moment just a collection of potentially useful facts, quirks, quotations, ideas for illustrations, laughs, and what have you. It gets messy, but that’s OK. Until it’s not OK.
Get visual. At some stage, notes become boring, messy, and counter-productive. For me, the visual aspect of the presentation is as important as the content. The structure conveys the theme. The colours make the audience (and me) restive or restful. Images convey meaning or complement the content. The presentation starts to fly when I move it from a doc into slides.
Create the presentation outline and section headings that the audience will see. I think it’s useful, and kind