5 Goals for Your Introduction: State Your Main Idea

Like a car without gas, a presentation without a strong thesis statement won’t get very far. If the word “thesis” seems a bit too academic for you, or if it brings back nightmares of your 6th grade English class, try one of these: main idea, slogan, catchphrase, mantra, or takeaway.

It doesn’t matter what you call it, it just matters that you have one.

This is the 4th part of a 5-part blog series exploring the 5 goals speech experts say you should aim to accomplish in your introduction: get the audience’s attention, show the value and relevance of your ideas, establish your credibility, state your main idea, and provide a verbal map of the presentation.

And while it’s fourth on the list here, we can’t understand how important this tip is. To make sure your speech has an effective main idea, you should focus on two elements: strength and clarity.

Strength

A strong thesis statement is one that is well-written. The problem is that most of the time we tend to rely on our experience with written thesis statements even when crafting the main idea for a spoken presentation. The word “catchphrase” from our list above can help us here because it reminds us that a great thesis is both catchy and short.

For the thesis, pick words that everyone in the audience will understand. This isn’t time to impress anyone with your vocabulary. It’s time to boil things down to the essence of what you are hoping to communicate.

Note that it’s called a “catchphrase,” not called a “catchsentence.” A phrase is shorter than a sentence, which is a good rule of thumb for presentations. When he wrote the “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. crafted one of the most recognizable, memorable, and impactful thesis statements ever. That’s because he communicates in just 4 very simple words an idea that has great traction and strength.

Clarity

So you’ve got a main idea that is simple, short, and strong. How do you make sure the audience knows it’s your main idea? You highlight it and you repeat it.

First, bring attention to it by delivering it with strength. Highlight it with your nonverbal tools like tone of voice, facial expression, and volume. In addition, sandwich your main idea between two intentional pauses. Several researchers from different universities came together to research speech pauses and found that “Pauses tend to occur at salient points in discourse.” That little bit of silence right before and right after will work like a spotlight to bring attention to your thesis.

Then, repeat it. After you’ve said it in the introduction, find a few other places during the presentation to repeat your slogan. This repetition will not only help the audience remember it, it will build momentum throughout your speech each time they hear it. A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that when managers repeated messages, their projects were more effiencient and smooth. So it’s not just about being clear. It’s about being clear, often.

If you are still writing long thesis statements, it’s time to think less English class and more advertising slogan. If you focus on the strength and clarity of your main idea, your audience will remember it long after the speech is over.

Want more tips for how to master the art of presenting? Ethos3 is ready to help.

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