Like most good advice, Nancy Duarte’s TEDx presentation on how to give a great talk is both obvious and enlightening.

In short: talk about the status quo, then the possibility of the future. Repeat as much as possible. End with the new status quo that you’re proposing.

The repetition is very key, and her example of the classic Martin Luther King Jr speech is especially relevant: pastors know how to use repetition!

I know that I too often I build presentations with the three-act model; I state the current situation, what I’d like to change, and what the results will be. I’ll be keeping this in mind next time.

I also  love her point about making the audience the hero. It’s easy to make yourself the hero…but as a community manager, I should know that you’ll get a lot farther making someone else feel special!