 Show Many won’t be able to resist the temptation to take a peek at their smart phones. So how do you keep your audience involved and following the discussion? Transition PhrasesSavvy speakers use Transition/Linking Phrases as the glue that holds their thoughts together so they can move seamlessly from one point to another. It’s important to organize your presentation so that everything supports one main idea. Develop two to three key headlines to support that idea and then further elaborate with facts, anecdotes, case studies, visuals and other evidence. Also including transitions to connect sentences and key messages will help the audience move from idea to idea. Transitions can make or break your presentation. Linking phrases can turn your presentation into a unified whole. Transitions can also be tricky. You need to use words other than “but,” “however,” and “in addition.” The words you use will serve as punctuation marks and entice the audience to listen to your next points. Keep giving them the road map to follow throughout your presentation. After you’ve introduced your main theme, consider the following transition phrases to get started:
Getting From Here to ThereLaunch your first key message with a phrase that says it’s your first point:
Stick to that “chunk” of content and don’t jump to your other key messages until you conclude with a phrase like:
Or, it could just be that it’s getting close to lunch and people are restless. Whatever the reason, you’ve got to regain their attention. So pause, and give them a chance to get back in sync with you. When finished with presenting your key messages, repeat them, beginning with a phrase such as, “I’ve just covered the three most important points about…” The CloserNow the audience is ready for your closing remarks. Please don’t use, “In conclusion…” because that’s the signal you’ve come to the end of your presentation and it’s OK to mentally tune out. Instead, keep them listening with a more compelling phrase such as:
Call to ActionDon’t just say, “Thanks for listening” when you’re finished. Preface that with what you want the audience to do after the presentation. Include a call to action:
Transition phrases are the audience’s lifeline to your presentation. Choose them carefully so that your audience knows exactly where you are at any point in time. They will also help to keep you on track, so that you don’t begin wandering off topic and lose your own sense of direction. Are there transition phrases that you use in your presentations that you find particularly effective? Please leave us a comment. We’d love to know what they are. What is a transition in a presentation?A slide transition is the visual effect that occurs when you move from one slide to the next during a presentation. You can control the speed, add sound, and customize the look of transition effects.
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