A presentation without segues is not a story (Part 2 of 2)

This blog is part 2 of 2 of our blog series titled, A presentation without segues is not a story. If you have not read part 1 of 2, read it here.

Segue lines.

Segue lines or transition lines connect the slides in such a way that when we listen to a presenter, we feel like a story is being told and as a result get high levels of engagement from our audience.

The choice of the segue line is dependent on the context and content. Here are a couple of examples based on context

You will notice there is a pattern in the above examples, I ask the question and then the content of my slide becomes the answer to the question.

One of my golden rules to create great segues is:

Here is a list of some commonly used segue line

• Let me share what I mean
• Let me give you an example
• What exactly does this mean
• Some of you may be thinking

If you practiced just the above points, you will soon witness your presentations sounding like a story. A question you must learn to ask your self is, " And before I move to the next slide, what should I say?"

If you want to learn more on segue lines, I highly recommend you read this blog by Gail Anderson from Appluase Inc. I am listing some important points made in the blog here

• Sometimes you can simply say, "The next slide shows us the timeline for this campaign." It's a simple transition from one slide to the next. Just don't use the same catchphrase each time or it begins to sound repetitive and meaningless.
• Use the headlines of your slides to connect material you just discussed to the next material. For example, when the slide says, "projected revenue" you might verbalize it this way: "Now that we have discussed the elements of the ad campaign, let's turn our attention to what we expect to see in projected revenue." Note, you wouldn't put all that on your slide, but you would simply verbalize the transition.
• When you are summarizing, you can use the simple word "so" to indicate a summary at the end of a slide or segment. Don't trail off with an unfinished "so…." but instead link it to a summary. For example, "So all indications are that this online campaign will be highly profitable." Some speakers put this bottom line comment in a box at the bottom of their slide. I think it is more effective to verbalize it. If you must show it visually, I would do a build so you only show it when you have finished the slide.

Having segues is a small but mighty practice.