Plan

The plan step is the initial step. You begin by determining the subject and purpose of your presentation. Are you looking to inform, persuade, or motivate the audience? As part of your planning, you should have an idea about who will be attending your presentation and what they expect to get out of it. What information do they want to know? Is the presentation a formal or informal one? Tailoring your speech to your audience will allow you to better connect with them and will help to ensure that it will be successful.

If it is not determined for you, you may have to determine the logistics of your presentation, including the date/time and the location. If your presentation will be done in person and not just online, become familiar with the venue if at all possible. Doing so is particularly helpful if you will be speaking to many people at a large venue, such as at a technical conference.

Many of your presentations may simply be conducted in your organization's office, which you will already be familiar with, but some of them will take place in other locations. You may not have access ahead of time to the location, but if you can arrive even just a little bit early, you can become somewhat familiar with the venue to minimize the chance of surprises. For example, it might be helpful to see what the stage, seating, lighting, and audio/visual equipment will be like ahead of time.