These are the phases of the ‘4 phase design method’.
Whenever you are preparing a presentation, you need to run through these four phases, one after the other. And you have to do so in precisely that order. Many people make the mistake of trying to do all four things at once, so that they become horribly confused. And so does their audience.
| I. The thinking | Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Find somewhere quiet and take time to think about the essence of your presentation. Why should they listen to you? What do you want to achieve? How are you going to achieve it. |
| II. The logic | You first need to fix the objective content of your presentation. Think logically. What are you going to talk about? More importantly, what are you not going to talk about? What is the key of your argument? Are all your ideas logically connected? How can you structure these ideas so that they can be easily understood? |
| III. The story | When you have fixed the objective content of your presentation, you can start to write your story. This requires a more creative approach. You must find ways to make your story appealing and memorable. |
| IV. The media | In this final phase you now need to find the best way to implement it. This involves making slides and preparing documents that support your key message. Double-check everything to make sure that it all goes smoothly on the day. If you have done the previous three phases properly, this should be a piece of cake. |
People who follow the four phases report that the preparation time is reduced by 30%, the length of the presentation is reduced by 50% while they achieve much better results.