3 Reasons Why Transitions in Your Presentations are Necessary

“A talk is a voyage with purpose and it must be charted. The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there.” – Dale Carnegie

Imagine you are in New York on a pleasure trip and were in Little Italy in South Manhattan. If you wanted to get to the Empire State Building in North Manhattan would you walk or take a cab? You would probably take a cab.

Well, walking to the Empire State Building from Little Italy is like not having transitions between your main points in your presentations. You could do it, but it is so much harder for your audience if you don’t give them a “cab” (transitions) for the ride (between your main points of your presentation).

You need to provide “cab rides” for your audience so their “trip” between your main points is easier. In other words, you need to make it easier for your audience to navigate your presentation and fully grasp your message. Transitions do this.

Make Your Transitions Flow from One Main Point to Another

The point of transitions in your presentations is to tie one main point to the next main point. Transitions provide your audience with “directions” to get to the next main point of your presentation.

The main points in your presentations should have a logical flow to them just like writing has a logical flow to its prose. If you are having a hard time creating transitions in your presentations, there is a good chance that the flow of your presentation is faulty.

Perhaps you have the right main points, but you have them in the wrong order or perhaps one or more of your main points are not really main points. You as the creator of your presentation have to decide what to do to smooth the flow.

Always show your presentation to someone who has no expertise in the area of your presentation. Within one minute, they will be able to tell if the flow of your presentation is jagged or does not flow at all.

So, transitions are all about the flow of your presentation. However, a very real danger is the words of your transition might be too numerous. If the number of words in your transitions is too high, the transition itself could almost seem like another main point.

Remember, transitions between your main points are not the main points. They are merely a bridge between main points. So, make your transitions as long as they have to be to bridge main points and no longer.

Make Your Transitions Concise

As you have seen above, transitions are meant to “smooth” the flow of your presentation and show the relevance of the previous main point to the following main point. Therefore, they should be concise, but still get the “bridge” job done between main points.

For instance, my transition two paragraphs above, my transition is

“So, transitions are all about the flow of your presentation. However, a very real danger is the words of your transition might be too numerous. If the number of words in your transitions is too high, the transition itself could almost seem like another main point.

Remember, transitions between your main points are not the main points. They are merely a bridge between main points. So, make your transitions as long as they have to be to bridge main points and no longer.”

So, let’s analyze this transition.

• First, I have a short summary of the main point I just discussed: “So, transitions are all about the flow of your presentation.”

• Then, I use the words, “However, a very real danger is the words of your transition might be too numerous. If the number of words in your transitions is too high, the transition itself could almost seem like another main point.”

• Finally, I introduce the next section with the words, “Remember, transitions between your main points are not the main points. They are merely a bridge between main points. So, make your transitions as long as they have to be to bridge main points and no longer.”

So, now we know that transitions are all about the flow of your presentation, and they should be concise so they do not overshadow your main points.

You will repeat this process for as many main points as you have. I always recommend three main points. This number of main points is just enough to be interesting and not too many points to confuse your audience.

So, transitions are all about the flow of your presentation. However, a very real danger is the words of your transition will be too numerous. Remember, transitions between your main points are not the main points. Making transitions concise is essential because you do not want them to over shadow your main points. They are merely “bridges” to what comes next.

The purpose of the final transition in your presentation is to provide a bridge from your final main point to your closing.

Your Final Transition

After 30 years of coaching hundreds of speakers and evaluating hundreds of presentations, a common question speakers ask of me is, “How do I get off the stage?” In other words, how can you end your presentation. Your final transition is a key part of your closing.

In your final transition you will summarize your main points such as below and then lead into your closing.

“So, transitions are all about the flow of your presentation, making them concise so as not to over shadow your main points, and as a bridge to your closing.”

Let’s be clear; the main purpose of your presentation delivery is to be clear to your audience; to get the point of your presentation completely across to your audience.

Transitions between your main points and between your last main point and your closing provide the pathways that make it much easier for your audience to navigate your presentation and fully grasp your message.

Is there any other purpose of your presentation?

“There is as much eloquence in the tone of voice, in the eyes, and in the air of a speaker as in his choice of words.” – Rochefoucauld