The trick is in the planning - step two

Okay, the next step is for all of you who have a clear purpose, you know exactly what your primary message is, you've characterised your audience as far as you can (including the room that you will be speaking in), and you know what result you want to achieve from your presentation. You're well ahead of the game already.

So another way to prepare your thoughts of what to actually include in your presentation is to take the three vital ingredients of ethos, logos and pathos and to make an inventory of how you can work with each of these.

Firstly, Ethos. How can you be perceived as credible and reliable? Of course you can always list your qualifications, drop names and generally be fairly direct about it. But this is not always the best way, nor is it usually enough. I would say that you should never need to actually introduce yourself in terms of your qualifications, your name and affiliation is enough. If you can't achieve credibility through the things you say, with your voice and stance and body language and generally by being a competent presenter, then there's no way you will compensate by telling people about all the positions you've held over the last 20 years. The audience's impression comes from what you do more than what you say. So think about how you, personally, in your own way can ensure that you are perceived as someone who knows what they're talking about. Start by learning your presentation well, practice it and take notes with you if you need them. Then think about the specific things you can say to boost your credibility and be subtle about it. For example: " when I worked as head of research for Roche I learnt this excellent method for visualising complex research projects which I would like to share with you today."

Logos is all of the facts, the rational stuff, figures and statistics, and the meat of the subject itself. This is where most people have all of their focus and of course you have to sort through all of this, prioritise and find a logical order. Then you have to present it so that people pay attention, understand and preferably remember. Even more work is required if you expect them to act on your words. So there's a lot of work to do here and this should also support your credibility (ethos) by being accurate and relevant and so on. List the most important facts. The things you really can't leave out, in order of priority. Find as many pictures or diagrams as possible to illustrate the subject and keep it as simple as you can.

Pathos I have written about earlier. But just to recap: you need to reach people through emotions and experiences. Logic is not enough. People will forget what you said and they'll forget what you did and they will never forget how you made them feel, as someone famous once said. So this is the key to influence, persuasion and memory. Think about ways that you can use to reach people in this particular presentation.Your own enthusiasm for the subject is a starting point. Find ways to surprise people, make them wonder, make them laugh and make them smile in recognition. If you're putting photographs into a presentation try to find pictures of people. Use bright, beautiful high-resolution photographs. Above all, describe your subject in terms that are relevant for them, explaining why this is important in their own context.

So there it is, ethos, logos, pathos. Check you have a balance and check you have them all.